Golf (event)

Golf is an Event that appears exclusively in the Nintendo 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The objective of the event is to complete all nine holes on the course in the fewest shots possible. The playable characters in this event are Mario, Peach, Bowser, Sonic, Vector, Rouge and Mii, with Rouge being unlocked by beating her in Golf Plus on the seventh day of Mario's story in the Road to Rio mode.

In the Road to Rio mode, Golf appears as the event on day 7 of Mario's story.

Gameplay
In this event, if the player has selected a number of rounds fewer than 18 to play, they must initially select which hole to start from, either the first, which is listed as out, or the 10th, which is listed as in. For rounds fewer than nine holes, the player will play the first few holes in numerical order, however will play the final hole in their round on the final hole on their selected half of the course. Before taking a shot, the player is given a recommended club, shot trajectory and power level to reach the hole. The player can change clubs either by touching the arrows at the top and bottom of the club icon on the right hand side of the Touch Screen, or by pressing up and down on. The shot trajectory can be changed by either dragging the icon on the Touch Screen using the stylus or by using. The player is also able to view the hole using a number of different camera controls, being able to zoom in and out of the Touch Screen map by using either the slider onscreen with the stylus or left and right on, changing the view on the upper screen from the character to the expected landing site for the shot by pressing , and using the stylus to move a camera around the hole to view specific areas. Additionally, before taking a shot, the player can opt to use a special club and perform a Special Shot, which has a unique and useful effect on the ball. Each character has a different Special Shot which can be used a limited number of times, and is either used by pressing, touching the Special Shot icon or is used automatically for some characters. The player can also add backspin to a shot by pressing, and can view the current scorecard by pressing. Once the player is ready to take the shot, they can either tap the Shot icon or press to allow them to take their shot, which brings up a new screen. From here, they are still able to less accurately adjust the their trajectory and change clubs, and can also return to the map by pressing. To make their shot, the player must slide the stylus upwards on the screen from as close to the suggested power level and straight as possible. The distance the shot travels is affected by the power level of their swing, and the direction of the shot is affected by how straight the player's slide on the Touch Screen was, with both being affected by the shaping of the course and the wind speed and direction, which the player is told before making their shot. If the player makes a shot of 100% power level of more particularly well, they will perform a Nice Shot, and the shot will travel a further distance. It is also possible to miss the ball and be unable to take the shot while still having 1 added onto the score. Once the shot has been taken, the player is given the options to skip it by pressing, view a replay by pressing , or fast forward it by pressing. Once the player has made their shot, the opponents will make their shots, and from then on the order of play is decided based on the shot that landed furthest from the hole. When the shot lands, it may land on a variety of different surfaces and obstacles, which will affect the next shot made. Green, fringe and fairway shots remain simple to hit, but bunker and rough shots are harder to hit, landing in a water hazards or out-of-bounds adds an extra shot to the score and replaces the ball nearest to where the shot entered the hazard. Once the ball is hit into the hole, the player is given their score for the hole, as well as their golf scoring for the hole, and is shown the scorecard as well as their current position in the event. On certain holes, a nearest to the pin challenge will be set, in which the player must aim to hit their ball as close to the hole as possible in a single shot. An average for these scores is generated throughout the event.

In this event, the player can set the number of holes to be played in a round to either 3, 6, 9 or 18.

Advice

 * Super Shots are more effective if you time your swing to hit when the white circle overlaps with the ball.
 * Slide the stylus quickly when hitting the ball to gain a little extra distance.
 * Press the R Button to add backspin to your shot.
 * When the ball is in the rough or a bunker, the red mark will be smaller and the ball won't travel as far.
 * Slide diagonally when hitting the ball to add curve.
 * Target the red circle in the middle of the ball on the Touch Screen to hit the ball straight where you aim.
 * The color and pattern of the trajectory line change when the ball hits an obstacle, goes out of bounds or falls in a water hazard.
 * Press the Y Button to view where the ball will land.
 * Performing a weaker hit with a long-distance club results in a low shot that rolls farther.
 * When two players have the same score in the rankings, the player with the better NTP average will be ranked higher.