Golf Club Hosts Schoolwide Competition Using the Popular Gaming System

Ryan Nicol ’25

Over the course of a few weeks in January and February, Chaminade High School students competed in a golf tournament.

The only difference between a normal tournament and this one, however, is that it was all done on Wii Sports. Dr. Daniel Summers ’08, the golf club moderator, stated, “I was thinking about ways we could get kids involved in competitive golf over the winter months and settled on having a Wii golf tournament.”

The tournament was well-attended with over 50 competitors, which is not surprising since all four grades grew up with the Wii gaming console. Across three weeks, students met after school and competed in three-hole Wii golf matches.

In Wii Sports Golf, the player lines up to hit the ball in the same position as real golf, and swings the Wii controller while holding down the “A” button.

The game is surprisingly complicated, requiring on-the-fly analysis of wind speed, elevation, and the various sand traps placed around the virtual golf course. A power bar shows how strong the shot would be, allowing for maximum control of speed, direction, and distance.

The participants quickly got into the spirit of the competition. “There were kids in my classroom each day after school,” Summers said, “cheering on good shots and getting on each other for bad shots. It was a lot of fun.”

After multiple rounds of competition, senior Peter Rekus ’22 was declared the winner. Joseph Sayers ’23, the assistant president of the club, stated, “The Wii Golf tournament was a great idea proposed by this year’s seniors and fully set up by the club’s moderator, Dr. Summers. This tournament brought an action-packed, competitive aspect to our normally lax, informational club. This Wii Golf tournament was thoroughly enjoyable and will surely be a golf club staple in years to come.”

Reflecting on the tournament, Summers stated, “The turnout was great, and I can’t wait to grow the tournament more.” This is not the end of Wii Sports at Chaminade, and there are likely to be more events in the future.