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Hack "The Fluffer" Mulligan

Many thanks to Hack for his services as the writing department's consultant of Positive Attitude.

Hack "The Fluffer" Mulligan is the world's worst golfer, and at the same time, the world's most optimistic one. We were fortunate in that Maxis, Inc. happens to be located near Hack's home base of Berkeley, California. Hack has been living in Berkeley since 1964 when he started his Ph.D. in sports psychology at U.C. Berkeley. During this time Hack has traveled the globe playing the world's golf courses. On his last trip to the Far East he actually played golf with the Dalai Lama himself. He expects to graduate and finish his thesis, "Golf: A Game?" later this year.

Without Hack's help, we here at the writing department at Maxis, Inc. would surely have gone over deadline, had nervous breakdowns and succumbed to mass writer's block. When tempers flared, or we just plain ran out of adjectives, Hack was there for us.

There are many photos of Hack: at bars, in cafes, at bars with golf clubs, in cafes wearing a golf hat, walking around campus with a putter, juggling golf balls in a bar, but this is the only known shot of Hack actually playing golf. At least we think he was playing; certain folks have put forward that judging by the fine follow-through and balanced posture, this could only be a posed shot at some mysterious 19th hole.

Hack's insight about course construction ("Angle the entire green towards the hole"); his thoughts on hole length and its relation to par ("Half the distance, double the par"); and his attitude about playing a losing game ("He who has the most fun wins" and "Keep swinging and you'll always get the ball in the hole") gave us a new perspective on course construction, not to mention life.

Thanks, Hack!