Seen one, seen em all at this rate.
Kept the confidence minigames and meter, same smooth swing mechanics, finally there are people in the gallery, tickertape is unobtrusive and informative.
The Bad:
Graphics took a step backward. Voice overs are as bad as ever, and tend to interrupt you mid swing.
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If you've played ANY of the Tiger Woods franchise, you will be immediately familiar with this entry. Same pro shop, pre game set up, calendar for tournaments in career mode, and so on. You level up your character by earning points in tourneys, and can buy better equipment with earnings.
There are precious few changes, and unfortunately for every improvement they put in, something else was sacrificed.
For example, one touch I thought was really overdue was to actually have a visible gallery around the holes. The problem is, the graphics for them are 1985ish, with the crowd being cardboard cutouts.
I also liked the scrolling ticker along the bottom of the screen like you see in a real broadcast. It is unobtrusive, so you won't be that distracted by it, but it lends an element of realism to the game that was missing before, where you had to wait until the hole was done to see what had happened.
One other improvement I found was the as-it-happens swing indicator, that shows you as you are pulling back on the nub whether or not you are straight. Makes shots much easier to pull off than previously.
You can choose from 2/3button control or the nub, and weather is also more of a factor than it used to be in terms of ball flight and behavior when it lands, but again, that's not all that special anywhere else but this franchise.
That, I'm afraid, is pretty much it for the good news. The bad?
Well, the graphics as a whole are several Tigers old, with a return to the slightly cartoony, but still serviceable graphics engine from several years ago, probably to make room for the extra features like the ticker, which will likely annoy those who seek more realism with every release.
Voice overs are atrocious and repetitive as usual, with condescending and cliche'd comments every shot. At least this time they call the shot before it happens on screen, instead of afterward like '08. What bugs me is, even the shabby graphics would be forgiven if they just ponied up to get the real prime time network announcers calling the shots. Having Jim Nance give the play by play would be so much more exciting, and lend an air of realism that is simply missing from the franchise.
Overall, this one just does not have enough features to justify the premium pricetag, especially when virtually the same game (08) is lkely available used for half the price. If you've never played a Tiger Woods game, this one might be good, but for the veterans, you might wait for the price to drop.