With Microsoft's rival golf franchise, Links, taking a side-step onto the X-Box (we'll have a review here soon), us PC golfers had better hope that Tiger 2004 does indeed burn bright - as there may not be a serious alternative, at least not until they port Links over at some stage.

So let's not keep you in suspense. If we were asked to describe Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 in one word, we would say - "It's one good-looking beast with oodles of playability and stacks of options". 'Cos we like being awkward, you see. The only annoying aspect to this game is writing this review, as it's tricky to know where to begin with the praise, not to mention the crappy golf puns.

As good a place as any, though, is the shot system and physics engine, which are obviously central to the core gameplay. You can use the old two or three mouse-click shot system, or the relatively new true-swing system which emulates a golfer's swing using the movement of the mouse. The latter is superbly implemented and you really feel like you're swinging that club yourself.

The physics are top notch, too, with realistic bounces and rolls, along with well-simulated details like the effects of gusty wind or a very wet green. Speaking of the greens, the putting system deserves some of that there glowing praise. It's appropriately tricky to master, without resorting to making short putts frustratingly miss-able.

There are tons of ways to play Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. All the usual practice options, driving range and putting greens are here, plus one-off casual rounds, tournaments or full seasons. And that's not to mention all the different round types - with all sorts of variants, not just stroke, matchplay or skins - or the multiplayer mode, which we'll come to later.

But the career mode is the bastion of single player entertainment, in which you customise and develop your very own golfer. The game actually lets you create your own face and physique quite accurately, plus you have attribute scores such as power, long game and putting. These can be raised by participating in World Tour events, which are essentially a series of challenges. So, for example, you'll have to hole out of three bunkers in eight shots or less, or defeat a course professional in a chip-nearest-the-hole competition.

The career tournaments are plentiful and stretch across the game's 18 classic courses, and in these you earn the money with which you can pay to raise your attributes, buy new clubs and even pay for golf lessons to learn new shots. Players can also unlock items of clothing (including caps, shirts, golf shoes, even rings and tattoos) and gain sponsorship from top golfing companies for extra dosh (providing your talents get noticed). It's fantastic stuff.

Visually, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 is also up to speed, providing some really lush looking settings with convincingly varied environments when you're going from a sandy desert course to an ocean-battered cliff-side affair. The golfer animation is excellent, although the gestures are a touch repetitive after a while, and the weather and mist effects are highly atmospheric. There's the occasional inappropriate animation, such as a player adjusting his glove when he isn't wearing one, but that's really no big deal.

On top of all this, the sound and commentary is solid enough, and the multiplayer mode delivers extra longevity. EA Sports provides a solid online match-up system, so it's easy to find a game, and it's largely lag-free; there's just the odd stutter here and there when watching other people's shots, but that really doesn't detract from the experience.

It's fantastic to quickly jump into rounds against real people. The only downside is when those real people turn out to be petulant prannies who quit when they go four or five shots down at the half-way point. But that's folk for you. There's also the fact that EA only gives you a year's play on the online network. Presumably after that you'll need to buy the next Tiger Woods PGA Tour and support for 2004 will be discontinued next year.

Okay, we seem to have forgotten the contract-bound puns and golfing imagery. Sooo... Don't worry about Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 being a hook into the rough, it's a whopping drive straight down the middle. The superb quality career mode, excellent physics, honed gameplay and impressive multiplayer facilities make for one bag of sparkling clubs and this game studiously avoids any bunkers to romp home to the club-house in style. Arghhh - nurse, the tablets, the tablets!