Tiger Woods 14 to have the 1934 version of Augusta National

[Connor Dougherty]

If they actually do it properly and get everything right (routing, bunkers, etc.) this could be really cool.

It also brings up this question for me: Can anything about GCA be learned playing the Tiger Woods games?

I wonder how long it will be until they do an earlier version of The Old Course 

Here's a link for reference in case anyone is curious: http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/tech/post/_/id/3254/tiger-woods-14-masters-edition-detailed

[John McCarthy]

This is awesome.  I hope they have a GTA option that lets you walk the course.

[Bill Shotzbarger]

Tiger isn't even on the cover? What a fall from grace...

Not that I'm upset to see Bobby J on the cover!

[Scott Warren]

Connor,

I discovered Pasatiempo by playing an old version of the TW game years ago.

I think basic matters of strategy and whatnot can be learned and explored from the games, with the caveat being that you can't let your player get too good, because then any shot is fairly easy - hitting a 200-yard 9i from a poor drive position with turbo spin etc.

I always stopped developing my player when his shot qualities - especially distance and spin - got to where I was in reality. Found it the most interesting that way.

But of course when I was setting him up at the beginning I'd always ensure he was far more buff than I was in reality!

[Jeff Shelman]

I'm actually a pretty big fan of the Tiger Woods series for XBox 360. After all, a guy has to do something all winter in Minnesota.

I think the games are really interesting. The past several years they have put many major championship courses and after playing a bunch on the game, I feel like I have a better sense of the golf course when I watch TV.

Can you learn anything architecturally? I don't know. You can learn about how difficult or easy some greens are and learn where you can an can't be above the hole.

Overall, I just think the games are fun.

[Connor Dougherty]

This is getting bumped because EA just released an ad that details a lot of the 1934 features. What most notably stuck out to me was the fingering bunkers at 13 and the original green location at 10 were properly done. I really can't wait for this thing to come out now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfvCLDha30A&feature=youtu.be

[Matthew Essig]

Old:
18th green (or should I say 9th )
13th green
2nd green
16th green
12th green
10th green
11th green
6th green
and
15th green
all in the same video.... nice!!!!!!!!!

In addition to all the courses that were on the 2013 game and the 1934 ANGC, there will be Oak Hill, the Restored Pinehurst #2, Mission Hills CC (Kraft Nabisco), and Muirfield Village.

[B.Ross]

this is pretty cool, but i think i'd like to see them go a different direction in terms of adding new courses, although beggars can't be choosers, here's what i'd like to see in the game:

- cypress point, enough said there.

- more courses from the british open rota & presidents cup rota (i cant recall royal melbourne ever in the game, nor turnberry or muirfield or st. georges)

- no merion the year its holding the open?

last thing slightly unrelated. if i recall 1 year they had a game where a course went through NYC's central park... this reminds me given the topography of that park, you could have built a few world class tracks w/in it, if it werent arguably america's greatest park.

rant over

[William_G]

who has time for these games except kids in a depresssed economy, LOL

beam me up Scotty and cut all the red tape, then I might be interested

I bought the first ANGC version, never even saw Magnolia Lane.

Connor do you have any tips/secrets for us AARP folks with the latest version from EA?

thanks

[Connor Dougherty]

BRoss,

I, too, would love to see Cypress Point in the game, along with a myriad of other great tracks. However I don't think they want to give the licensing to EA, so I doubt it will happen. I also said the same thing about Augusta National, so anything could happen.

They tend to have at least a few of the Open courses in the game. Turnberry was definitely in a few of them, although I don't seem to remember them having Muirfield or St. Georges. They have had Royal Melbourne's composite track in the game since it hosted the Presidents Cup, and from what I understand it will be at least sold as an add-on course this year.

I do wonder if Merion has given them the licensing to be in the game. I don't think they did, but I haven't seen anything indicating they haven't. Same goes for Muirfield.

And yes, they did have a course in Central Park, which was pretty wild. I don't know how great the land was, because a lot of it was manufactured. Either way, if you could create the right atmosphere, that would've been something special.

I have no idea on tips. I found the last game to be a bit more difficult to play and found that I wasn't playing it much. They apparently will be having a walk through mode for the old version of Augusta, so I would recommend that to anyone being frustrated by the game.

[Mark Pearce]

As an IP lawyer it's an interesting question as to why the game publishers need a licence from the clubs whose courses they feature.  What IP right would be infringed by the reproduction of a course in the game?  Is a golf courser a copyright work (I think it probably is)?  If it is, who owns the copyright (I'll bet most contracts are silent on this but I'd love to hear from practising architects)?  In UK law it would be arguable that reproducing a golf course in a game would avoid infringement under s 62 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, which states that it is not an infringement of copyright to make a graphical work representing a sculpture, model for a building or a work of artistic craftsmanship which is permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public.  Is there any equivalent in US law, I wonder?  If there is, does the private nature of many US courses take them outside that provision?

[Adam Lawrence]

Mark - isn't the key question not the copyright inherent in the design of the course, but the right for the game producers to get access to the data they need to produce the electronic version? How are they going to do that without the cooperation of the club/course in question?

[Mark Pearce]

Adam,

Possibly.  It depends how accurate the data needs to be and what's available from overhead photography and other publically available sources.

Also, technically, that's a question of access, not licensing, unless the access contract assigned rights in the data collected to the club, rather than the surveyor.

[Mike_Trenham]

I was thinking it starts with the clubs name, but then you can write a book about Cypress Point with out their name, very complex situation.  Should clubs trademark their names and logos.

[Mark Pearce]

Mike,

I know some have http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ohim?ohimnum=E2255610.  Would there be a fair use defence, though?  Under UK law it's not trade mark infringement to use a mark to describe the goods or services of the proprietor of the mark, so long as that use is in accordance with honest business practices.  Could it be argued that the use of the name "Pebble Beach" to identify a golf course owned by Pebble Beach fell within that exemption?

[Josh Tarble]

In an architectural sense, will this be one of the best documentations of the original course? How cool would it be if this caused a movement for them to return to aspects of the original design?

William,
They have an "easy" mode and several tutorials. It should be fairly easy for anyone to pick up and enjoy. They also have several of he options you actual make a swing, like Xbox kinect or PS move. But I prefer to swing playing of and sit down playing video games!

[Scott_Burroughs]

Old:
18th green (or should I say 9th )
13th green
2nd green
16th green
12th green
10th green
11th green
and
9th green
all in the same video.... nice!!!!!!!!!

Matthew,

Are you sure the last one isn't #15?

[John McCarthy]

Did you know that one player in the 1934 field is still alive?  Errie Ball. 

[Bill Seitz]

Adam,

Possibly.  It depends how accurate the data needs to be and what's available from overhead photography and other publically available sources.

Also, technically, that's a question of access, not licensing, unless the access contract assigned rights in the data collected to the club, rather than the surveyor.

Mark, with the increased realism of today's game, they really need to be able to get out to the site to do most of the 3-D mapping and that sort of the thing.  20+ years ago, when I was playing the first version or so of the EA Sports golf game on a mac, there was no elevation change (though the greens did have some movement), so they could probably do a lot more via aerials.  I recall that the version I played had some licensing from the Tour, so it had a bunch of the real names, and had a few TPC courses (Sawgrass, Avenal, and Southwind, I think). That version actually did include a fourth course which was truly Pebble Beach, but they didn't call it Pebble Beach.  Can't remember what they called it, but if you knew the holes, you knew it was Pebble.

If they were still using that primitive technology, they could probably re-create Augsta and call it "Magnolia Hills" or something.  But if they had done so, it wouldn't have been as good, and probably would have destroyed the good will built up over time that has eventually allowed them to get real access to Augusta. 

[Greg Holland]

Mark,

There are cases in the US where famous courses enforced rights to their name.  For example the Resorts at Pinehurst, which registered Pinehurst as a trade mark, was able to enfore its rights in the mark due to the secondary meaning the mark had acquired.  Other courses in the area were enjoined from using Pinehurst in their names (e.g., what was Pinehurst National is now The National).  

Interestingly in the 1950s Ben Hogan was the one that sued a publisher for using his likeness without permission, and won, which largely established the right of athletes and celebrities to control their likeness and endorsements, etc.

While I suppose one could create a game with a course that looked like one of the famous ones, without some license/permission, it could not be called "Augusta" or "Pinehurst" and probably would not sell nearly as well.

[Alex Miller]

Old:
18th green (or should I say 9th )
13th green
2nd green
16th green
12th green
10th green
11th green
and
9th green
all in the same video.... nice!!!!!!!!!

Matthew,

Are you sure the last one isn't #15?

I thought it could have been #1... 

[Matthew Essig]

Old:
18th green (or should I say 9th )
13th green
2nd green
16th green
12th green
10th green
11th green
and
9th green
all in the same video.... nice!!!!!!!!!

Matthew,

Are you sure the last one isn't #15?

I thought it could have been #1... 

I tried to fix it yesterday, but the computer acted up, and wouldn't let me change it.
After 11, it goes 6 then 15.

[Alex Miller]

Good to hear. I would've been pretty disappointed if that's what they got for #9 (old 18). Looking forward to the boomerang green!

[Matthew Essig]

Good to hear. I would've been pretty disappointed if that's what they got for #9 (old 18). Looking forward to the boomerang green!

HERE YOU GO!!!!!!!

www.operationsports.com/media/1006/tiger-woods-pga-tour-14/screenshot-22349

[Jon Heise]

Amazing!  Cant wait for this.