GolfingNewbies.com -> Video Games

Play a Golf Video Game When Not on the Course
Have fun with a golf video game during winter or rain...

For over 25 years, golf video games have existed. They grew in use when the personal computer
was introduced in 1981. Golf video games are now common on all gaming platforms, including the
personal computer. For about the price of a round of golf, you can buy a golf video game for the
personal computer, the SONY Playstation series of gaming systems, Microsoft�s Xbox systems, the
Nintendo Wii (and others), Gamecube, etc. Some of these games are, admittedly, based on
miniature golf, due to the limitations of the platform. But there are some very robust golfing
simulators out there that can actually help train you in the science, if not the art, of golf. Unlike a
single round of golf, a golf video game can be played again and again, without any additional
monetary expense.

What do you do to satisfy your craving for golf if you live in a climate where winter cold shuts down
the courses for four to six months of the year? How many times have you scheduled a round of golf
but the weather didn�t cooperate? Have you ever had one or two of your foursome cancel out at
the last minute, leaving you and your buddy in a lurch? The answer to these dilemmas might very
well be a cool golf video game. Though many people think that video games in general are for the
younger generation, you might be surprised how interesting and engrossing a good golf video
game can be. If you could get the remaining members of your foursome to hold a joystick or
keyboard instead of a golf club, you could still feel the spirit of golf competition around the
computer monitor or the television. Although there isn�t the physical workout that a good round of
golf gives you, the mental exertion is quite similar in a golf video game as in actual play on a golf
course. If you want something a little closer to the real thing, there are also golf simulators, usually
at a golf store or sporting facility, in which you can actually swing and hit a golf ball into a screen
that looks very much like a real golf course. Run by computers, the scenery and the ball trajectory
is simulated and the resting place of your ball is on the screen, ready for your next virtual stroke.

Do you like the idea of going to different golf courses to try your skills? It�s effortless to make the
visit in a golf video game. Most golf video game programs have a menu of different courses you
can play. Some systems even have a course design function to allow you to design your own golf
course! So, if you don�t like the way you consistently bogey a certain hole, just modify the hole to
your liking!

Just like in the "Wizard of Oz" movie, �there�s no place like home�, so golf video games can never
replace the real game of golf, which has its home on the outdoor golf course. But, if you can use
your strategic golfing skills, control your fingers, and use your eye-hand coordination to advantage,
you can become a scratch golfer in a golf video game, even if doing that is way down the road in
the real game.