| General Fiction posted October 20, 2023 | Chapters: |
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The ultimate simulator
A chapter in the book Saving Mr. Calvin
Saving Mr. Calvin - Chapter 44
by Jim Wile
| Background A story about the origin and the future of the game of golf |
See Author Notes for the list of characters and unfamiliar terms.
Recap of the past few chapters: After Kevin and Ernie’s return, they all finish the round of golf and retire to the clubhouse where they sit down for a beer and discuss the latest trip to Altoona.
After discussing the most recent trip, they realize the most important aspect of that was Abby and Kenny’s swing suit. None of them has heard of it in 2032, which begs the question: whatever happened to it? Art Calvin is asked to explain his take on their time travels, but before he gets to that, he discusses his take on the state of the game today. He is pessimistic, not only because of all the environmental restrictions but also because of the current generation’s emphasis on fast-paced, short attention span, instant success approach to life which appears to be at direct odds with the nature of the game. He is on the verge of giving it up himself. He leaves after that, putting the guys in a funk, and they leave soon after.
Kevin goes to his favorite thinking spot to think about the lessons of the trips and decides he must do something with the knowledge and inspiration he’s gained to save the game from extinction. He begins conceiving of a way to preserve the game and works on it until 2:00 AM. The next morning, he calls his two friends to join him and discuss their travels, which they do with fond remembrances of not only their travels but of golf in general. Kevin reveals to them that he has conceived of a solution for keeping the game alive for future generations: what he calls the “ultimate simulator.”
Chapter 44
“Okay, Kevin,” said Paul. “You’ve piqued my interest. What’s your concept of ‘the ultimate golf simulator?’”
“Before I get into that, let’s talk about the negative parts of the game first. We’ve just been discussing a few of the things we love about it, but Mr. Calvin also spoke of the game containing the seeds of its own destruction, including slow play and the difficulty of learning to play it well. We certainly observed those in our travels. Let’s start with slow play. Paul, what do you attribute that to?”
“As the Snogs showed us, it often comes down to personality. Some people are slow by nature and enjoy taking their time. When you couple that with a strong desire to do a thing well, that means they’ll likely take time to examine every factor that might affect a shot. But unless you are a pro or a very good amateur, which only a very small percentage of golfers are, much of the extra time to get everything just right is meaningless and won’t affect the outcome. As my host, Putt, observed, the Snogs could take extra minutes to read a putt from every angle, but chances were very strong they would miss it anyway. Like Putt, I like to play fast, and I know how to efficiently manage my prep time for a shot and what might pay off by taking extra time and what probably won’t. Some people try to play like a pro because it makes them feel like a pro. But a pro can take all that time because he’s good enough for it to make a difference in his score and because it means money.”
I added, “Unfortunately, the slow ones are not the only ones on the course, and all it takes is a few of them out there to slow down the entire field. Makes it hard to complete an 18-hole round on a crowded golf course in under five hours. At least it was when golf courses used to be crowded. That fact alone turned many people off to the game, especially younger people who didn’t have that kind of time to spend."
“But even assuming,” continued Paul, “that everyone was playing in a reasonable amount of time, golf can still take a foursome about four hours to complete a round, especially when walking. For many, that’s still too long. They can’t take that much time out of their busy schedules. And think of all the time wasted in a round of golf: looking for balls, waiting for the group in front to clear the green before hitting, raking bunkers, replacing divots, taking the time to read a range finder, and a host of other similar activities. For most people, wouldn’t it be great to eliminate all that from the game and just concentrate on the enjoyable parts?”
“I know I’d like that,” I replied. “Alright, let’s switch gears for a moment and talk about the difficulties in learning the game. Ernie, you used to break 90 about half the time when we kept score. How tough was it for you to get to your level of ability, and did you ever get discouraged and feel like giving up?”
“Many times, but you wouldn’t let me, if you remember. I wasn’t as athletically inclined as you and Paul; my strengths lay inside my huge brain, but you kept bugging me to get off my fat ass and do something physical for a change. I pretty much stunk at every other sport, but with all your coaching, I was able to become at least a fair golfer. But it wasn’t easy. My body didn’t always respond so well to what I wanted it to do, and I wasn’t always doing what I thought I was doing. That was the beauty of the golf suit. Unlike me, E.J. was a good golfer, so he didn’t really need to use the suit, but the few times he tried it out while I was inside him, I can remember the feeling of it as it took control. I can’t help but think that would be the absolute fastest way to learn a proper swing. I only wonder why we’ve never heard of it before. I sure would like to find out what happened to it.”
“I agree with you about the speed of learning. As Kenny Payne, the swing that E.J. and Abby programmed into it was mine, so it felt quite natural to me when I tried the suit out. Watching Claire improve, though, was amazing. And she may have picked it up even faster if she didn’t have the bad swing habits to undo first. I have to agree with Abby when she said that golf would probably attract a lot more people and keep them if it wasn’t so damn hard to learn.”
“So where are we going with all this, Kevin?” said Paul. “We’ve discussed what’s great about the game and what’s not so great. Does your ‘ultimate simulator’ maintain all the good features of the game and eliminate or reduce the bad features? I think that’s what it’s going to take to keep the game from fading away. One sure advantage is the fact that it will, I assume, be played indoors, meaning it will no longer have all the environmental restrictions that plague it now.”
“That’s true, and I believe it will satisfy the criteria for continuation on all fronts: No more need for water; no more chemicals that may pollute the environment; extended hours, as it can be played at any time of day or year and not just when or where the weather and climate are right for it; options to play either fast or slow depending on the desire of the players in your individual group; no golfers on the course ahead to slow you down or behind to push you; the ability to walk to your ball, take a cart to it, or neither—you can be there instantly; 360-degree simulation of being outdoors, complete with the sights, sounds, smells, and realistic features of nature like wind, sun, and shade—not rain, though; that would play havoc with all the electronics. It will have fairway, rough, and green-height turf; uneven terrain with uphill, downhill, and sidehill shots; real sand bunkers; different flight views, including completely realistic or with options to have flight trails or even a balls-eye view of shots; and finally, if we can get a hold of Abby, E.J., and Kenny’s swing suit, an option to learn to play with the suit on—either just to practice on the practice tee or to play a round of golf with it. So, what do you think?”
Neither of them responded for several minutes. I could tell they were both deep in thought, picturing the features I mentioned and quickly going over in their minds how they might work. I knew they were taking this seriously, and I didn’t try to interrupt their thought processes.
Meanwhile, I went into the kitchen and got myself another sandwich and a beer. When I came back out, Ernie asked, “Are these just nice ideas at this point, or have you begun thinking about how they will all work?”
“Kind of halfway between. I’ve definitely put pencil to paper on a few of the ideas, from the time I got back from playing yesterday until 2:00 this morning, and then again after breakfast. I’ve got some specifics to run by you, but this is all going to take a lot of brainstorming, and I’d be a fool to say I have it all figured out. The big question is: do you want to help me with it?
“I really want to do this. I want to save Mr. Calvin from giving up the game. Did you notice the similarity of his name, ‘Calvin,’ to the original name of the game that Kilian gave it—'kolven’? Do you think that’s just a coincidence? Seems to me to be right in line with the rest of the name similarities we’ve all experienced. It’s almost like he sent us on this mission to understand the game and what it will take to preserve it for future generations. He knew what our professions were because we told him. Maybe he’s been looking for folks like us who could actually do something about saving the game. I don’t know; just a thought.”
“You know, Kevin,” said Paul, “until yesterday, I would have laughed at such a preposterous notion as being sent through time on a mission, but I’m not laughing now. I don’t know if we’ll ever know, but you may be onto something. Maybe we should look him up and get back together with him and talk to him about this.”
“I don’t think we’ll find him again.”
“Why not?” asked Paul.
“Because I don’t think he’s still alive.”
“You mean he died since we last saw him?”
“No. I don’t think he was alive when we played with him yesterday.”
“You mean he was a ghost?”
“I prefer to think of him as the spirit of golf. Remember how he was dressed like the quintessential golfer of old in his plus-fours and his plaid cap? And do you remember how the waitress in the bar after the round only brought us three glasses, and I had to ask her for a fourth? I don’t think he was visible to her.”
“Alright,” said Ernie. “This is easy enough to check. Let’s Google him. He said he was a golf course architect, right? If that’s true, there will surely be a record of him.” He pulled out his phone then, opened his browser, and entered, “art calvin golf course architect” into the search bar.
Sure enough, several articles came up, and Ernie chose one. He skimmed through it quickly until he stopped to read the following to us:
Arthur Calvin (1947–2028) … was the designer of many courses in
southern California and the southwestern states…. One of his best-
known courses was Malimar Park Golf Course in Santa Barbara,
which he designed in 1992.
“God, Kev. You’re right; he’s been dead for four years. When did you suspect?”
“I guess it was early this morning, just thinking about everything.”
“Well, that’s incredible,” said Paul. “We’ve been given a mission by a ghost.”
“Does that mean you’re interested in pursuing this with me?” I asked him.
“Yes. Count me in. This is a fascinating idea. How about you, Ern?”
“Count me in too, but you know, I’d really love to see if E.J. and Abby and Kenny are still around and find out the story of the suit.”
“Alright, guys, let me get this straight. We’re really going to do this together?”
“Let me ask this first,” said Paul. “Ernie and I are both independent contractors and can pretty much do what we please when we please. I’m working on a few things now that I will be finishing up within a month or so. What’s your work situation, Ern?”
“I’m also working on a major job right now, but it’s scheduled to be done in six weeks. After that, I would be free to devote full time to this.”
Paul said to me, “You work for a mid-size company, Kev. How much time could you devote to this?”
“Let’s put it like this: If we’ve done sufficient brainstorming in the next six weeks to know that this is really going to be feasible, I will give notice and quit my job, and we can form our own startup company. We’ll have to consider whether to find a venture capitalist or seek a bank loan for the development of the prototype, or maybe we already have enough savings to finance this phase ourselves. We’ll look at that. I’ve even thought of a name for the company.”
“What?” they both asked at the same time.
“How about AC Golf,” with the AC standing for Art Calvin, the inspiration for the enterprise?”
“I like it.”
“Me too.”
“Okay then. In six weeks or sooner, after some brainstorming, we will make a decision on whether or not to go forward with AC Golf. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” they both said.
CHARACTERS - 2032 California
Kevin Parsons: The narrator of the story. He is a 28-year-old mechanical engineer living in Santa Barbara, CA.
Paul Putnam: A good friend of Kevin who is an electrical engineer.
Ernie Dombrowski: Another good friend of Kevin who is a computer genius.
Art Calvin: An old, retired golf course architect whom the boys meet one day while golfing.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Kevin Parsons: The narrator of the story. He is a 28-year-old mechanical engineer living in Santa Barbara, CA.
Paul Putnam: A good friend of Kevin who is an electrical engineer.
Ernie Dombrowski: Another good friend of Kevin who is a computer genius.
Art Calvin: An old, retired golf course architect whom the boys meet one day while golfing.
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