The Second Links Traveler

In my quest to visit and play at every course in Second Life, I shouldered my clubs, attached my HUDs, and sallied forth to Ravenwoodshire Golf & Country. Ravenwood is the fourth course I’ve played with an eye towards recording my thoughts for the blog, and I was excited to see and play another lovely virtual marriage of landscape and sport in Second Life. Ravenwood didn’t disappoint.

I started my exploration by stepping into the clubhouse/pro shop. It has a small bar complete with a bartender who, even though her name was Danni the Slutty Bartender, was completely immune to my charms! 😉 There’s a full TrueGolf pro shop, natch, but what really impressed me was the wealth of instructional material. There are educational notecards available with titles like ‘Understanding Golf in Second Life’, ‘Carry, Roll, & Backspin’, and one that should be required reading, ‘How to Play Strip Golf’.

My next stop was the driving range, which is on a platform. I was positively blown away at what I found. This isn’t just a driving range, this is a full golf training facility with a driving range, putting green, practice bunker, practice rough, and elevated platforms to practice shots where verticality is an issue. B.J. D’Angelo, the owner of Ravenwoodshire Golf & Country, places a real emphasis on growing golf in SL by offering a wonderful educational resource with plenty of training material. She even does lessons!

(I’m going to be interviewing Ms. D’Angelo this weekend for a future blog post! So excited about that!)

On first glance, Ravenwood’s golf course looks almost like a nature preserve. It’s beautifully manicured, but so rich with trees and brush with natural water and stone elements that it keeps that feel of the living world that really appeals to me. The course is located on one sim and surrounded on all sides (as one might expect) by water. The holes are compact and cleverly designed in a fashion to maximize the use of space while presenting unique challenges I’ve not come across. The fourth hole is a great example of this – I’ve never seen a U-turn in a golf hole!

Aside from the water hazard surrounding the course, there’s a branching stream that runs through the course and a number of small ponds. My favorite part of the water hazards at Ravenwoodshire are the colorful lilypads! I almost didn’t mind the ball I dropped into the drink, they’re just so pretty. Almost.

Greens at Ravenwood are smaller than most I’ve come across while golfing in Second Life. It made a few approach shots challenging, but the greens themselves were fairly forgiving. I didn’t run into any torturous breaks or uphill/downhill putts that can make putting such a challenging (and occasionally infuriating) part of golf.

I finished my front nine with a 27, and I’m really happy with that round. Better than that, though, I had a great time playing a really pretty course. As I’m looking back on the experience, Ravenwood might be the perfect course for new golfers. It has the most comprehensive training and practice area with GREAT resources for new (and not-so-new) golfers.

Until next time, Fairways and Greens!

Keyli

Credits

• Body: LaraX – Maitreya
• Top: Noa – Belzebubble
• Leggings: Sylvia – Bumblebee
• Shoes: Star Trainers – Belzebubble