PGA Tour Golf is, as its name suggests, a golf game that was popular in the early 1990s and through numerous sequels, which continue under the name Tiger Woods' golf. The game was released initially for the PC, Sega Mega drive, Commodore Amiga and Apple Macintosh.
The game offers three real courses, TPC at Saw grass, TPC at Avenel, and PGA West Stadium Course, and one fantasy course. The game really scored on good presentation - you begin in a professional's club house and when you play tournaments it is given a 'TV-style' presentation.
As well as tournaments you can play practice rounds, or practice your putting and driving.
The game uses the now familiar perspective of playing behind your golfer. The game was the first to introduce a '3-click' swing, or at least the first to popularize it. So the first click of the mouse (or press on the keyboard) starts a bar moving around a semi-circle, the second sees it change direction and alters the power of the swing, the final click needs to be close to the start as possible to make the swing as accurate as possible.
The games graphics for the time were excellent. Once you have played your shot the camera angle changes perspective to see the ball coming into
land. If you manage to drive over 300 yards you will see a slow motion action replay. The courses have fairways, light rough and heavy rough, and most of the holes have water features, including the famous 17th island hole at Saw grass. Putting requires the player to read the green through a wire-mesh map, which shows the contours.
The tournaments are given the full PGA treatment, with a leader board showing your position relative to the field at the end of each hole, four rounds, with a cut after two rounds, and prize money. This accumulates throughout your career, as does statistics showing your average drive, longest drive, greens in regulation, putts etc.
Most of these features now seem mainstream but many were introduced by PGA Tour Golf all of those years ago. The main reason players keep coming back however is its ease of use - once you have learnt the simple controls the rest seems perfectly intuitive. A great game, highly recommended for all ages.
