Mario Golf
As a gamer and a sports fan, it’s always great to see video games elaborate and put spins on my favorite sports. Games like NBA Jam, and their over the top dunks, flaming hoops and 2-on-2 games, or NFL blitz with fast action and brutal hits. It was even greater when Nintendo got everyone’s favorite plumber involved with games such as Mario Tennis and Mario Kart.
But one game that I always loved that had almost no changes aside from the scenery and the characters was Mario Golf on the Nintendo 64. It’s funny because I was never a golf fan growing up. I never played any golf games on any system. To me, golf was always boring. And yet for some reason, adding Mario, Luigi, Bowser and the rest of the crew seemed to change the entirety of the game for me.
Playing 18 holes, perfecting my game, I was always striving to do better and beat my personal best. I would study the courses, and my entire game was spot on. From tee shots, to approach, to sinking those 25 ft putts, I studied like a pro. This was the first game I strived to get all the characters, all the way up to Metal Mario. This was also the first game I believe I 100 percent completed. And this is one of the few games that got me through those impossible high school and college years.
While it could be and occasionally was a multiplayer game, with my brother challenging me on the links, I usually tended to play this game solo, and enjoy the quiet strolls through the different courses, playing as Maple, and dominating the competition. I’ll admit it. Maple was my main. She could hit a clean 245 yds off the tee with no draw or fade to worry about.
I tried Mario, DK, and Wario, the big heavy hitters, but unless you planned to miss on a perfect tee shot, it was too easy for your shot to go off course into the rough. I know they had the advantages too on some of the dog leg courses or the Par 5 courses, getting on the green in 3, but I know my strengths, I know what Maple could do, and I always managed to win with her.
Even now, I find myself desiring to take a leisurely Sunday stroll around the links, clubs in hand, maybe stop by the Yoshi cup and see if I can still dominate the course. I don’t play as often as I’d like, but in the words of the famous hero Casey Jones, “I’ll never call golf a dull game again.” Thank you Nintendo and thank you Mario, for teaching me to love the game that is golf.
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