Links 2001
The Links swing system has been perfected over time, and it shows. Using the two or three-click method, the swing gauge feels just challenging enough not to be as frustrating as the real thing. More than half a dozen swing types are available for each shot (pitch, fade, draw, punch, etc.) as is very detailed control over stance, which can control the ball trajectory. We found each of these modes had a demonstrable effect on ball handling and communicated a lot of information about the physics of the game (albeit more by inference). For real golfers who want to simulate their own play, Links has added a tremendous feature – letting you program your own maximum hitting distance into each club in a customized golf bag. In other words, you can simulate your own golf capabilities into the game.
The Links programmers claim to have tweaked the ball physics even more in this version so that your shots register even smaller details of the terrain, including minutiae like bunker lips. Generally, ball behavior was exceptionally believable, from the convincing way in which it left the club head (a problem area for a lot of golf sims in the past) to its recognition of wind currents, bounces, and tracking along the greens. The subtle, visual feel of the ball is so important in a sim like this, because it spells the difference between feeling in the game or feeling like you are in a sim. One of the reasons Links remains a leading title is that its designers know this, and they put a premium on making the ball feel as if it is indeed inside its environment rather than superimposed on it.
For those who really love to punish themselves in a golf sim, Links has its PowerStroke option, which translates mouse movement into on screen swing dynamics. The round swing meter is replaced by a ruler gauge. You must pull the mouse across the mousepad for backswing and bring it back onto the ball, with the speed, accuracy, timing of mouse click and even angle of the return stroke being registered as power, fade or draw, open or closed clubface contact with ball, backspin, etc. Frankly, I have tried almost every one of these mouse swing schemes over the years and it still escapes me why players would like them. This one probably takes about as much practice to master as the real golf game. I am sure that is intentional on the designers' part, but even this gamaholic is left wondering what sort of Prozac-starved obsessive would want to devote so much effort to a sim interface?
Tiger Woods
Arguably, Tiger has a tougher swing than Links. The two or three click swing style tends to move faster, making it more of a challenge to hit your marks spot on. On the other hand, this program lets you set the swing speed to accommodate beginner, intermediate and pro levels, which again speaks to the game's greater accessibility. The swing meter, like the graphics information, is a bit more user-friendly than Links, too. It lets you change to one of the four major stroke types (fade, draw, backspin, etc) by clicking arrows that are right on the meter itself, and it offers a Risk Gauge that changes colors from green to red to indicate the level of risk in a shot. Better still, you get a superimposed indicator of the ball's ideal flight path. This gives you a much clearer understanding of how swing choices will affect your shot than you get in Links, which seems to rely on your native golfing experience. I also appreciated very much the “power meter,” an optional line on the swing meter that indicates how much of a backswing you need to reach your designated target.
TWPGA's attempt at a golf swing that reflects mouse movement is called the Pro Swing, and it is considerably less involved than Links's PowerSwing scheme. Here you just drag the mouse in any direction to register the backswing and then move it in the opposite direction to indicate the depth and power of the your follow-through. Unlike Links, which also translates sideways mouse movement into draws and fades, this one is a stripped down version that is easy to master.
Ball behavior is a very different story, however, and this is one of the chief failings of the new Tiger Woods game. From the time the ball leaves your club head, it doesn't look to be in the game. That is, it seems to lag behind the club at the point of impact and even come off the club shaft rather than the head at times. Likewise, on the terrain itself, it often seems to glide just above the ground rather than roll across it. The real tip-off something was amiss in this engine come when we repeatedly sank putts and then received on screen notices that we still had inches left to the cup. While gameplay progresses properly to the next hole, this weird behavior in the underlying software pretty much shook our confidence about its reliability.