My Golf Game Is Pure Pleasure
By John M. Williams
I love playing games on my computer. Chess, Mahjong, Free Cell and Checkers are my favorites. I am adding My Golf Game to my list. I was introduced to the game several months ago. Since then it has undergone numerous changes for the better, and all of them have added to the pleasure of playing it.
I have golfed four times in my life. In my mid twenties my bosses at a newspaper where I worked tried to persuade me that I should take up golfing. My first time on a golf course, we played nine holes, and my score was around 86. Twice, I played 18 holes, and my score was about 126. Golf was not my game.
I have watched scores of golf games over many years and greatly admire the combination of discipline, concentration and eye/hand coordination required to play the game well enough to become champion. I am a Tiger Woods fan.
Each time I play My Golf Game, I am tested mentally and physically. My patience is also tested. The game is so real to me that sometimes I feel as though I am on a golf course playing.
Let’s begin at the beginning – the installation. The people who designed the game followed the Keep It Simple Stupid rule. To install the game, you plug a flash drive into a USB port. Your next step is inserting a code into three boxes and clicking an install button. It takes about eight minutes to complete the installation. Now you are ready to play.
There are three levels to this game. Each level requires concentration, good vision and good hand/eye coordination. Level 1 gives golfers an opportunity to test their putting, driving, chip shot and sand trap skills... Players can achieve their goal on any one of five tries. If the player fails to achieve the goal in the tries, the player can start over or move on.
Throughout My Golf Game, a moving arrow guided by the player and a power source determine the direction the golf ball will go and the distance the ball will travel. It is easier to determine the direction of the ball then it is the distance particularly distances of 25 yards or shorter. Putting the ball in the hole at distances of 25 yards or less is my nemesis. Too often it takes me three shots or more.
Level 2 introduces you to four male and four female golfers. Renowned South African golfer Ernie Els is one of the eight golfers. He is also associated with the game. Each golfer has a first name. The golfers (avatars) look real. Players can create their own golfers. I have done so, and it is fun. From one through four players can play. I prefer playing with one or two others. Playing with more than two drags the game, especially if you have only one mouse.
Because I am competitive, I want to play with another player.
Level 3 introduces players to well-known golf clubs. They are Brandon Dunes, Firestone, Pine Hurst and West Chester Country Club. There is some history on each golf club. The players can tee off at one of these four courses. A player can win a trophy.
The golfers can play 9 holes. The holes range in distance from 302 yards to more than 500 yards. Achieving par on most holes is difficult for me. Too often, I shoot a bogey or double bogey. I keep retuning because I want to shoot par or less on 9 holes.
The atmosphere of each game is surreal. There is crowd noise after each shot. The crowd voices pleasure and displeasure over each shot. There is some crowd movement in the foreground as a player tees off. The facial expressions and body gestures from the golfers reveal their feelings over good and bad shots.
My Golf Game can be played by people with disabilities who have the use of both hands and who have a touch screen program, on-screen keyboard, foot pedals, voice recognition, eye gaze and other accessible providing assistive technologies. I would like to see golfers with disabilities in future games,
The game runs on Windows 7, Vista and XP systems.
My Golf Game is the brainchild of Vtree LLC, headquartered in Bensalem, PA. The game sells for $44.95. Its web site is http://www.vtreellc.com/.