They could work out a licensing agreement with the Professional Miniature Golf Association.  Yes, they do exist.

how do u hit rough/bunker shots? the ball wont go far hitting from those obstacles.

That is exactly what i meant with "proper mini golf". The course would be like the "Putt-Putt" chain of mini golf courses. No pirate ships, clowns, moving targets, etc. I would love a game like that.

I don't think aligning with the PMGA will help sell games though, very few poeple even know there is such a thing.

The best way to help a mini golf game sell would be for whoever makes it (I would like to see EA do it as they have the golf motion plus putting going for them already and seem to be taking the Wii seriously) using a popular franchises (in my earlier post I said the Sims) to market it.

What I worry about with mini golf is that it will be like Carnival Games mini golf, just thrown together with broken controls. Or married to licenses like Barbie.

You need to check the percentage of how much of the ball is visable/buried.  It's in the top right or bottom right corner, can't remember which.  If it hits the fairway, this percentage is normally 99%...but in the bunker or rough its can be anywhere from 60%--which is a terrible lie-- or 90% which is not so bad.  If the percentage is on the lower side of the spectrum, you'll generally want to club up, and go with a lower numbered iron (usually you wont want to use a wood from the rough, and you would never want to  the from a bunker). 

If you use a strong enough club and give it full swing, you can get it out of the bunker pretty well.  Sometimes though, the ball is just too buried to dig out as much as you want, thus you just have to lay-up and put it somewhere safe for your next shot.

One more thing I'll note, is that if it is a particularly deep bunker (and if it is close enough to the green) you might want to change your shot from a pitch to a flop by pressing the 1 button.  Sometimes if you use a pitch shot and too strong a club, you can hit the edge of the bunker and have it roll back in.  A flop shot is safer because your golfer will get under the ball and make it fly with more loft. 

Conversely, if you're in the rough off a drive and the ball ends up under a tree, you might want to try a "punch" shot, which keeps the ball lower, so it's not hit by foliage. 

Hope that helps.  I will say that this year's iteration is probably harder because they made club selection a more important part of your game, just as it is in real golf.  In the older versions, the auto-select club seemed to be more consistantly helpful than it is this year. I kind of like that it's not as easy though; it gives it more depth and makes it more realistic. 

That said, a downhill par 3 in the wind with water in play is really a sonuvabitch now.   It makes me want to break a rake and throw it into the woods.

Aligning with the PMGA would be done to add a level of credibility to the product.  Also, you can hire them on to provide consulting advice on the game, and throw in literature about their association in the manual.  The license should be dirt cheap to pick up.  I believe they way the PMGA plays it is not of the gimmic stuff, just nasty holes to put on that are challenging.  I do remember seeing them play on TV at one time, and the courses were VERY challenging.

To say why I suggest this, is that even Foosball has an association, and they were licensed for a game.

There was a foosball game? Really?