EA SPORTS Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 13 at a Glance

Between the EA SPORTS Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 13 demo and watching Tiger himself regain his place in the winner’s circle after 924 days and 108 tournaments, we’re ready to play some golf. But not outside, it’s still freezing here, on our consoles obviously.

For everyone who’s picking up their own copy of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 this week, we’ve got all the information you need to jump straight in and start playing. Of course there are new golfers and courses included in this year’s game, but those aren’t the only changes you need to know about.

You can’t play like Tiger unless you understand the new Total Swing Control. We had Tiger in the studio working with our dev team to make sure the swing mechanic was as true to life as possible. This change represents the biggest leap forward in this system in the last 10 years.

Things you need to know about the new Total Swing Control:

Swing Tempo – For the first time in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR history the tempo and speed of your swing is going to directly influence the power of your shot. Fast tempo will add more distance while a slower tempo will add less.

Shot Setup – Create all possible shot types from one shot setup. Drag your aiming marker forward and back to blend between full, ¾, pitch and chip shots. Create draw and fade shots by opening and closing your golfer’s stance. Affect the launch trajectory by moving the ball forward and back in your stance to create flop and punch shots. With 62 million creatable shots, if you can do it on the green, you can do it in the game.

Strike Meter – Using the all-new Strike Meter, place the sweet spot of the club precisely where you wish to hit the ball. While a center strike is most common, you can use low and high strikes to alter power, spin and trajectory.

Swing Arc – The visualisation of the golfer’s swing is shown in the form of an arc. Use this arc as a guide to execute your swing with the proper power, trajectory and shot shape.

All-New Animations – Utilising the latest versions of EA’s sophisticated ANT animation system, you’ll be able to see in real-time whether your golf swing is on or off plane through your golfer’s on-screen animations.

After you’ve mastered the new Total Swing Control it’s time to get online and create or join a Country Club. In the all-new Country Clubs you can earn Status Points and Coins faster for exclusive access to downloadable courses and Boost Pin packs – equip Boost Pins to your golfer’s bag tag to give them extra perks and power-ups. You can team up with friends to create a Country Club of your own or join an already existing club. Once in, you’ll have team and individual objectives to complete, Status leaderboards – with the winner getting a major Coin bonus, and the daily loyalty bonus award. Check out the video for even more ways to earn Status and Coins with Online Country Clubs.

Check back here tomorrow for a walkthrough on the new Legacy Mode. That should be plenty of time to master Total Swing Control and join an Online Country Club.