Tiger Woods

Lore & Background

The game includes updated graphics, new courses, and other new features. The "Game Face" feature has been vastly improved with more detail and customization available for each body part, and after designing their own golfer, players can choose from 3000 items in the "Pro Shop" which allows players to purchase new clothing, clubs, balls, gloves, and other golf-related miscellanea. However, many items are locked at the start of the game, and the player must complete certain tasks to unlock these items. The "Game Setup" in the options menu has been changed vastly, to allow the player to choose their swing style. Another new feature allows players to choose the classic control settings or a newer swing style. There is also the new "Speed Golf" setting, which allows players to skip to the next shot after the ball has been struck without watching where the ball lands.

In Their Own Story

Seven new game modes have been added (One-Ball, Team One-Ball, no balls, Bloodsome, Greensome, Elimination and Team balls black balls). Several of the older game modes have been improved, such as the "Real Time Event Calendar" which allows the player to play special events on different days of the year based on their system's internal clock. This has replaced the classic "Scenario Mode" but there is now a Real Time Event for every day of the year. Two new types of traditional game mode have been added this year, "greensome" and "bloodsome". In "greensome", two teams of two golfers both hit their golf balls from the tee, but after that, only one of the balls is played (this is the team captain's choice). Players will then alternate shots with the chosen ball until it is holed. The game of "bloodsome" has similar rules, with the exception that the opposing team chooses which ball is played. The scoring system uses match play rules.

Reader's Guide

The "Team Tour" mode allows players using their own created golfers to build up their own team to travel the world playing in different types of game modes until they reach the final match against Tiger Woods' team. With each victory, the player is allowed more golfers to be added to their team. The golfers that are available are the golfers that they have just beaten. In each round, the player may also "Up the Ante" to gain extra experience and free modifiers if they win under specific circumstances; for example, the "Beat The Spread" option for Match Play games starts the opponent 4UP (see match play rules below), and the "Without a Net" option means that if the ball goes in the water or out of bounds, the player instantly loses. Team Tour is the quickest way to gain experience. Stroke play is in the "Traditional Game Modes" section. Stroke Play allows up to four players to compete on a round of 9 or 18 holes on any chosen course with variable difficulty settings (tee color, pin location etc.). All golfers use their own ball. The player numbers determine who tees off first on the first hole, but after the first hole, the player with the lowest score tees off first, then the second lowest score and so on. After the initial tee shot, the player furthest from the hole takes their shot next. However many shots or "strokes" the player takes is recorded on the scorecard after each hole.

Did You Know?

• The online multiplayer for the Xbox version was shut down on April 15, 2010.
• The PC version's multiplayer was shut down on June 30, 2011.
• The game includes a 'Speed Golf' setting that lets players skip to the next shot without watching where the ball lands.
• The 'Real Time Event Calendar' replaced the classic 'Scenario Mode' and now has a Real Time Event for every day of the year.
• In 'Team Tour' mode, the golfers available to add to your team are the golfers you have just beaten.

The Tiger Woods Era: A Commercial Juggernaut

The Skillzone was introduced in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003; it features three unique areas which have 15 targets in each. The player can compete in various games in these areas for extra money to buy items from the pro shop. The three courses available are: Granite Pass, Diablo Valley, and The Roof. The various game modes each have their own rules which players must abide by. The game types are: Target: The player begins with 15 balls to hit as many of the targets as possible. Successive hits on the targets results in cash being earned and more balls being given. Target2Target: A variation of "Target". The computer randomly picks a target which the player must hit. The same rules as "Target" apply. Capture: This game mode requires 2 human players. The players alternate turns to hit targets and earn money. The first player to hit 5 targets wins. However, a player can "steal" a target by landing on the target closer to the bullseye than the opponent. T-I-G-E-R: A variation of the classic "Horse". The player hits a target, and their opponent must match the score (same ring on the particular target) or beat it. The first player to fail to do so receives a letter, and the first to spell "Tiger" loses.

The Augusta National Challenge: A Three-Year Quest

This game mode was only introduced in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06, so it is one of the most recent additions. The player chooses a course and difficulty settings to play on before beginning. On each hole there are 3 hovering rings; a large green ring, a medium-sized yellow ring, and a small red ring. The player must attempt to hit their ball through these rings while maintaining a good score (Birdies, Eagles etc.). The harder the ring, the more points it is worth. Hitting the ball through more than one ring in a single shot results in bonus points being awarded. Shootout Mode is entirely different from any of the other game modes. Before the match begins, 2 or more players pick up to 8 golfers per team on 2 teams. These teams then play against each other in stroke play format on each hole of the chosen course. The loser of the hole is eliminated from the match, and the next player in their team takes their place, while the winner keeps playing until he/she is defeated. If players tie on a hole, both players advance to the next hole.

The End of an Era and the Rory McIlroy Transition

In One-Ball, as the name suggests, both players will use only one ball, and will alternate shots with it until the ball is holed. Whoever sinks the ball will win the hole. Although the player is allowed to make it more difficult for their opponent by striking the ball into an undesirable position such as a bunker, the rough, etc., the shot must travel at least half of the distance to the hole on each stroke. If the player fails to do this, he or she will be marked with a "Betrayal", and will lose one turn. Similarly, if a player hits the ball out of bounds, he or she will be penalized with a "Double Betrayal", and will lose two consecutive turns. This gives the gameplay a tactical twist, in that the players are typically trying to make the worst legal shot possible. Additionally, a player must carefully decide when to finally attack the hole, since a narrowly missed putt or chip-in can set up the opponent for an easy hole. Team-One Ball is played in the same format, but uses two teams of two golfers each.

Technological Innovation and the Return to Golf

These are both 2-team, 4-player (mix of human and CPU players is allowed) games. All four players play all of their balls for the hole, in the same style as what would be if it was a 4-player Stroke Play match. The best scoring golfer on each team's score will be applied in either Stroke or Match play. The PGA Tour Season Mode allows players to play in various tournaments across a 30-year career, using their own created golfer. Each tournament is 72 holes (4 rounds) played at different courses, usually determined by the name of the event (e.g. "The Pebble Beach Open" or "The UK Major Championship"). The game mode is designed to be as realistic as possible, with players able to view the scoreboard after each hole, which shows the scores for each round, how many holes the golfer has played in the current round and the total number of strokes they have taken. The player whose profile is being used may "invite" other human players into the tournaments as guests, but this is only possible in the first round, and the guests must play all four rounds, they cannot skip a round, however, the profile's owner (the profile whose PGA Tour Season Mode it is) can choose to "Cut" the guest (remove them from the tournament) before any round. Note that guests cannot receive trophies, earn FedEx Cup points or improve their PGA Tour Ranking while playing as a guest. After the second round of a tournament, only the Top 70 golfers in the tournament advance, the rest are cut. Some tournaments have specific entry requirements such as "Top 20 PGA Tour Ranked Players Only" - if the player does not meet the requirement, they are not allowed to participate in that tournament and the first round will be locked, preventing entry.

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