How does the year-old Real Golf 2011 by Gameloft withstand the charge of the latest Tiger Woods 12 from EA? Real Golf’s swing meter mimics Tiger’s and with a few trips to the driving range you’ll find it works beautifully and combined with it’s gorgeous graphics, impeccable ball physics and wonderfully detailed courses allows Real Golf 2011 to maintain it’s lead as the most “realistic” golf simulation available for your iOS device and also one of the most underrated games in the app store.

After a year of play, I’ve never seen a better looking handheld golf game or one that does a better job of holding your interest and immersing you in a round of golf on 10 diverse world class courses each beautifully recreated in stunning 3D. Each course has it’s own distinct personality all the way down to the type of grass you’ll be playing on. The detail is really quite remarkable.

One of the standout features of Real Golf is the ability to watch replays of your holes along with the ability to save that once-in-a-lifetime hole in one. You play as one of 10 pros like Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, Annika Sorenstam and Vijay Singh whose movements are depicted using motion-capture technology. As you advance through a long career mode you’ll unlock courses and be able to upgrade your golfer with better equipment. You receive mail inviting you to participate in a wide variety of events on different courses so you can pick-and-choose the ones you prefer

The fairways and greens in Real Golf are realistically recreated with lots of mounds and undulations that affect the bounce and roll of your shots. I’ve had shots back up and roll off the front of the green into bunkers or errant shots roll off mounds and take a right turn towards the hole. The ball physics are excellent.

If you’ve played real golf you’ll know that one of the hardest things to deal with, besides solid ball-striking, is judging the wind. You have to be aware of the wind in Real Golf and adjust your aim accordingly. A perfectly struck 4-iron into a 15 mph headwind will leave you short or in the bunker. You can apply backspin while the ball is in the air and as it lands to stop your ball or shorten it’s flight. Although the multitude of random camera angles that follow your ball flight can make it difficult to judge exactly what type of spin to apply.

Putting is challenging, fair and realistic. The putting stroke is similar to the full swing but you can move your finger much slower and be pretty precise. The grid has been updated and gives you one read of the break that disappears once you touch to adjust your aim. As with the wind you have to be aware of whether you’re putting uphill or down and adjust your stroke. The greens are fast with a lot of break and it never feels automatic unless it’s a dead straight putt. Going past the optimum putting line on the meter and hitting the putt a little hard will take out some break. Putting is fun and on big breaking putts will show you why pros fall to their knees on perfectly struck putts that trickle past the hole.

On the downside, the AI of the pros in match play, team play and closest to the pin is weak and not much of a challenge and they’ll do some weird things occasionally like take a full swing with a driver from just off the green. If you want more serious competition you can try to find a multiplayer match online via Gameloft live where you’ll be able to watch the other players shots in match play. There’s also instant play (3 random holes) and free play where you can choose any format against any pro along with a list of challenges like chipping in from off the green or playing 3 par 3’s in under eight shots.

The sound is terrific from the “WAP” of your opening drive to the satisfying clunk of your ball as it falls into the cup along with the sounds of nature that immerse you in the course. The announcer can be turned off and you can fast forward through your opponents shot.

Although it doesn’t hit every shot perfectly, even a year after it's release, Real Golf 2011 still out drives any real golfing simulation you can find on the iPhone and is as close as many of us will ever get to playing some of the world’s most fabulous courses. I’d gladly pay for an update with new courses and improved AI.

goyami@comcast.net