When the weather's foul on the fairways, let your Mac provide a virtual day on the green
Christopher Breen
PERSONALmac
Before we begin, I should probably mention that I'm one of the least skilled golfing enthusiasts on the planet. I generally warn fellow golfers not to cross my path on the links if Kevlar isn't a major component of their wardrobe. But I may have to drop that joke soon. Why? Because of my exposure to a handful of above-par golf programs for the Mac. Whether you're after instruction, history, or darn-fine electronic simulations of the game, the Mac offers something for the Greg Norman and Patty Sheehan within us all.
Addressing the Ball
Before stepping up to the first tee, it's good to know the rules of the game and some basic techniques. Fortunately, several virtual golf instructors await those with CD-ROM drives and a will to learn.
SportWare Golf d (Rating: Very Good (4 of 5 mice); $39.95 list), from HarperCollins Interactive (800-424-6234 or 212-207-7000), is a grab bag of golfing goodies. This CD-ROM features not only tips on technique, etiquette, and the basics of play but also a history of the game, a guide to many popular clubs (the kind you swing), and a guide to many popular clubs (the places where you swing).
Your SportWare host is Jim McLean -- the 1994 PGA Teacher of the Year -- who dispenses solid advice for all levels of golfers through a combination of QuickTime movies and illustrative slide shows. Duffers looking for practical tips will want to go straight to the Practice Tee section, where Jim guides you through the Long Game, the Short Game, and Course Management (practice methods and calming techniques for the hotheaded).
SportWare Golf has something for every golfer -- there's even a copy of McLean's The Putter's Pocket Companion in the box. The only bogey in the product is that some of the multimedia aspects of the CD-ROM don't work as well as they could. Pages that claim to have menus don't, and it's not always easy to figure out where you're supposed to click.
Also worth checking out is Golf Tips: Breaking 100 (Rating: Very Good (4 of 5 mice); $59.95 list), from DiAMAR Interactive (800-234-2627 or 206-340-5975). Although this CD-ROM lacks the rich interface and multimedia gewgaws of SportWare Golf, it more than compensates with serious instruction.
The program contains four major areas -- 5-Day Lesson, Analyze Your Trouble, Build Your Own Workshop, and Play the Hole. The 5-Day Lesson painstakingly leads you through pictorial lessons (with some QuickTime supplements) encompassing the nuances of grip, stance, and swing; driving; fairway and trouble shots; chips and wedges and negotiating sand; and putting. The program includes instruction from pros Adam Schriber and Patti McGowan.
If you'd rather not take the five-day course, move to Analyze Your Trouble or Build Your Own Workshop. In these areas, you can design a set of lessons appropriate to your needs. The fourth component, Play the Hole, is a gimmicky QuickTime VR module that has you hack through a single hole by using the techniques you've learned. One time through Play the Hole is plenty. Then, head for some real holes -- for which Golf Tips includes three actual golf balls (with logo, of course).
We've now heard from the instructors, but where is the voice from the circuit? Fear not, the biggest moneymaker in professional golf is available for consultation in the two-volume
Lower Your Score With Tom Kite (Rating: Very Good/Acceptable (3.5 of 5 mice); $40 estimated street), from Intellimedia Sports (800-269-2101 or 404-262-0000).
Kite and Bob Rotella -- a sports-psychology consultant -- guide you through the technical and mental aspects of driving and putting in the Full Swing and Putting volume and address the more esoteric aspects of the short game and trouble shots in the Shot Making volume. Each CD-ROM set (two discs per set) features short QuickTime clinics on specific aspects of the game. Although the presentation rambles at times and diagrams might have been more effective than some of the movie sequences, Kite brings an insider's perspective that's missing from the other two packages.
Tournaments and Tours
Now that you've got your skills down, how about paying homage to one of golf's greatest courses? I'm speaking of the Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters tournament. The Masters (Rating: Very Good (4 of 5 mice); $39.95 list) -- assembled by the Tokyo Broadcasting System and Creative Multimedia (503-241-4351) -- is a loving look at a golf shrine, its classic tournament, and the fearless golfers who've battled its unforgiving greens. The CD-ROM sports a history of each tournament and is chock-full of trivia, statistics, and player history.
For information on other tournaments, check out some golf sites on the Web. My favorites are GolfWeb (http://www.golfweb.com/) and The Golf Circuit (http://www.sdgolf.com/). In addition to tournament information, both sites offer tips from the pros, classified ads, travel information, and guides to equipment.
Play the Course
When all you need is a quick golf fix, try Links Pro CD (Rating: Outstanding/Very Good (4.5 of 5 mice); $69.95 list), from Access Software (800-800-4880 or 801-359-2900), and PGA Tour Golf III u (Rating: Very Good (4 of 5 mice); $49.95 list), from Electronic Arts (800-245-4525 or 415-571-7171).
Both games place you on a variety of famous golf courses around the U.S. PGA Tour Golf III contains three championship courses, with no option for adding more, whereas Links Pro offers just two courses, with the option to play on separate, add-on courses such as Pebble Beach ($39.95 list) and Firestone Country Club ($29.95 list).
Since no one has yet designed a joystick in the form of a golf club, you must control both games by using the mouse. The idea is simple, although the execution can be tricky. After you've selected a club -- based on your own infallible instincts or on the advice of the game's caddie -- you click and hold the mouse to begin your backswing. When you think you've reached the apex of your swing, you let go of the mouse button and the club arcs downward. At the right moment (as shown by the game's stroke meter), click the mouse button again and watch the ball fly to its appointed destination -- or somewhere less ideal if things go awry.
The two games are similar in several ways -- both have caddies who make questionable club decisions, both offer flybys of the courses, and both make you dress in clothing that in other walks of life would be laughable. LINKS Pro has the edge over PGA Tour Golf in a few important areas. To begin with, LINKS Pro is networkable -- you can play against seven real-life players across a network or via modem. LINKS Pro also lets you choose your clubs with voice commands, opt for a female identity as a virtual player, and speed things up by copying the game to your hard disk. Don't get me wrong; PGA Tour Golf III is great -- but the trophy goes to LINKS Pro CD.
The 19th Hole
OK, I know what you're thinking. Golf is supposed to be an activity where one sucks in great lungfulls of untainted oxygen while sharpening one's powers of concentration. Why practice such a patently out-of-doors activity in-of-doors? Well, in addition to avoiding bad weather and obscene green fees, there's a third advantage very close to the heart of rank beginners such as myself: There's absolutely no danger of driving your Titleist through the plate-glass window of the nearest townhouse.
