*************  THE CENTERLINE PROBLEM  ***********               7/9/93

                    Attention JNSE Designers:

After viewing several hundred courses which have been built by folks using
the designer in JNSE I find one problem crops up time and again - both
with new designers and some more experience folks.  I call this the
"Centerline Problem".

First, an axiom...Par 3's should be plotted without any vertex between
       the tee and the pin; Par 4's should have one intermediate vertex;
       par 5's should have two vertexes.

These vertexes are a function of how each hole is placed during the
plotting of the holes on the land plot.   The centerline extends from
the championship tee, through any vertexes, and to Pin position #1, initially.

How can you suspect a centerline problem? - Well, there's two symptoms.

1. The target on drives or approach shots does not point to where your
shot should really go.  It's always applicable on approaches to the
pin, but not always the problem when you're hitting fairway lay-ups.

2. On approach shots, you hit exactly the right length and suddenly find
you are 40' past the hole - in other words, you were given the wrong
length for your shot.

You can play around these problem with frequent reference to the hole
overhead for proper direction and use of the auto-caddy for distance; but,
that's a real pain.

Some of these problems can be fixed by going in the designer and inspecting
the centerline on holes where you suspect it's bad.  If the centerline has
the right number of vertexes you can move them into proper alignment.  This
adjustment is made to the plot's file (not the individual hole file - even
though you have to go into each hole to make the changes.  Now, if there
are the wrong number of vertexes, it's more work to fix.
 - Save the hole under a different file name
 - Go into the plot and delete the hole
 - Re-add the hole back in to the plot with the right number of vertexes.
 - Discard the new hole file just created
 - Rename the original hole file back to the original file name
 - Go into designer and reset Champ Tee, Pin #1, and centerline vertexes
   as appropriate
   (Why all this?  So you don't lose your hole, objects, etc.)

Now, how do we avoid this problem to begin with?
1. When adding holes to the plot be sure to use the proper number of
   vertexes according to the par.  The usual problem is an extra inadvertent
   point being set on the green caused by moving your mouse just
   a tad between setting the pin position and saving the hole.  To
   avoid this set your pin position with one hand with the mouse and then
   (without flinching) use your other hand to save the hole with the F3 key.
2. When doing the detail work on a hole, follow your centerline and/or
   be sure to check and reset the vertex points after you have designed
   the fairway shape.
3. The first vertex should be placed not more than about 250 yards off the tee.
   If you go out further (say 300), then the second shot target will still
   be set in the direction of the first vertex.  You need to have the
   vertexes close enough that the first shot goes past them.  This is the
   problem that causes some shots to be aimed in crazy directions by the
   program.

One other thing, some folks have set too many positions and then just put
the extras on top of the pin #1 position.  That's the worse place to store
extras.  Best to put on the champ tee, or on a par 4, stack the second vertex
on top of the first.  Why, because if you set them on pin #1 the program will
miscalculate the distance to the pin on all pin positions other than #1 by
routing via Pin #1's vertex.  This can easily cause a 10-15 yard error in
the distance calculation and greatly damages the playability of the course.

Please let me know if this generates any questions.

   Paul Conrad  aka  Treefrog   Accolade JNSE Lib-Op,  Prodigy RHJG42A