Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 for PlayStation 2 Reviews by Gamers

I have played the TW series since it began, and have been a big fan of it from the beginning. This latest version, however is not in the same league as the rest.
As with all the rest you can build your own character for the game, fun as the rest in that respect. This version they have completely thrown out the old control/swing style and revamped it... but not in any good ways. They give you 3 choices of ways to swing your club. One is the addition of a swing meter, which is less than accurate, especially when starting a new character. The second is somewhat of the more traditional TW swing style, however when starting a new character it is near impossible to get a good swing. The third is a 3 button type swing, reminiscent of the Hot Shots golf series, which it fails at completely. In addition to changing the swing styles, they also moved your power and spin buttons to be the same button, and the X button at that, so now it is in a more awkward position (IMO) and took me a while to figure out that it was there... i still find myself trying to tap L2 for my power at times, and completely duff my swing ;]
Game play changes aside, cuz we can all get over the small learning curve of this, the real let down is the lack of game style options. One of my favorite games in the TW series is 06, which had a club house that had "rival" challenges, which were a good way to earn money and experience. and i even liked 08's rival challenge style of progression... 09, there is no "rival" challenges only this lame bracket style competition where you play against opponents on only 3 holes on a random course... there are no options to be adjusted, no variety in game play... i went through the competition twice, and was bored with it.
I haven't gotten my character good enough to play in the PGA tour, and i'm not sure i want to waste my time even trying.
VERY disappointed in this latest of the TW series!
I'm glad i didn't just go out and buy it like i had planned on.