Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 2005

If, as Mark Twain would have it, golf is indeed a good walk spoiled, then the arrival of the Tiger Woods series on mobile represents one of the best example of how to ruin a stroll.

Developers EA have done a good job of fitting everything you’d expect from a golfing title into this compact version. The visuals are okay, there's a variety of famous golfers and game styles and the control system works well.

The mechanics of the game hark back to a simpler time with your golf swing enacted by clicking on your phone’s joypad or 5 key. This brings up a swing meter which will be familiar to anyone who’s played a golf game before, and works by repeated clicks on the joypad. It’s pretty easy to get used to the timing and you’ll be zinging 250-yard drives off the tee in no time. It’s the placement and weather conditions, not too mention the course itself, which presents the challenge.

The difficulty level is pitched nicely, though. You’ll make a horrible mess of the first few holes but you’ll soon fall into a rhythm and start achieving par. Play in the solo mode and you’ll earn you money that can be spent upgrading Tiger’s skills and buying new kit as you progress around the course, the only competition your previous best round. Alternatively you can play a 2-player round, each player taking turns to make their shot, or embark upon the Legends mode that sees you teeing off against Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Seve Ballesteros, though you can only access the later legends by winning enough money in the solo mode. Thankfully the game is enjoyable enough in the Solo mode to make accessing these later challenges possible. With the ability to save your round between holes, it’s an excellent title for whiling away a few spare minutes, so you cna happily chip in at the 16th whilst you're waiting for the 9:16 to Clapham.

To be honest, the only thing that really lets the game down is its lack of courses: there’s only one that’s playable and, if we were to be picky, it’s not one of the big names that we’d have liked to pit our putting skills against.

This isn't to say the course doesn't present a challenge, and naturally the different game modes add to the longevity, just don't expect this one to keep you away from the 19th hole (i.e. the clubhouse bar) for too long!