I recently had a chance to play around in the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online Beta. I’m not a big golf fan but I have played a few of the Tiger Woods games in the past on the Xbox 360 and they tend to be well done.  I decided to give the beat a shot for two reasons. First, it was free. And, second, you play the whole game in your web browser. The system requirements are not to high and I was able to play without any issues on my laptop. I did have to set some of the graphics options to low, but on my three year old PC I was able to play with everything set to high.

The first thing I noticed right off the bat is how nice the interface and graphics are.  They sections to adjust your skills, buy new accessories, and see your previous game stats were all very smooth and cleanly designed.  The actual in game graphics of playing were really gorgeous looking and I would never have knows that I was playing a browser based game.

It took me a little while to remember to all the controls for moving cameras, changing clubs, and making adjustments, but the control layout is easy accessible at any time so it was not a big deal.  The only real issue I had was that it seemed like there was some lag when I tried to use the three-click method to swing the clubs.  My clicks were when I saw the line where I wanted it but many times it would not register the click until a second later.  After 18 holes I was pretty frustrated with the swinging mechanics and then I noticed a tip that mentioned using the true swing option to control the swinging. Basically, instead of clicking to set the power and swing angle you just pull back on the mouse and then slide if forward.  I was able to pretty consistently have high powered and strait hits using the true swing option.

There is a lot of depth to the game because as you play you complete goals and earn money.  This money is used to increase your stats in driving, chipping, and putting. You can add things like more power, increase chipping accuracy, and additional putting line views. In addition to just playing single matches whenever you want they also have tournaments you can compete in.  When the full game is released the online community seems like it will be really great.  There were a lot of people playing the beta every time I was on playing. I think it helps that you can login and play from any web browser. You can also save your progress part way through a course to come back and finish later. I found myself pretty regularly playing a couple holes when I was on phone calls waiting on hold or when I would get back from my lunch break 10 or 15 minutes before I needed to get back to work.  Since I could just pick up where I left off, even on a different computer, it was easy a quick and easy way to pass time when I needed to be able to stop at any moment.

The Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online Beta has ended now, but I’m looking forward to when the game releases and I can start playing again. For a casual golf fan, like me, it is simple and friendly enough to keep you coming back, but they also have a lot of depth and options for hard core golf fans.