No, I'm not going to go there. We all know what Tiger Woods did, and all the opinions that could possibly be held on the matter have been well and truly voiced, as have all the bad jokes that have surfaced since the incident. I'm as guilty as anyone else for participating in the worldwide mocking of one of the world's greatest golfers, but right now I'm here to review a game, so let's concentrate on that, shall we?

What I want to talk about is whether there's any point whatsoever in buying this iteration of PGA Tour on the PS3. It's been quite a while since I played a golf game other than the minigame on Wii Sports Resort, and I think this is somewhat understandable. After all, surely tapping the buttons on a gamepad pales in comparison to swinging a wii mote around.

Debates were heated over whether the new laser club should be allowed in professional tournaments

Well EA Sports have clearly taken this into account, as the old three-button tap to pick your shot has been ditched entirely. Now swinging your club is controlled with the left analogue stick, which not only gives the game a far more fluid and realistic feel, but also allows for a more accurate shot. The Wii's motion control system remains superior, but the analogue stick method is a vast improvement, and golf fans needn't fear that they're missing out if they are without Nintendo's console.

The next big question is whether the game is worth buying if you purchased the 2010 iteration. It's well known that there can sometimes be very little differentiation in EA Sports' annual releases, and golf isn't exactly a game that's known for rapid evolution. However, new control system aside, there are some significant alterations and improvements which cater for both casual and hardcore golf gamers alike.

First up is the inclusion of Focus, which is essentially a stamina bar that depletes whenever you add accuracy, power or spin to a shot, thus limiting the amount these abilities can be used and curbing the player's over-reliance on them; a problem which occurred frequently in the previous games. This also has the effect of making your traverse around a course much more tactical, and encourages you to practice improving your game without them.

For those who want to make their experience as realistic as possible, another new feature called True-Aim has been added. In this mode, the third-person camera is fixed, and players can only line-up their shots from the perspective of the golfer. While this certainly makes the game more challenging, the increase in difficulty isn't as severe as you might expect, though it's probably advisable for beginners to ignore this mode for at least their first few hours of play.

Other new additions include five new courses such as the infamously difficult celtic manor, and the total of professional golfers in the game has been increased to twenty-five, but perhaps the biggest new inclusion is the Ryder Cup. Playing in a team adds a whole new dimension to the Tiger Woods formula, as you have to rely on the skills of others and, if you're playing online, hope that your own abilities are good enough that you don't let your team-mates down.

Yeah, probably best to avoid whacking your ball into that lot

Considering that golf doesn't change much, there is a substantial amount of new content in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, and this is on top of the already immense career options that were previously available. In fact this almost acts as something of a drawback, as the play options that are initially on offer are so numerous they are overwhelming. Though frankly this is nitpicking. However, there are a few more significant problems which should be covered.

To start with, the visuals are functional at best, and while the controls have been vastly improved, the analogue sticks are rather sensitive, making it far too easy to slice your shot and send your ball spinning into the crowd. The tutorial is also perhaps a little overlong, and the voice-over is intensely annoying, sounding like he should be commentating on a WWE wrestling match rather than guiding you gently through a golfing tutorial.

Special mention must be given to the character creation system, which is actually very good with plenty of options and allows you to digitally transfer a photo of your face onto your character should you so wish. But then came the point where you choose your character's nickname, out of a list of some of the worst nicknames known to man, ranging from cringeworthy “gangta” nicknames such as “Playa” and “Big dog” to horrendously stereotyped feminine nicknames like “Princess”, which, although clearly intended for a female character, can be used for either sex, with hilarious results.

Go on, make the joke, I dare you

All of the problems are irksome rather than game-breaking, and don't have a significant impact on what is a surprisingly deep and engaging rendition of Mark Twain's “good walk spoiled”. It isn't likely to set the world alight, but if you're a fan of golf and looking to get in on the game without getting the hem of your trousers damp, you'll be more than happy with this.

Top Game Moment: When all the tricks in the tutorial come together and you land a shot right next to the hole. I would like to say getting a hole-in-one but sadly I'm not that good.