Leader Board For The 64

David Florance
Programming Assistant

Teeing off on a typical hole in Leader Board, an exceptional golf simulator for the Commodore 64.

Requirements: Commodore 64 (or Commodore 128 in 64 mode) with a disk drive and a joystick. Versions for the Amiga and Atari ST are planned.

The spring and summer months, with their profusion of golfing events, couldn't be a better time for Access Software to have released its new Leader Board professional golf simulator, Continuing in the tradition of such earlier popular releases as Beach-Head and Raid Over Moscow, Access has fashioned a stunning piece of software in this new golfing game.

All who have tested Leader Board agree that it has excellent sound and graphics and is a lot of fun to play. Leader Board is easy to use, too. Although you probably won't shoot under-par scores during your first 18 holes, we've yet to see someone play the game and not like it. One person trying Leader Board for the first time scored a 52 on one hole (for you golf novices, that's not very good), and still said he enjoyed the game. Another player, professing to like neither computers nor golf, is considering buying a computer just to play Leader Board.

Bruce and Roger Carver, authors of the game, have done an exceptional job on everything from the golfer's swing to the action of the joystick. The program lets you hook, slice, cut, plug, top, and drub--just as in real life. You can even learn to hit the ball straight--if you concentrate.

Leader Board offers three levels of play: novice, amateur, and professional. Start with the novice level to get some practice. You can even move to the driving range for additional practice on your strokes. The program lets you play anywhere from 18 to 72 holes, and there are four courses from which to choose--each with a distinct personality and level of difficulty. Even the wind is a big factor on the professional level of Leader Board.

Good Whooshes And Plops

From one to four players can take part, and scoring is automatic. The sound effects--from the whoosh of the stroke to the plop of the ball landing in a water hazard--are excellent throughout. Even the sound of the ball dropping into the cup is realistic. The movements of the golfer and the ball in flight (and bouncing on the fairway or green) are superb.

Just as in a real game of golf, you'll need some time to get your strokes down. You control the power of your swing and the direction of the ball by pressing the joystick button and moving the stick forward or backward at the right moments.

After playing hundreds of holes, I've concluded that the most important factor in making good scores is selecting the right clubs. Leader Board's manual offers course cards with detailed yardage indicators as well as a chart with normal club distances. These are invaluable. Access Software is also selling additional tournament disks, with four different courses on each disk, for $19.95 each.

The Leader Board disk is not copy-protected, so you can make backups for safekeeping. None of the disks work, however, unless a security key is plugged into the computer's cassette port.

I've been a golfer for about 15 years. Maybe it's a coincidence, but when I went to my local course after playing Leader Board for several weeks, I had a great round. Who knows? Maybe Leader Board is even improving my game.

Leader Board
Access Software, Inc.
2561 South 1560 West
Woods Cross, UT 84087
$39.95