Don a pair of Paddington Bear trousers and grab a caddy as the Master System moves into a world of greens and putting, with a little help from Tengen.

The Master System’s a bit low on golf sims, only World Class Leaderboard from US Gold and Sega’s World Tournament Golf simulating the sport before now. The latest addition to the elite club is Tengen’s PGA Tour Golf — and it blows the other two out of the water!

PGA Golf’s full of realistic golfing moves to drive the discerning fan nuts. A wide range of useful options are laid out in easy-to-use menus. You can practice a round, enter a tournament, visit the driving range and polish your putting.

Then there’s the change view option, which allows you to switch various things on and off. The auto hole, overhead, 3D putt and ball-lie views can all be customised.

It caters for all abilities, offering both Professional and Amateur skill settings. You can save the current game, load in a previous one or reset all the game’s details at the touch of a button.

Two for tee

When all the options have been set, stride out onto the course with your chequered flares on and get stuck into the golfing action.

The power and direction of your swing are controlled by a percentage scale. Press the fire button once to start it, again to set the desired strength then once more to make the shot. Other elements to consider are wind speed and the number of trees and bushes blocking your way!

Get the ball near the hole and PGA Tour Golf goes into putting mode, where you’re presented with a grid representing die slopes and bumps of the green. The grid can be rotated via the directional pad until you’re sure how to take die shot

The four courses on offer — TPC Avenel, PGA West Stadium, TPC Sawgrass and Sterling Shores — each have their own tricky bits to master so there’s plenty of challenge for golfing fans of all ages.

Practice your skills if these prove too much, then take advice from professional players as you go round a course. They’ll improve your golfing style, fashion sense and tell you what’s on special offer in the course’s restaurant

Nick clubs... ‘GREAT GOLFING!’

Golf games on consoles have always been a little below par. You can never recreate the experience of trudging around a course in the pouring rain, chasing a couple of small balls. It can’t be the same played from the comfort of your armchair. What you can do is create a new gaming experience.

Tengen have done a great job with PGA Tour Golf. Everything’s very green but what did you expect? A slow screen update has dragged golf games down in the past but it isn’t a problem here.

There are bags of options to go through; you can practice almost everything before taking on a tournament and even save the game to continue at a later date.

I’ve never been a big fan of golf sims but this is a good stab at the game style. Worth looking at.

NICK 80%

Rob swings... ‘NOT MY FAVOURITE’

Hmm! Golf has never been my cup of tea — all that walking around, standing by holes and hauling around huge leather bags full of heavy clubs. But for golf nuts, PGA Tour’s the ideal introduction to console versions of the sport. Whether you’re an amateur or a pro well versed in the art of ball and club, you’ll find a good challenge.

It’s quite easy to get the hang of PGA Tour Golf. There are multiple option screens to wade through but when they’ve been sorted out you can walk onto the fairway and have some real fun.

The graphics outshine those of other MS golf sims. The 3D-style views draw quickly and the golfer’s well animated, if a little slow to respond. There’s not much to say about the sound other than there’s an odd ping when you press a button and pleasant music in the background.

If you’re wild about golf, PGA Tour’s for you. Although it isn’t one of my favourite sports, it’s packed with absorbing gameplay.

ROB 78%

MF Rating

Graphics

76

Sound

74

Playability

80

Lastability

82

79

A good attempt at the tricky sport of golf. Lots of greenery but what do you expect?

Rating

79

Reviewer

Sega Master Force magazine

Region

UK

Scans

Sega Master Force - Issue 5

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