I'm not ashamed to admit that I've been having a rough time with my golf swing of late. In late summer of last year I took up golf again, after a long absence from the game. Of course, for me, "golf" meant hitting a bucket of balls every couple of days at the local practice range, and watching my ball veer off in every direction but straight ahead. I even took a lesson from a pro who declared my swing plane "interesting." I think that was his polite way of telling me I suck.

　　Anyway, being a fan of EA Sports' Tiger Woods series, I've been closely following--but not playing--the series on the Wii, while choosing to actually play the 360 version of the game. The developers behind the game have been working hard for a couple of years now in trying to perfect the swing interface between what you do with the Wii Remote and what your golfer is doing on the screen. After seeing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for Wii for the first time yesterday, and swinging the virtual club with the Wii MotionPlus controls, I have to say they might be as close to "nailing it" as they're going to get.

　　Though developers have sought to make that 1-to-1 relationship between your swing and your character's swing as close as possible, it's still not quite there. There's the slightest delay between your real movement and that of your on-screen player. It's not that big of a deal really, but it is noticeable. However, once you start swinging the club, you'll recognize a fidelity and accuracy to the swing that simply hasn't been there before. That's thanks in part to the addition of optional Wii MotionPlus controls, which use the MotionPlus add-on you can snap into the bottom of your Wii Remote, making the controller a great deal more sensitive.

　　In my brief time with Tiger and Wii MotionPlus, the most noticeable thing about the swing was how the problems that plague my real-life game eerily translate to virtual golf. On the course, I can't keep a shot straight to save my life, thanks to a crummy swing plane and a head that's never flat on the surface of the ball during contact. Same thing with Tiger 10, as the game measures how flat the head of the club is once you make contact with the ball. If you're twisting the Wii Remote to the right or left, you can expect the ball to hook or slice accordingly.

　　Now, someone with real golf skill might call that a draw or a fade--and indeed, you can add a great deal of draw or fade to shots with careful twisting of the Wii Remote--but to me, it felt like my real-life links problems come to life. And I don't say that as a bad thing--rather as a compliment to the game's swing fidelity. If anything, Tiger 10 might be turn out to be a tool you could use to fix a swing problem--at the very least, it causes you to pay a lot of attention to your club head during your swing.

　　Follow-through is important too. The controls also measure how quickly you move through your swing--the faster you swing, the more powerful your shot; likewise, if you take a gentle swing you'll end up with a more gentle shot. Couple those sensitive draw and fade mechanics, with similarly dynamic swing power levels and you've got a swing system that is closer than ever to the real thing. And if you find that, like me, your real-life swing problems are translating to the game, the club tuner feature--which was a largely underutilized addition to last year's game--might prove to be vital, giving you the chance to fix a persistent slice or hook with some careful tweaks.

　　Other cool things in Tiger 10 include real weather displays based on the Wii's weather channel and a new putting system that puts as much premium on you're the head of your putter as you'll find in your regular swing. Putting also has changed to a one-length putting system; no more toggling between distance settings before a putt. Instead, an on-screen meter will show you exactly how far back you need to pull back to match the distance to the cup (super hardcore players can turn that meter off completely, instead solely relying on their putting instincts).

　　I also found a lot of use in the practice mode (accessed by swinging while pressing the A and B buttons simultaneously); which is especially important when judging distance on shots that require a deft touch. Of course, Tiger 10 isn't just made for the hardcore duffers; there will be a variety of difficulty levels for beginners and medium-skill players as well.

　　Tiger 10 is at its best with the Wii MotionPlus controls. If the game ships before Nintendo releases the add-on (and who knows for sure when that will be), it might be a tough sell for most dedicated golf fans who will be stuck with the basic Wii Remote controls. Still, when the Wii MotionPlus controls are working it feels great, even if it makes the problems in my golf game as stark to me in the game as they are in real life.