So You Wanna Play Golf? » Golf Programs

Microsoft Links LS Add-On Course Pinehurst No.2 & 8

The Green King — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 07:06:11 +0000

The Pinehurst add-on features two new courses: Pinehurst No.2, site of the 1999 U.S. Open; and Pinehurst No. 8, a newer course opened in 1997 to celebrate Pinehurst’s centennial. Crowds, camera crews, grandstands, leader boards, and other 3D objects all recreate the U.S. Open atmosphere as you tee off on one of the world’s greatest courses.

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Links LS Extreme

The Green King — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 15:01:16 +0000

Experienced golfers, gamers and beginners will enjoy blowing off steam at Armadillo Al’s Demolition Driving Range, where points are awarded for accurately hitting exploding golf balls into moving targets such as cows, flamingos and uptight course marshals before time expires. The unique modes of play featured on “Microsoft Links Extreme” are Deathmatch Golf, Extreme Golf and Poison Golf, with starting times available on the colorful island fairways of Mojo Bay Country Club and the World War I battlefield course, Dimension X.

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Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition

The Green King — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:52:48 +0000

RDX QUIKSTOR – RDX X 1 – 160 GB – STORAGE MEDIA

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Links 2001

The Green King — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:19:41 +0000

This version of the best-selling golf sim features an entirely new rendering engine that delivers unprecedented ball physics and graphics. The Arnold Palmer Course Designer allows you to re-create your home courses with the same tools used by the Links 2001 team.

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3-D Ultra Minigolf Deluxe

The Green King — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:25:18 +0000

3-D Ultra MiniGolf Deluxe takes the classic game to a new level of fun! Besides your favorite holes, you’ll find unique new holes created with adventure in mind. Experience interactive 3-D animations that will challenge even the most intrepid putter, with hidden holes and other surprises guaranteed to inflate your score.

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Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition

The Green King — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:54:08 +0000

Experience golf as it really is, from the crisp feel of your first drive to the ball’s final roll into the 18th cup. The 1999 Edition of Microsoft Golf has an authentic feel with natural, easy-to-use controls, seven challenging courses, and a wide range of choices for play.

Tee up on the famed Donald Ross Memorial course–a compilation of the best holes created by Donald Ross–or grab your clubs and head for any of the other six championship courses, including Greg Norman’s famed Medallist course in Hobe Sound, Florida. Gorgeous graphics and naturally fluid game play make all 117 holes a realistic, relaxing experience.

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Links 2003

The Green King — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:01:48 +0000

Links 2003 brings you the more and better golfing fun with the latest courses and graphics! It’s simply the realistic golf simulation ever created!

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Family Fun Games Collection

The Green King — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:48:57 +0000

This compilation offers four family game titles for one price: 3-D Ultra Minigolf, 3-D Ultra Pinball, After Dark Games, and Hoyle Classic Games. It includes 18 minigolf holes, eight card games, four arcade games, three pinball tables, three puzzle games, two board games, two word games, and one trivia game.

3-D Ultra Pinball features three tables, multiball play, and sci-fi-style animations. After Dark Games features 11 addictive games, including Roof Rats, Mooshu Tiles, and Toaster Run. 3-D Ultra Minigolf has 18 holes of wacky fun and is very easy to learn, but holds many surprises and secrets that will have you coming back for more. Hoyle Classic Games has 10 great games, including gin rummy, backgammon, checkers, hearts, draw poker, and more. You can challenge the whole family or practice your skills with single-player games.

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Links 2001

The Green King — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:34:12 +0000

Matching ancient sport to the latest in imaging technology, Links 2001 presents a wildly realistic golf experience for your computer. The now-classic series has been overhauled with a new rendering engine that incorporates new terrain, such as cliffs, arches, and bunker overhangs, with higher-resolution panoramas. Also, the new green analyzer will provide a much better feel for each course’s contours than ever before, thanks to hyperaccurate GPS surveys.

You’ll play at authentic renditions of Aviara in San Diego, Chateau Whistler in the Canadian Rockies, and the Prince Course at the Princeville Resort in Kauai, to name a few. And, completing the experience, Microsoft has included the Arnold Palmer Course Architect, a tool you can use to perfect your home course down to the most precise detail.

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Microsoft Links LS Extreme

The Green King — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:43:26 +0000

Golf with attitude!Product InformationA one-of-a-kind fantasy golf experience that blends intense competition with ahumorous departure from golfing etiquette. Purists of the sport beware: This isno skins game!Experienced golfers gamers and beginners will enjoyblowing off steam at Armadillo Al’s Demolition Driving Range where points areawarded for accurately hitting exploding golf balls into moving targets such ascows flamingos and uptight course marshals before time expires. The uniquemodes of play featured on “Microsoft Links Extreme” are DeathmatchGolf Extreme Golf and Poison Golf with starting times available on thecolorful island fairways of Mojo Bay Country Club and the World War Ibattlefield course Dimension X.In Deathmatch Golf players must ration exploding golfordnance and the last player left standing on each hole is victorious. ExtremeGolf is like standard stroke play with one big twist: a golf bag loaded withmagic golf balls! These bizarre balls can be used for strategic advantage or asdiabolical pranks on opponents. In Poison Golf mode the winner of each holebecomes a lethal “poison” on the next hole. There are two ways to win:compete successfully for the lowest score or destroy the opponent with fiveunique exploding golf balls.Product Features On the demolition driving range play golf the way the military plays games – ready…aim…obliterate. Play Extreme golf on the bewitched MoJo Bay Country Club with 18 kinds of balls including 5 kinds of exploding balls to liven things up. A 100-foot skeleton loses its menace and becomes mere target practice in Extreme Golf. Play deathmatch golf in Dimension X – where courtesy to your playing partner gets you six fee under – fast. Go for the win or go for the throat. At the Demolition Driving Range you can turn animatronic targets into toast with atomic golf balls. Windows Requirements Windows 95 98 NT 4.0 SP3 Pentium 200 MHz processor 64 MB of RA

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Weekend Tip: 3 Ways to Jumpstart Your Swing

Roger Schiffman — Sat, 19 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

After watching the perils of Kevin Na last week, and all the pontificating about the trouble he's been having starting his swing, it occurred to me that this is actually a problem common to a...

The LPGA Tour: Indeed, it's different out here

Steve Hennessey — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:38:00 GMT

GLADSTONE, N.J. - Can you picture a PGA Tour pro teeing it up with a group of amateurs on a Friday morning of a tournament week? No? Well that's because that would never happen. It's...

Occupy PGA to protest Senior PGA, demands compensation

John Strege — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:25:00 GMT

A group of citizens from Benton Harbor, Mich., that calls itself Occupy the PGA plans to protest at the Senior PGA Championship at the Golf Club at Harbor Shores next week and has sent a letter to the PGA of America demanding 25 percent of the tournament profits as "partial compensation for stolen land and water" and to help close budget deficits in the city.

The protest organizer, Rev. Edward Pinkney, said that his group does not plan to interrupt play. "We don't want to cause a tremendous disturbance," he said Friday, "we just want to make them sit down with us."

Pinkney said he expects only 300 to 400 protesters to show up on Wednesday, but on Saturday, "we're expecting thousands and thousands of people to show. The main thing we want to accomplish is that we want them to come to the table and sit down with us -- the PGA, along with Harbor Shores, Whirlpool and KitchenAid."

KitchenAid, which has headquarters in Benton Harbor, is the presenting sponsor. Whirlpool is KitchenAid's parent company.

"Benton Harbor is $5 million in the red," Pinkney said. "Our goal is that we can knock off some of that $5 million if they decide to come and help the city."

The letter Pinkney sent to the PGA of America last week was in care of David Charles, senior director of championships for the organization. It demanded "cancellation of the tournament in Benton Harbor. Failing that, we hereby make the following demands on the 2012 Senior PGA:

-- "Transfer 25% of the 2012 Senior PGA profits to the citizens of Benton Harbor as partial rightful compensation for stolen land and water and for the purpose of meeting budget deficits and building affordable housing for the people of Benton Harbor.

-- "We call on each of [the players competing in the tournament] to hear the grievances of the people of Benton Harbor and either withdraw from the tournament or show their support for the demonstration planned for May 23-27, Occupy the PGA.

-- "Acknowledge in an announcement at the Senior PGA event that the people of Benton Harbor have been exploited in numerous ways...including the theft of public park land for private profit and the complete undermining of democratic structures by the installation of an Emergency Financial Manager [in Benton Harbor]."

Julius Mason, senior director communications for the PGA of America, provided this statement regarding the planned protest:

"The PGA of America is excited about it collaboration with a broad section of Benton Harbor in bringing the 73rd Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid to this community, and its positive impact on its citizens. The residents of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph have welcomed the Senior PGA Championship as an opportunity to showcase the area's vibrant history, culture and economic transformation on a national stage."

As for security, "The safety and security of our players and spectators is our No. 1 priority at each of our events. The 73rd Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid is no exception."

Professional golf tournaments tend to provide economic boosts to communities and help fund charities in them, as Mason noted in an email exhange.

"Golf is a big job provider in the State of Michigan where more than 50,000 people make golf their career," he wrote. "So too does the Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid which created more than 250 temporary jobs for people in this community. We're pleased with our work with the Consortium for Community Development to identify and train qualified individuals for positions requiring certain skills. We hope to see this lead to some of these individuals securing future full-time positions in a related field following the Championship.

"Golf and charity are intertwined at every level and our PGA Foundation, in conjunction with [the] Championship, will deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars of support for local charities including the Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor. The PGA of America will also collaborate with The First Tee of Benton Harbor on-site during the Championship.

"Golf is very proud of its positive environmental impact as well managed open green space that provides jobs, tourism, tax revenue, recreational benefits and uses national resources efficiently. The 530-acre Harbor Shores development, a former brownfield and Super Fund site, is a prime example of how golf can improve a community's land assets."

Pinkney said the Occupy the PGA movement already has proven successful. "They've been giving away tickets," he said, claiming responsibility. "Regardless what happens, we've already basically won this battle. Now they have to realize how serious we are and we're also going to be planning for 2014."

The Senior PGA Championship is scheduled to return to the Golf Club at Harbor Shores in 2014. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and was partially built on a portion of Jean Klock Park that the city sold to the Harbor Shores developers. Three of the holes are on park land that Harbor Shores leases from the city.

UPDATE: Jeff Noel, corporate vice president communications and public affairs for Whirlpool and the president of Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment, said in an email that Pinkney has never requested a meeting. "I am always happy to meet with any local community leader...Unfortunately, despite our seeing each other occasionally in the community, Reverend Pinckney has never requested a meeting with me or our organizations," Noel wrote. "If he did, I would welcome the chance to discuss the benefits of the Sr. PGA Tournament as well as ways in which the Harbor Shores development and the not for profit organizations associated with the project have helped raise over $7.5 million to build 3 new facilities for the Benton Harbor Boys and Girls Clubs and First Tee and have provided the private matching funds to help build and or renovate over 600 affordable homes in the community."

Noel also noted that two Harbor Habitat for Humanity homes "are currently under construction near the golf course thanks to volunteers, funding and land donated by Whirlpool Corporation and Harbor Shores."

-- John Strege

Trending: Rhein Gibson's 55, and nine other 'unbeatable' sports records

Derek Evers — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:05:00 GMT

(Rhein Gibson center, flanked by his playing partners Eric Fox, left, and Ryan Munson, right. Photo via GolfOklahoma.org)

Let us all take a moment to congratulate Rhein Gibson for the remarkable 16-under 55 he shot over the weekend at River Oaks GC in Edmond, Oklah. As amazing as it was, it's still only tied for the lowest round of golf ever recorded -- Homero Blancas fired a 55 at the 1962 Premier Invitational, in Longview, Tex. While both rounds are equally remarkable, the Guinness Book of World Records does not recognize Blancas' round because it was shot on a course deemed "too short" (the course, which actually no longer exists, was a 9-hole layout with two different tee boxes on each hole to create the full 18 and was only slightly longer than 5,000 yards). So Gibson's 55 stands alone as the pinnacle of golf records; one that I am going to go on record as saying is unbeatable.

Unbeatable the way Joe Dimaggio's 56-game hitting streak is unbeatable; or Wilt's 100 point game (or his 55 rebound game); or Byron Nelson's 11-straight consecutive tour wins. But these records are all of the sports-bar trivia variety, the kind that even the most novice of fan would be able to answer. Luckily, sports is filled with enough bizarre facts to keep the Elias Sports Bureau in business, so I've collected nine more of the most random unbeatable records to never grace the pages of Guinness. With Gibson's 55, this is a top 10 list for you to throw around the water cooler.

Ambush update: The Ponce is going across The Pond

Matt Ginella — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:31:00 GMT

The Ponce was, and always will be, the first Ambush. It was 16 guys colliding with the courses of Sea Island, boyish camaraderie, enjoying the comforts of the Lodge, shoulder-season specials and a few bottles...

Fitness Friday: Like Bud Cauley, you can generate more clubhead speed

Roger Schiffman — Fri, 18 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. This week he shows you how to increase your clubhead speed, no matter whether you're small in...

From the Archive: Whatever happened to Homero Blancas?

Bill Fields — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Homero Blancas had a good pro career, but nothing could ever eclipse the day he lit up a Texas tournament with a stunning 55.

Sybase defending champ bows out in opening match

Steve Hennessey — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:18:00 GMT

GLADSTONE, N.J. -- Down two after two holes, Jodi Ewart thought she was going to get "absolutely thrashed." She didn't put much pressure on herself coming into the match. She was the third-lowest ranked player...

Ex-NAIA star shoots 55 at River Oaks GC

Alex Myers — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:04:00 GMT

From the May 21 issue of Golf World:

Rhein Gibson is 1,444th on the World Ranking, having missed three cuts and finished T-58 in two Nationwide Tour events and two Australian Tour events in 2010 and 2011. But when it comes to playing River Oaks GC in Edmond, Oklah., he's all-world.

Gibson set the course record of 60 earlier this month, then shattered that mark with a 16-under 55 on May 12 at the 6,850-yard venue. The 26-year-old Lismore, Australia, native is a 2008 graduate of Oklahoma Christian, where he was a NAIA All-American. He made 12 birdies, two eagles and four pars during his stellar round.

Gibson's round is believed to be one of the lowest recorded on a full-length (more than 6,000 yards) course. The only 55 recorded in tournament play was by Homero Blancas in the 1962 Premier Invitational in Longview, Texas.

-- John Antonini
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Distorted Realities

GolfDigest.com — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

What people in golf think they do and what they really do are often two very different things