Links 2003 (Microsoft, PC G)

By PETER ELEY

(Herald rating: * * * * * )

Someone once described golf as way to ruin a good walk, and sadly that's my experience. But here I was playing Kauri Cliffs, one of the toughest golf courses in the country, and I'd parred the first two holes.

Then it all went wrong. The drive was great -- 260m down the middle -- but I overhit a lob wedge through the green and out of bounds.

Down went another ball, and I did the same again. Thank the golfing gods for Links' mulligan button, and I retook the shot, dropped it next to pin and got away with a bogey.

Links 2003 is another chapter in the history of this great golfing game. One of the six featured courses is Northland's Kauri Cliffs, reputed to be one of the best and most scenic courses in the Southern Hemisphere.

Links' 2003 version is mind-blowing, with high resolution textures and amazingly accurate mapping.

Gleneagles, sometime venue for the British Open, is another featured course, and of course the game is compatible with all the other Links courses, including St Andrews.

Stiff competition from Tiger Woods Golf made Microsoft take a good look at Links, and it came back with a much-improved game and sharper graphics.

There is a more intuitive swing based on natural mouse movements, much like the one in Tiger Woods Golf, and the irritatingly cliched comments have been replaced.

Who is first off the tee now? It's hard to separate Links and Tiger Woods Golf, but the addition of Kauri Cliffs will certainly give Microsoft an edge in New Zealand.

peter_eley@nzherald.co.nz