Ready Player Golf is hosting a charity event that will take place in the Oculus Quest game Topgolf with Pro Putt. Tickets for the VR golf tournament are $100 each (tax deductible) and proceeds benefit XR Safety Initiative. Registration is open now for the September 24-25 event.
Pro Putt made its debut in the Oculus app store for the Quest in May 2020 and passed one million dollars in sales by December according to an article in Forbes magazine by Charlie Fink. That’s over 50,000 units sold! It’s popularity is understandable as the game nicely combines an authentic feel of golfing with unique aspects of immersive reality such as a little visual celebration when you land the ball in the hole.
I typically don’t write about games I haven’t played myself as I prefer to give you a firsthand perspective so I hopped in Pro Putt with Sophia Moshasha, co-founder of Ready Player Golf, and Chris Madsen, who is doing great things with ENGAGE. It was a fantastic time, but once we were in game, I think Sophia realized my comment about having no experience with golf was not exaggerated.
My first question was, “How do I hold the golf stick?”
I was so incredibly bad at this game and obviously have never golfed, but it was a lot of fun! As we worked our way around the course, I began to realize that perhaps part of the point of golf, which I always considered a relatively “slow-paced” sport, is simply to enjoy the fellowship of those around you. I should mention that I kind of enjoy more violent games, but I was pleased to accidentally discover that there’s a bit of nice immersive feedback if you hit someone with your club.
To be clear, you don’t have to be an expert – or even have any knowledge of golf to enjoy Pro Putt or participate in the Ready Player Golf charity event. As a participant, you’ll have fun and do the best you can. You’ll also have the opportunity to see NFT (non-fungible token) art auctions, meet celebrity guests, enjoy social VR, and experience multi-metaverse portaling.
Ready Player One is partnered with ENGAGE, an advanced communications platform that provides an environment for immersive interaction and communication. You’ll have the opportunity to hang out in ENGAGE for Friday Friendlies, meet other players before matches, and attend the special awards show on September 25.
Community
Although the event itself is a couple of months away, participants meanwhile have an opportunity to meet other golf enthusiasts through the Ready Player Golf Discord server, where you can ask questions, read event announcements, and discuss the game. There are also regular get togethers for fun on the immersive course.
- Join the Ready Player Golf Discord server.
- Follow Ready Player Golf on Twitter.
Event Format
When the event kicks off on September 24, you’ll meet in the RPG clubhouse in the ENGAGE platform. This area was created especially for Ready Player Golf and is a fun area that makes you feel a bit like you should sit down and smoke a cigar while chatting about golf and current news. Or you could just hang out and talk about why you chose particular clothes for your avatar, which is what I did.
In addition to mingling with other guests on event day, you’ll have the opportunity to bid on featured artist NFTs and play games. Finally, you’ll find your teammates and portal to your match.
September 24
- Group 1- 12:00 pm EDT
- Group 2- 3:00 pm EDT
- Group 3- 6:00 pm EDT
On September 25, you can join your new friends at the RPG clubhouse in ENGAGE once again and portal to the cabaret room, where you can network, check out sponsor booths, and watch the tournament awards show.
September 25
- 12:00 pm EDT
I’ve been told by some who attended last year in a charity tournament to benefit Doctors Without Borders that the awards show is an incredibly fun event. You can watch the awards show from season 1 below and the organizers have worked with ENGAGE to provide even more excitement during season 2.
How to Participate
Sign up for the tournament on the Ready Player Golf website, pay the tax deductible registration fee, then download the Pro Putt and ENGAGE applications and come prepared to play in September.
- Register for the Ready Player Golf VR Tournament.
- Download Pro Putt for the Oculus Quest ($20 USD).
- Download the ENGAGE platform on your Oculus Quest.
XR Safety Initiative
All proceeds of this Ready Player Golf charity event will go to XR Safety Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to the promotion of a culture of trust, privacy, and safety in the emerging mediums of XR, such as virtual and augmented reality.
XRSI is viewed by many as a necessary component of the XR industry and while cybersecurity has been around for a while, immersive reality has brought more issues and some novel challenges that require the establishment of baseline standards and the importance of addressing novel cyber attacks in emerging technologies. The experts at XRSI are unrelenting in their pursuit of this goal to maintain safety and privacy as XR tech rapidly permeates society.
To learn more about XR Safety Initiative, check out the XRSI Privacy Framework and follow XRSI on social media.
