Changes at Holly Kai

Some exciting changes have taken place at Holly Kai. We have moved the driving range and practice putting green downstairs to where the old #1 Ocean fairway (driving range) and #9 Ocean green (practice putting green) used to be.

 But even more exciting, is the fact that you can now practice on both the driving range and the practice putting green for only 25L for 30 minutes. Come, hang out at the clubhouse, hit a bucket of balls, putt around with your friends, have a drink in the bar or dance in the ball room.

A Memorable Day on the Course

Some days you’re the windshield, some days you’re the bug. A few days ago Kanker, Nber, and newcomer but strong player Amazin Jacks joined me for a round of golf on the new Shore Course.
I was bound and determined not to let Shore  #1 get the best of me the way it had done the prior three rounds when a combination of wind and poor club selection put me in Swindon Burne creek all three times. My drive was safe and I was able to put the ball on the fringe of the green with my second shot and two putted for a par. Already I was 1 or 2 strokes better than my prior three outings.
Shore #2 has always been a fun if somewhat frustrating hole for me. Frustrating in that I KNOW what I have to do to hold that green and rarely can do it, fun in that I watch others still try to find the key that unlocks that hole. This time I hit a conservative 2 iron towards the preferred right side of the fairway leaving me with a 182hm second shot. A bit too long for a 5 iron but a bit short for a 4 iron since the key on this hole involved landing short of the green. I went with the 5 iron hoping to overpower a 102% shot and properly allow for the cross wind.
As soon as I hit it I have a good feeling. The camera spun me around as it often does but my keyboarding intercepted the move and I was on the fly following my ball. It landed exactly where I wanted and as I zoomed towards the ball my only concern was holding the green. Then I saw it happen. The ball curved ever so slightly left and ran straight to the hole. My heart was pounded as I flew in for a landing and read the text at the bottom of the screen: The ball is in the hole! And I heard the roar of the crowd. WOOOOOOOT!
An eagle two!
The day continued on in a similar manner for the next 6 holes and I walked to the 9th tee with a very satisfying 4 under par round going. So there it was, Sawgrass #17. Only 132hms. Just an easy short iron. Allow for the wind, and drop it on the smallish green for a two putt par and the course record! But of course Kanker wasn’t going to let me get away with a simple closer. And at times like this that postage stamp sized green gets even smaller. He obviously could read my mind and could sense the pounding of my heart in RL. He went for the juggler. “No pressure Mark.” “The course record is right there, Mark.” “Don’t let the pressure get to you”. Well meaning encouragement from Nber and Amazin were appreciated but all of it just added to the tension.
All eyes were on me. Turning draw down to 128 to head off any unpredictable HUD arrow lag, I took a couple of practice swings. No apparent lag. Cross wind was 8 miles per hour. Enough to affect a lofted club attack on the hole. I decided a slight over power shot would be better than a 95% 7 iron. I selected an 8 iron. I aimed 10 hm to the windward side of the pin, took a deep breath and clicked on the hud. Click at top, 102%! Good!. Arrow came down, clicked on bottom. Perfect. Heart pounding. Now, did I calculate right? The ball thumped on the narrow strip between the wood wall and the green and rolled up towards the hole stopping just a ball width outside the gimme circle. Wooot!
“Obviously playing under pressure doesn’t bother him” Kanker quipped. One putt later I had walked away with a course record 31 beating Linx Newt’s previous course record by two strokes. Some days you’re the windshield. And those days feel GREAT

Check Those Tee Signs

Each tee has a sign that contains a panel with the hole number, “yardage”, etc. If you click on these signs you get a notecard with information about that hole. Many of these notecards contain hints on how best to play that particular hole. Paying attention to these hints WILL lower you scores.

floG! 1.3.3 Update

The 11-29-06 upgrade to SL introduced a problem into the floG! HUD whereby the arrow would consistantly continue to rotate for an additional 10 “minutes” on the dial (about 20% of the circle). Kanker has fixed the problem with this update. With the new version you will notice a distinct pause of the dial when you click at the top of the swing. Then the arrow will swing down. The new version makes a smoother stop on the down click. Gone is the tiny hiccup after your down click that caused the arrow to jump about one “minute” on the dial.

Watch that Wind!

It’s a common mistake with the floG! golf system to underestimate the effect of the wind on your shot. Watch that wind and realize that on some holes it changes faster than on others. Generally speaking the higher the loft of the shot the more the wind will effect it.

 With a pitching wedge (PW) i allow about a meter of wind effect per mph of wind. So with a 10mph cross wind I will aim 10 meters to the windward side of the pin.

“Golf in Second Life” Blog is Launched

I have launched two blogs on this date, both dealing with the subject of golf in the virtual world known as Second Life. One rather generic in name, Golf in Second Life; and one more specific, Second Life Golf at Holly Kai. It remains to be seen if both blogs will be maintained.

Why two blogs on nearly the same topic? Because at the this moment in time golf at the Holly Kai Golf Club in Second Life is pretty much synonymous with golf in Second Life. That will change. We decided to stake our flag on both a smaller island (the Holly Kai Golf Club) and a larger group of islands, whatever form golf takes in Second Life down the line.

It feels very nice to be the first golf club in Second Life (not counting a rather ignored miniature golf parcel which I will write about at some point). I mentioned that the fact that Holly Kai Golf Club isn’t going to remain the only golf club in Second Life. There is another golf development underway. I will write about it once it launches.

Finally in this inagural posting I want to identify two partners in Second Life golf. Kanker Greenacre is the designer of floG! HUD which is used to play golf at Holly Kai. We have banded together and have a fledgling company called Virtual Golf Associates which I will write about in due course. For a fee we will develop other golf courses in Second Life and eventually in other virtual worlds as well. Contact me for details if you are interested. Secondly I want to identify my Hollywood sim complex (10 sims) business partner Nber Medici. We are joint owners of the sims that make up the complex and work together to bring not only golf to Second Life, but also the oldest and largest Second Life yacht club, Starboards Yacht Club.