Virtual Reality to a Tee

Disneyland may be right across the street, but to many golf enthusiasts, a far more thrilling attraction can be found in a small, subterranean room of the Anaheim Hilton and Towers.

There, after the drudgery of convention meetings or taking the kids to local amusement parks, the average duffer can escape to a world of two-dimensional virtual reality and play some of the finest courses in Hawaii, Utah, North Carolina and Canada.

“It’s incredible,” said Scott Andres, 44, who was in town for an industrial hygiene conference. “I never thought I’d have the time to play golf on this trip.”

But there he was, standing in front of a large video screen late one evening, smacking balls into a golf simulator while he was betting and drinking with a group of friends. In background sound effects, birds chirped and hecklers mocked his shots.

It’s almost like jumping into a life-size arcade game. Participants stand about 10 feet in front of a 10-by-12-foot video screen showing computer-enhanced images of a hole on a real-life golf course.

Although the ball actually flies only several yards, the simulator’s computer is able to calculate the ball’s flight and distance. The computer then redraws the scene on the golf course relative to the ball’s location and the flag pin on that hole.

“It’s just like being out on a real course,” he said, “except I don’t have to leave the hotel.”

Patrick Hynes, spokesman for the Hilton, said the game--which is among the first of its kind in Orange County--is becoming increasingly popular among guests and is the latest “in hotel amenities.”

In a city like Anaheim, where the competition for the tourist dollar is fierce, the golf simulator caters to the limited free time of conventioneers and parents. In fact, the toughest time to get tee times is usually between 5 p.m. and midnight.

“We’re not trying to replace golf,” said Ric Alessio, co-owner of Golf Centers of America, which leases the space at the Hilton. “We’re just trying to fill a niche for people who are too busy to get out to a golf course.”

Golf simulators have been around since the 1960s, but there are only a few in Orange County. In Irvine are two places, Indoor Golf Center and Swing Works, that have similar golf simulators and are popular among county residents. The one in the Hilton, however, appears to be the first attempt to capitalize on the county’s lucrative tourism industry.

Recently, with advances in computer technology, simulators have become much more sophisticated and realistic. The Hilton simulator, which costs about $42,000, is similar to popular home computer games that also simulate the sport. Home versions, however, are simpler, using joysticks or keyboards and not real golf clubs.

Using the hotel simulator, a person can play an 18-hole round of golf in about an hour. The cost is $25 an hour for the first player and $5 for each additional player.

Alessio said he and his partner, Jim Higgins, have strived for realism in the game since they opened to the public in January. Golfers use their own clubs or borrow a set from the center and play with real golf balls. Different types of synthetic-turf are used to simulate fairway grass, rough and heavy rough. There is even a turf that simulates sand.

The sound effects are equally convincing. Balls are heard crashing into trees, splashing into water and dropping into the cups amid a gallery’s applause. There’s also annoying spectators who make remarks when a player lands in a bunker or hits a tree.

“I’m getting a little tired of that woman telling me I hit a tree,” said a frustrated Hynes, who was playing the game for the first time. “Can you turn her off?”

The simulator uses an elaborate web of infrared beams and a computer to accurately track a ball’s flight. If a person has a nasty habit of slicing or hooking the ball, he or she won’t be able to fool the simulator, Alessio said.

“What you do on the course is what you’ll do here,” he said.

“I think it’s a fantastic game,” said Ron Cleveland, a member of the Professional Golf Assn. and former general manager and head golf pro at Indian Wells Golf Resort. “This is perfect for people who don’t have a lot of time to get to the course or winter comes and the weather is bad.”

Cleveland, who runs his own golf travel agency and is director of instruction for Golf Centers of America, said the game is not only good entertainment, but is also a valuable teaching aid because it measures the exact yardage of a shot and confronts a golfer with real-life golfing scenarios.

“The amateur golfer will be able to find out exactly how far they hit their driver or five iron or whatever club they use,” he said.

Additionally, the simulator can give a player an overhead view of the hole, show an instant replay of his or her last shot and show the impact of wind speed on the flight of the ball.

Perhaps best of all, a simple push on the computer keyboard can give the player a second chance at a shot, known to golfers as the “Mulligan.”

The one area that the simulator lacks some realism is on the putting green. Generally, if a player gets the ball within 12 feet of the hole, the computer adds one stroke to the score on that hole, figuring that the next putt is good.

But as many golfers know, even a 12-inch putt can be testy on finely manicured greens. The computer can be programmed not to allow “12-foot give-mes” (as they are called in golf), but that can significantly slow down the playing time.

At the Hilton, four world-class courses are available: Mauna Kea in Hawaii, Pinehurst in North Carolina, Bountiful in Utah, and Banff Springs in Canada. To capture the realism of a particular course, thousands of photographs are taken and fed into a computer along with a course’s exact dimensions. The program accurately reflects--from every conceivable angle--the position of trees, bunkers and even the pro shop on a course. To further add to the realism, Golf Centers of America sell actual golf shirts from those courses.

Players can even make up their own 18-hole golf course by selecting holes from the four available courses.

But for Ernie Clements, who was playing with several of his friends, Mauna Kea was challenging enough.

“It’s great fun. I know what I’m going to ask my wife for Christmas,” said the 48-year-old from Kings Sport, Tenn. “The only thing that’s missing is the suntan.”

“And you don’t lose your balls,” added a friend.