![\"blog-twgolf-01\"](\"https:\/\/chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/blogtwgolf01.jpg\" "\\"blog-twgolf-01\\"")
<\/p>\nA couple nights every week this couple of weeks is spent discharging my, well, yearly IPPT obligation. But the remaining free evenings I\u2019ve been spending quite a bit of time in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09.<\/p>\n
Funnily, I have no desire to actually play golf in real-life. In fact, environmental groups routinely target the sport, and claim that golf is environmentally destructive. For starters, just look at the huge land area that\u2019s required for a golf course, and compare it to the few number of contestants or spectators at an event. Then compare it to the same land area and imagine how many soccer stadiums you could build on it. Or, ever wondered how that grass in those fairways look so immaculate? A lot of water is used, along pesticides and chemicals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So, I\u2019m really quite happy to keep my exposure to golf limited to just the PS3 representation. It\u2019s a beautiful-looking game, and tailored to meet quite a range of play abilities: from absolutely noobs who have absolutely no clue to what the sport is about (i.e. me), to experts who\u2019re up for the real challenges of professional golf.<\/p>\n
In fact, prior to playing TW PGA Tour, I\u2019d no idea that golf was so sophisticated: I\u2019d thought all that\u2019s involved is hitting a small white ball with a iron stick with a club at the end, and trying to get that ball into a little hole in the ground.<\/p>\n
But now I know that:<\/p>\n
Wind plays a huge factor, but its effect can be limited by the type of clubs you\u2019re using.<\/p>\n
There\u2019re many kinds of shots: drives, putts, draws, fades etc.<\/p>\n
When to use Woods and Irons.<\/p>\n
That a golf course comprises a Teeing area, the fairway, the rough, and hazards.<\/p>\n
That each hole is rated on a numeric par, and the number of strokes you take to put the golf ball into that hole in comparison to par determines your score.<\/p>\n
In golf, lower scores are better.<\/p>\n
The more exotic the bird-sounding name is, the better it is. ‘Birdie’ <\/em>is erm ok, ‘Eagle’ <\/em>is pretty good, and ‘Condor<\/em>‘ makes you a God of Golf.<\/p>\n The game\u2019s huge too. I\u2019ve been playing it for nearly 2 weeks now and have spent maybe around 40 hours in it, and I\u2019m just (maybe) about just a quarter way through game completion. And keep in mind that many games, e.g. first-person shooters, are rated at 10-12 hours of play time before completion.<\/p>\n In fact, Ling\u2019s actually interested in the game now too. Though when I asked her why, she remarked thoughtfully: \u201cWell, it\u2019s one game that people actually still clap even when you make a crappy shot.\u201d:)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A couple nights every week this couple of weeks is spent discharging my, well, yearly IPPT obligation. But the remaining free evenings I\u2019ve been spending quite a bit of time in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09. Funnily, I have no<\/p>\n![\"blog-twgolf-02\"](\"https:\/\/chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/blogtwgolf02.jpg\" "\\"blog-twgolf-02\\"")
<\/p>\n