Online Play and Conclusion
Of course, if you get fed up playing against the computer you can get online and take on real people either over a LAN or by direct connect. This is where another short fall becomes apparent. Golf is a sociable game and as such it's about the interaction between players just as much as about playing the game itself. The multiplayer is screaming out for some way of talking to your opponents and there's none. Nothing. Nada. Not even a chat a chat window. Of course, you could do like I did and use something like Team Speak, but surely a chat window couldn't have been too hard. It's a fairly soulless experience to just sit there in silence as your mate lines up his shot, so make sure you have some form of comms running.There is a little lag as you or your opponent takes their shot, and it can be a bit tedious if you're playing against someone who likes to takes their time lining up a shot. The game automatically shows your opponent's golfer as he picks his club and aims his shot, but don't expect any adrenaline rushes here, this is a game of golf after all. Although you can have up to fourteen clubs in your bag, there's no slot for mini-guns or chainsaws.
Conclusion
How to sum up a game like this? Well, it's deep but it's easily playable for those who've never played golf in their lives. It's got everything the seasoned, keen golfer could wish for. It's easy to play with simple controls for the beginner, but enough complexity for the pro to pull off a forward stanced high spin fade onto an uphill green in high wind and get it within 2 feet of the hole. If you've never even given a golf game a second glance I'd still recommend giving this one a shot, but only if you can talk about two-piece balls and flexible shafts while keeping a straight face.
Score
Pros
Easy to get intoGameplay as deep as you want it to be
Stunning looking courses
Extremely satisfying
Totally customisable golfers
Cons
Needs a meaty graphics card to run in all its gloryAI is suspiciously good and bad at times
Clairvoyant commentators
No online communication
