Hitting it further in Long Drive, Games by Zaweba

Long Drive is about one thing, which is how far you can hit a golf ball from a driving range with six balls to play. This game on the Skill & sport shelf of Games by Zaweba uses a classic three-click swing, and adds a crosswind to keep you honest. Your score is the total distance of all six drives.

The three-click swing

Each swing takes three clicks, with the mouse or with Space.

The first click starts the swing. A marker begins to move along the power meter.

The second click sets the power. Stop the marker where you want it. Past 100% hits further, but it also magnifies any error, so an overpowered swing that goes slightly wrong goes badly wrong.

The third click sets the strike. As the marker comes back, click as it passes through the green band to hit the ball straight. Click early and you slice the ball. Click late and you hook it.

Reading the breeze in Long Drive

Check the wind on the map before every drive. It can carry the ball further, hold it up, or blow it sideways into the rough. A following wind is a gift: the ball travels further. A headwind takes distance away. A crosswind is the dangerous one, because it pushes the ball towards the edges.

Out of bounds

Balls that land past the red lines are out of bounds and score nothing. With only six balls, one out of bounds drive takes a big bite out of your total. That makes accuracy at least as important as power. A long drive that ends past the red line is worth less than a shorter one that stays in play.

Building a good total

The temptation in Long Drive is to push past 100% on every ball. Try it, and you will see why the game warns against it. A slight mistiming on an overpowered swing can send the ball sideways past the red lines.

A steadier plan is to find a power you can strike cleanly every time, perhaps a little under 100%, and save the extra power for a ball where the wind is helping or blowing straight down the range. With a strong crosswind, ease off the power, since a slower, shorter ball has less time to drift.

Think of the six balls as a set rather than six separate chances. If your first two drives are long and straight, you have a solid total already and can afford to gamble on power later. If one has gone out of bounds, the remaining balls need to be dependable rather than heroic.

Practise the timing of the third click. Once you can hit the green band reliably, you can afford to take more risk with power. Until then, a straight drive at moderate power usually beats a big swing that strays.

Related games on the shelf

Long Drive sits on the Skill & sport shelf of Games by Zaweba, next to Crazy Putt for the other end of a round of golf. Its wind is shared with Bullseye Archery, Hill Cannons and Bin It. When the six balls are done, the game shows your score and your best, so you know how far you have to go to beat it. Press Esc to pause, F11 for full screen and F1 for the rules.