Preview: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters

With football season and the Eagles’ collapse a memory and baseball season and our beloved Phillies still a month away, the PGA Tour has but a tiny sliver of time when it has to contend with only two sports for our attention.

As snow clears from local golf courses and weekend duffers return to the links, that makes it the perfect time to examine the exciting new features in the upcoming latest iteration of EA Sports’ golf franchise: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters.

While the core play of the series will remain much the same, there are some big changes this year, apparent before even opening the package.

While the Tiger Woods name is still on the cover, it’s relegated to the bottom, and there is no large image of him, a purposeful attempt to distance the game from his Elin Nordegren divorce saga.

But the biggest change is the series premiere of the famed Augusta National course, home to The Masters, whose name and logo are now front and center. The action will be called by series newcomer Jim Nantz, who is joined by series staple and CBS Sports colleague David Feherty.

Three years of collaboration between Augusta National and EA Sports were needed to get the course in the game, and it took new laser-scanning technology to faithfully replicate the tournament and par 3 courses, right down to every azalea on the grounds, every stone in Hogan Bridge, and every ripple of Rae’s Creek.

You get all the fun and relaxation (or club-smashing frustration) of golf, without a lot of the negatives: greens fees, slowpokes who won’t let you play through, rain, searching for a lost ball in the thick rough.

Whether you want a quick 18-hole round online, a four-round tournament all alone, or to team up with or play against Tiger himself in the President’s Cup, it’s all here. And without all that walking and searching, you can play a round in under an hour. You can try out shots in practice areas, and for those looking for quick family fun, there’s even five mini-golf courses.

If it’s not apparent by the title, the ultimate challenge in the game is to start a career and do well enough to earn an invitation to play in (and hopefully win) “a tradition unlike any other”—The Masters.  

And you’ll have to struggle as a rookie on the Nationwide Tour, slowly gaining sponsors, better equipment, and ranking before even qualifying for the PGA Tour, so it may take some time.

There’s even some fun bonuses specific to Augusta National: "Tiger at the Masters," where you try to relive his wins; "Masters Moments," where you strive to duplicate the past’s greatest moments of the best players; TV presentation graphics unique to playing The Masters.

You’re also not left to fend for yourself anymore. An optional Caddie Experience gives you the guidance you need to succeed. The caddie will suggest safe and risky shots, factoring wind, yardage to tee and green, your ball’s lie, and more. Even better, your caddie gains experience, so the more they’ve tagged along on a particular course, the more precise and valuable their counsel on that course becomes.

The game will ship with over 15 courses. Many favorite courses, like PLAYERS Championship host TPC Sawgrass with its famed island 17^th green and 28-time Open Championship host St. Andrews, return. Courses debuting to test your skills include the Atlanta Athletic Club’s Highlands course, host to this year’s PGA Championship, and TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, architected by Greg Norman and just opened in 2010.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters is scheduled for release on March 29 on Xbox 360, PS3 (Move compatible), and Wii.

A downloadable demo will be made available over Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on March 8, and experience you earn will carry over to give you a head start when the game is released. Rated E for Everyone.

Jeff is currently playing Halo: Reach and inFamous; follow him on Twitter at JKLugar.