golfing

While you might be enjoying eating various confections of bunny this weekend, IBM's CEO, Virginia Rometty, has to wear casual business attire and mix with men for whom she is an unwelcome species.

For Rometty's company, you see, sponsors the U.S. Masters. The U.S. Masters tournament is played at the charming Augusta National Golf Club. And the Augusta National Golf Club hasn't -- as far as we know-- invited Rometty to join.

It's not that Augusta has anything against IBM's fine CEOs. The last four have all been offered club membership. It's … Read more

During a drive program in the Santa Cruz mountains, I had the chance to drive the 2012 Volkswagen Golf R and GTI, if not back-to-back, at least on the same day. The Golf R proved a speedy, sure-footed little hatchback, but ultimately I had more fun in the GTI.

On paper, the Golf R looks great: 256 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque from its turbocharged, direct-injection, 2-liter, four-cylinder engine, all-wheel drive for added cornering grip, and a six-speed manual, the only transmission available, setting the tone for driver engagement.

With 56 more horsepower than the GTI, I expected the Golf R to show a lot of lag from a larger turbo.… Read more

Led by coordinating producer, Lance Barrow and commentators Jim Nantz and Sir Nick Faldo, the CBS Golf team is a tight-knit family. They travel the PGA Tour together for weeks just as the players do, hopscotching from course to course across America. Recently I caught up with them at the Northern Trust Open at Riviera in Pacific Palisades, north of Los Angeles. Production Manager Bob Thiele, another all-star in our business, gave me an update on how the team works, as well as the latest in tech innovations.

Among the most interesting recent advances is the use of fiber cable … Read more

So you like the new Volkswagen Beetle, but you wish it were a bit more fuel efficient?

If so, you should stay tuned to next week's Chicago Auto Show because that's where VW will be debuting its new 2013 Beetle TDI.

As the name suggests, this new Beetle variant will be powered by one of Volkswagen's TDI engines--and no, unfortunately it's not that TDI engine. The Beetle TDI's power train is essentially a cut-and-paste of the engine that lives beneath the bonnet of the 2012 Golf TDI and 2012 Jetta TDI. The much-loved 2.0-liter … Read more

Sometimes the bare essentials are all it takes to make a great video game. In this collection, our hero is the stickman.

Everyone knows that in today's hottest games (for any platform), high-quality graphics are at a premium. Whether it's a first-person shooter, an MMORPG, or even a console golf game, realism and fancy graphics seem to be key to getting people to buy the product. But if you've played games for a while, you know that graphics aren't everything.

A whole slew of games in the iTunes App Store have enjoyed a ton of success by completely ignoring fancy graphics and instead focusing on the gameplay aspect. Some developers have even distilled graphic concepts down to the most basic level--stick figures--to prove that it's not about antialiasing and bloom, and more about having fun using clever game mechanics.… Read more

Several PlayStation Vita games are seeing preorder price cuts (and one disappointing price increase) before the launch of the next-generation handheld gaming device planned of February 22.

Little Deviants, Wipeout 2048, Modnation Racers: Road Trip, Reality Fighters, and Hot Shots Golf: World Invitation, which cost $39.99 previously, are currently available for $29.99 (via Amazon, GameStop and others).

Sadly, it seems that the highly anticipated Uncharted: Golden Abyss for Vita rose in price from $39.99 to $49.99. There's little doubt that the next game in the Nathan Drake saga will be stunning and sell moderately well, but I feel a $50 retail price will turn off many gamers.

There is a certain sweet spot at $29 that Sony will have difficulty ignoring as time passes. I cannot envision a sustainable business model selling $50 triple-A portable games, regardless of the visuals or experience. … Read more

Flick Golf Extreme is the sequel to Flick Golf, a very well-made arcade golf game. But instead of the usual golfing experience of trying to work your way to the green in the least amount of shots, in the Flick Golf games your goal is to get as close to the hole as possible in one shot--ideally with a hole-in-one. Flick Golf Extreme takes the game a step further by moving off the grassy links in traditional golf games to taking shots in all sorts of strange environments.

The interface and controls in Flick Golf Extreme were made for the … Read more

Super Stickman Golf is a 2D golf game that's really easy to pick up and play, with tons of fantastical themed courses, interesting power-ups, and excellent physics-based gameplay. Though the game has a huge amount of arcade-like features, the goal is always the same: try to get the ball in the hole in as few shots as possible. The challenge is that it can be much harder than it looks.

Rather than your standard 3D layout seen in many golf games, Super Stickman Golf offers up a 2D platformer experience. The courses often have multiple levels you'll need … Read more

Does your dad like golf? With Father's Day this weekend and the summer finally hitting its stride, heading out to the links is probably on a lot of dads' minds. But why let your dad's golfing be limited to the weekend or the warm months of summer when you can bring the links to him on his iOS device?

This week's collection of apps is all about playing a quick game of golf during downtime. The first app lets you play through nine-hole courses in strange, multilevel fantasy 2D worlds. The second lets you join one of the best golfers around, in a more involved golf simulation, playing on real-world courses. The last, out this week, is the sequel to an excellent pick-up-and-play golf game, perfect for when you need a quick fix.

Super Stickman Golf (99 cents) is a 2D golf game that's really easy to pick up and play, with tons of fantastical themed courses, interesting power-ups, and excellent physics-based gameplay. Though the game has a huge number of arcadelike features, the goal is always the same: try to get the ball in the hole in as few shots as possible. The challenge is that it can be much harder than it looks.

Rather than your standard 3D layout as seen in many golf games, Super Stickman Golf offers up a 2D platformer experience. The courses often have multiple levels you'll need to reach and obstacles you'll need to avoid to finally get on the green.

The interface consists of arrows on the left to adjust the arc of your shot, a button in the middle for bringing in bonus items, and a "Go!" button you'll need to hit twice for each shot: once to start the swing, and a second time to adjust shot power.… Read more