Producer: Ocean, 48K
£6.90
Author: David Thorpe

The golf club on which this game is based, is a famous one, and the program is claimed to be accurate in detail to the real course. The object is to play a round on the 18 holes in the least number of shots. Direction, strength and type of shot must be calculated bearing in mind the terrain. A similar task awaits on the green. The program is in BASIC and therefore has obvious limitations. It's an interesting idea to base golf games on real courses, but there are better implementations of the game available. Overall CRASH rating 47%.

48K Spectrum
Simulation
Ocean
£6.90

A lovely opening graphic introduces a program which apparently duplicated the Royal Birkdale Championship Golf Course to a tee. You have to estimate the angle of drive and select strength of hit and allow for wind direction. You do not have to tip the caddy, either.

As you can guess. Royal Birkdale is a golf game. This is one of a series of golf courses you can choose from with each one based on the real golf course with the same distances and bunkers. You have a choice of 1 or 2 players and after entering your handicap you then choose which hole you would like to play first.

The computer then goes on to draw the chosen hole from a birds eye view, graphically not very exciting. Under the hole is a scale telling you what sort of distance it is from your ball to the hole.

You have a full range of clubs to choose from, eight irons plus a sand wedge, five woods and a putter. Before you tee off you have to enter whether you want to use an iron or a wood, each club of course will give you different distances. Once you have chosen your weapon, it then asks you how hard you would like to hit the ball by feeding in a %. 100% will give a full power shot and 5% is a quick tap. You are then asked if you would like a straight shot or if you would like to hook or fade the ball and the direction in which you would like to hit the ball (it does help).

There is a 360 degree protractor on the screen to help you choose the correct angle, once this is entered the ball is struck and a tracer shows where the ball travels. If you happen to end up in the heather an irate man jumps up and down, I think you must have hit him on the head!

If you are an all-action 'shoot 'em up' video game player then this is not for you. If you are a golf player and if the golf course is covered in snow or you have a broken leg then perhaps this may keep you amused.

Hornby Software is at 21 Pinford Hill, Leeds.