My wife was fortunate to be given some free tickets to the Valero Texas Open so we went out and walked a round with Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy and Angel Cabrera this morning. As you all know, the Texas Open course is the TPC San Antonio in TW '12. So I played the course virtually yesterday to get a sense of what I was going to see today. It was interesting to compare the game's rendering of the course with what I was seeing.
The game appears to translate the course simultaneously as something bigger than it actually is and smaller than it actually it is. The game's course is bigger when it comes to perceived distances. In the game, it looks like you're a lot farther away from the pins than in real life. The 200+ yard, par 3 #3 is a perfect example. In the game, it looks like you'll barely make the green with a 3 iron. In person, it looks like you'll have a hard time keeping your tee shot on the green with a 7 iron. Visually in person, it looks like it's only 150 yards from tee to green. From I where I was standing when the players took their shots, it looked like all three pulled out their 7/8 irons. The distances in person fool you into believing the hole is closer than it really is and I would imagine it could mess with a person's club selection. That kind of perception of distance isn't yet replicated in the game. Just about everything looks pretty far away.
However, when it comes to the bunkers, Tiger Woods '12 translates the course as something smaller than it actually is. The bunkers in person are deep and if you hit into most of them, you can't see anything but the top of the bunker. Hitting into them looked dangerous because they were so deep. Nearly every time Scott, Ogilvy or Cabrera hit into a bunker, it was difficult to see anything other than the tops of their hats as they tried to hit out. In the game, the bunkers are much more shallow. I don't see them as that dangerous at all. An easy pitch out can be done in just about every situation. The penalty doesn't seem that bad.
I also paid attention to pin placements as well and didn't see any carnival pins. I saw places on the greens that could be carnival pins, but if the pins were placed in these areas, I could also see players getting really upset about it. Maybe this reaction might be the most realistic aspect of the game given all the discussion of carnival pins. I know virtual golfers hate carnival pins and from the greens I saw today, I would expect that real players would hate them too.
I wish I had some pics for people, but security was excessive and obsessive about any kind of camera or cell phone so you'll have to just take my verbal descriptions at face value for the real-virtual comparisons.
The game appears to translate the course simultaneously as something bigger than it actually is and smaller than it actually it is. The game's course is bigger when it comes to perceived distances. In the game, it looks like you're a lot farther away from the pins than in real life. The 200+ yard, par 3 #3 is a perfect example. In the game, it looks like you'll barely make the green with a 3 iron. In person, it looks like you'll have a hard time keeping your tee shot on the green with a 7 iron. Visually in person, it looks like it's only 150 yards from tee to green. From I where I was standing when the players took their shots, it looked like all three pulled out their 7/8 irons. The distances in person fool you into believing the hole is closer than it really is and I would imagine it could mess with a person's club selection. That kind of perception of distance isn't yet replicated in the game. Just about everything looks pretty far away.
However, when it comes to the bunkers, Tiger Woods '12 translates the course as something smaller than it actually is. The bunkers in person are deep and if you hit into most of them, you can't see anything but the top of the bunker. Hitting into them looked dangerous because they were so deep. Nearly every time Scott, Ogilvy or Cabrera hit into a bunker, it was difficult to see anything other than the tops of their hats as they tried to hit out. In the game, the bunkers are much more shallow. I don't see them as that dangerous at all. An easy pitch out can be done in just about every situation. The penalty doesn't seem that bad.
I also paid attention to pin placements as well and didn't see any carnival pins. I saw places on the greens that could be carnival pins, but if the pins were placed in these areas, I could also see players getting really upset about it. Maybe this reaction might be the most realistic aspect of the game given all the discussion of carnival pins. I know virtual golfers hate carnival pins and from the greens I saw today, I would expect that real players would hate them too.
I wish I had some pics for people, but security was excessive and obsessive about any kind of camera or cell phone so you'll have to just take my verbal descriptions at face value for the real-virtual comparisons.
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