THE GOODS : Golf Simulation Games: Not Just for Geeks Anymore

I have long believed that the habitual playing of computer games based on real-world recreational activities--bicycling, fishing, baseball and the like--puts one dangerously close to get-a-life status.

Computers are wonderful tools that enable us to simulate activities most of us will never get to do, such as fly a space ship, explore the rain forest, visit obscure museums, play chess with a master and even make a rock video.

But golf? On a computer? Excuse me, I have to go put more tape on my glasses.

Indeed, whenever one of the several golf simulation programs on the market came into the office for possible review, I automatically placed it on the desk of Bob--a colleague, friend and avid golfer. He normally returned the next day to describe in hilarious detail just how awful and unrealistic the computer game was.

Then along came the first of the “Links” golf simulations, a series produced by the Access Software company (which last year also produced “Under a Killing Moon,” an interactive movie CD-ROM that for a short period was the state of the art).

Bob waxed rhapsodically about this first “Links” program and its successors--how ingenious they were, how they allowed you to view great golf courses all over the world, how much fun they were to play.

The only real-life golf courses I had ever played came equipped with revolving windmills and giant clown faces. But when the latest in the “Links” line--the “Links Pro” CD-ROM for Macintosh that simulates play at the Banff Springs course in Alberta, Canada, and Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, S.C.--I decided to see if even a non-golfer could enjoy it.

Except for a few minor qualms (I could have done without the caddie’s tired wisecracks on the soundtrack), this is a spectacular CD-ROM.

Entering the game, you choose which of the courses you want to play (I picked Banff), and then you choose if you want to play solo, with friends (who can even be playing from a remote location via a network line) or against various computer opponents. You then pick which clubs will be in your bag--official rules limit you to 13 of them.

Then it’s off to the first tee with its nicely rendered, digitized views of the course, including snow-capped mountains in the background. You can also choose to see overhead and topographic views, and even watch an animated “flyby” that gives you a helicopter-based look at the entire hole, just like in the big tournaments on TV.

Now comes the tricky part. “Links” has an ingenious swing mechanism, controlled by your mouse. The idea is to depress the mouse button just long enough for the backswing indicator on the bottom of the screen to reach its highest point. As the indicator drops, you click it again to make contact with the ball, striving to connect at the exact bottom of the swing.

Oddly enough, the real-life and “Links” swings do have similarities.

In both, the achievement of a good shot relies on a combination of luck and skill (though it certainly takes far longer to learn the skills of real golf). Any slight variance from perfection will lead to a shot that might be too short or long, or one that might veer to the right or left.

Whatever your shot, you can watch it travel through the air and then hit the surface. You can then watch a replay from up above or from the fairway looking back at the tee.

This part of the program is especially clever. As your ball flies through the air, you can even see its shadow trailing along across the ground.

Putting is especially tricky. On the first hole (414 yards, par 4), I reached the green in six shots, but then it took another 11 to get it in the cup!

But the learning curve is not steep. I got a par on Hole 15 (402 yards, par 4), and bogied several of the last holes.

I don’t think I’ll become a habitual player of “Links” courses, but it might make an especially thoughtful gift for computer-equipped golf fans in parts of the country where courses become cross-country ski attractions during the winter months.

By the way, while several of the “Links” courses are now Mac-friendly, most of programs in the series are available only in DOS versions.

* Cyburbia’s Internet address is David.Colker@latimes.com.