Comments on: I am Tiger Woods. Or at least a slacker cubicle dwelling simulacrum thereof.

I am Tiger Woods. Or at least a slacker cubicle dwelling simulacrum thereof.

Keith Talent — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:54:24 -0800

World Golf Tour in cojunction with Taylormade have released a beta version of photorealistic flash competitive golf simulator As of now, nothing but a closest to the pin challenge is available, but they promise full playable courses are coming soon. It promises to be World of Warcraft, but for chubby middle aged men, enabling play with friends in real time. Avid golfers may never be productive again. Fortune Magazine checks it out.

By: Keith Talent

Keith Talent — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:58:35 -0800

Plus, their about us section scores and almost perfect score for contemporary corporate jargon, with a slight deduct from the Russian judge for omitting the word paradigm. "...World Golf Tour™ (WGT) offers the world's most photo-realistic online golf experience. WGT seeks to democratize the game of golf via the Web, making golf accessible and affordable for all, and to build an online community based on its engaging, interactive golf experience..."

By: geoff.

geoff. — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:59:32 -0800

On the same topic, what's the current state of those golfing simulators which require you to hit into the projector screen? What are they called? Are they cool? I've always wanted to look into renting or buying one, but have never found out if they are gimmicky or actually can help you play better (or just plain fun).

By: Keith Talent

Keith Talent — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:17:06 -0800

In my experience, they're kinda cheesy. They're popular at golf shops to sell you new equipment. I'm not Tiger Woods on one, I'm better. At golf shops they set them up with extreme forgiveness, it's almost impossible not to stroke it 320 down the middle, something that would take me three shots to do in real life. (Drive 220 into bunker, blast out and shank a seven iron another 100 down the fairway for the total 320 in the middle.)

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:28:54 -0800

I like the little groovy tune. I do not like that my choice of "customized" avatar is limited to boring white guy, boring white guy or a fellow who best resembles a young Louis Gossett, Jr.

By: oddman

oddman — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:37:37 -0800

This is a giant time sink hole (I liked it).

By: photoslob

photoslob — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:58:17 -0800

Meh. The whole reason I bought a Wii was so I could hold a controller in my hand and swing a club virtually in Tiger Woods golf. It's almost like real golf accept without the boring rich white guys.

By: photoslob

photoslob — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:59:53 -0800

except. except. except. sigh.

By: Sk4n

Sk4n — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:04:40 -0800

Funny - The Guardian had a piece on this today as well. Thanks for recycling the press release.

By: Ironmouth

Ironmouth — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:20:54 -0800

It promises to be World of Warcraft, but for chubby middle aged men Its not for chubby middle-aged men?

By: evilcolonel

evilcolonel — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:38:27 -0800

Time sink is right. Pretty realistic images, though. I can reach Semi-pro, but that's it so far.

By: notmtwain

notmtwain — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:51:01 -0800

On the same topic, what's the current state of those golfing simulators which require you to hit into the projector screen? I think that they are a terrific way to practice in the off season and are a hell of a lot more fun than driving ranges. Hitting a real ball with your own clubs to precise targets requires a mix of shot selection, swing speed and finesse that you just can't get at a range. The one I play at in New Bedford, MA (Oceans 18) offers five different hitting surfaces (fairway to high rough). A chance to imagine playing at many of the world's great courses makes for an entertaining time. Getting off the beach at Pebble is no picnic if you slice.

By: skynxnex

skynxnex — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:47:54 -0800

I've probably played this a bit too much, but it's moderately fun. My best so far is 208.01, so Pro, which they say is 8742th in their standings, so not bad. I've finally gotten my potential best (that is, my best score from each hole) is now 99.95, which was more or less my goal for today (get that below 100). By the way, that 99.95 wouldn't even get one in the top 250, so I've got a bit to go.