Updates & Acquisitions

July 16, 2024

And now, a very special episode of the Golfshrine acquisitions update... but first, abject nonsense.

Amateur League Golf, a production of Simon & Schuster Interactive, is a "wacky" golf game from the people who made the Deer Hunter parody, Deer Avenger. But more relevantly to Golfshrine, it is the prequel to what would become Outlaw Golf.	The back of the case describes things that very much became Outlaw Golf staples, such as the Composure Response System and ability to beat up your caddy. It also shows our delightful cast of characters, including Satan. Which potentially means that everybody in this game has a Ryu Number.

I have not actually attempted to play Amateur League Golf, though I am sure it would provide minutes of riotous joy. I was much more excited for the other thing I got in the mail yesterday.

This is Loyal H. "Bud" Chapman's Infamous 18, a golf sim from 2006 by a team called aboutGolf Ltd. They formerly went under the name of Friendly Software Corporation, and were previously responsible for Microsoft Golf 1998 and Greg Norman Ultimate Challenge Golf (the latter of which is also on its way to my mailbox as I write this).	It doesn't sound like much from the way the back of the case describes it; they're awfully proud of the screensaver they included, and the two real-world courses, and the online play that I'm sure approximately nobody used.

But let me tell you what's so interesting about Infamous 18, as a thing.

Loyal H. Chapman, a.k.a. "Bud," is famous among golf circles for an unusual reason. He was a fairly established golfer, though he failed to qualify for the U.S. Open quite a lot of times. He may have even been a fairly strong golfer, even if Wikipedia does not consider him notable enough to have his own page. The vast majority of what I know about Bud Chapman, then, comes from this tribute feature at Golf.com, posted four years ago today, commemorating Bud's life and deeds on the occasion of his unfortunate passing in 2020, at the age of 97.

Bud Chapman, then, was not necessarily famous for actually playing golf. If you have ever heard of him before now, it is probably because of a collection of paintings he made in the early 1980s - the Infamous 18 Holes. The paintings were made for commercial purposes, some on commission; they are to golf, as Brown & Bigelow's "Dogs Playing Poker" series is to playing cards, and they're said to have been hung up on the walls of countless country clubs worldwide. They depict golf holes constructed in all kinds of absurd and unusual locations around the world, from the towering Victoria Falls, to the active volcano Mauna Pele, to the top of the New York City skyline at Wall Street. Chapman's painting prowess is notedly so realistic that many golfers are said to have asked exactly where these holes were located so they could be played. For roughly 26 years, they could not. Not until the release of this game.

Infamous 18, the game, aims to finally make the full course playable, recreating Bud's paintings in full 3D. The in-game flyby button does a pleasant crossfade from Bud's original paintings, into a matching 3D view of the in-game course, while a narrator reads off Bud's accompanying captions to each one. The original paintings are treated with a visible degree of reverence, the likes of which I do not usually see in golf games, let alone in video games in general. The dev team behind this game wanted to convey, at long last, the feeling of really playing these holes, that golfers the world over have seen framed up at their 19th hole of choice. It's a powerful experience. Actually getting to shoot from the tee on a New York rooftop. Trying to clear the thousand-foot drop of the Swiss Alps. Trying to keep a straight shot down the rim of the Grand Canyon. To say that these courses are devious is an understatement. Even Chapman himself is noted to have said about this game: "You know, I have to tell you, this golf course is too hard to play."

But why take his word for it? Below, I've gone to the trouble of recording an entire playthrough of the Infamous 18, in 1080p high definition, purposefully choosing the 3-click swing instead of any of the easier ones. ...I lost count of mulligans after the first hole.

And if you wanted to own a copy of this one for yourself? Well, eBay is one way I suppose, but in doing the research for this, I discovered that the game is still being sold brand-new here. That's not something I get to say often about the kinds of games that wind up in Golfshrine.

I salute you, Mr. Chapman - even if I did discover you about four years too late.

As far as what became of aboutGolf? Well, going by their official website, they are still in business, making indoor golf simulator installations for businesses and in-home use (presumably by very rich people!), and their list of available courses still includes the Infamous 18. I still keep finding remnants of their past life on eBay, too, under their old name of Friendly Software Corporation - but that'll be chronicled in the next update...