ADF – Golf

There are two chapters of the novel American Democracy Forever in which golf plays a significant role. It is how Charlie first obtains a nest egg for future investments, and much later, Charlie plays a round at Bedminster with President Trump. But how does an author who has never played golf write about it convincingly? For me, it all came down to internet research on top of years of listening to friends talk about golf. What are handicaps? What is the handicap of a good golfer as opposed to a mediocre golfer? How is a famous golf course laid out, and what would be a typical score (i.e., par) for each hole? Wikipedia was a tremendous help.

Charlie’s 3-hole course in his Saisekiba estate plays a vital role. Not content with playing the same three holes all the time, Charlie has his engineering wizards at PARC create dynamically reconfigurable holes.  Robots with octagonal surfaces could be rearranged to simulate any golf course. Weekly playing on different simulated courses with Bruce Little, his man Friday, makes them both good golfers. This dynamic course could also be reconfigured as an elegant garden or a maze, and it was also a major part of Saisekiba’s defenses.

Questions

I had great fun writing these chapters. How did I do? Are there any aspects of golf that you would have treated in a better way?