Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13

Tiger Woods 13 brings changes to the franchise's swing mechanic, but this certainly isn't the first time that the series has played around with this crucial part of his game. We take a look at where Tiger's swing has been and where it may be going.

Like most sports franchises, Tiger Woods' progression has been marked by both fertile and fallow years. Current series developer EA Tiburon is promising a big step forward in Tiger 13 in part because of a host of changes to the game's swing mechanic, but do these changes represent an actual revolution or merely a rearranging of familiar elements?

We won't know exactly until we get our hands on the finished product, but we took some time out to analyze the evolution of Tiger's swing in the next-generation Tiger games to see how these new features stack up against some of the series' past mechanics.

Tiger 06 (Only on Xbox 360 for next-gen)

• Shot Stick – Tiger's foundational analog swing mechanic. In this version of it a wobbly swing is indicated by a faint red trail
• Shape Stick [lower right-hand corner of screenshot] – You can move the right analog stick and hold it on the spot on the ball you wish to strike for draw/fade and to alter the ball's trajectory
• Tiger 06 had other series staples such as mid-air spin, different shot types (punch, flop, etc.), and a camera showing you the Ideal Putt

Tiger 07
Additions/Changes:

• Loft Stick [lower left-hand corner of screenshot] – Opening or closing the club face with the right analog stick lets you get under the ball for extra loft, apply back/forward spin on the ball, and add power for putts
• Fade/Draw are now induced via your swing. This includes a realtime color trail during your back/downswing
• True Aiming – This is an onscreen circle that shows where your ball is likely to land, if not utterly shanked, based on your golfer's skill

Dropped/Subsumed:

• The Shape Stick

Tiger 08
Additions/Changes:

• Fade/Draw now produced before your swing via the right and left bumper (R1/L1) buttons
• The Putt Preview feature replaces the Ideal Putt cam
• Three-Click Swing option
• Shot Confidence – Your True Aiming circle is affected by your history at that course and that particular hole

Dropped/Subsumed:

• Ideal Putt cam

Tiger 09
Additions/Changes:

• A new HUD element has been added which lets you see your back/downswing trajectory on a ball [lower left-hand corner of screenshot]

Dropped/Subsumed:

• Shot Confidence

Click to the next page for more.

Tiger 10
Additions/Changes:

• Practice Swing
• Precision Putting – This gives you increased putting power, and your putting swing is shown via a realtime indicator

Tiger 11
Additions/Changes:

• Focus Points – These are spent on things like Power Boost, adding spin, Putt Preview, etc., and are earned the better you do
• True-Aim – This optional difficulty setting lets you play without the benefit of the True Aiming circle
• The Loft Stick goes back to more of a ball-based Shape Stick icon in order to influence your ball's trajectory [lower left-hand of screenshot above]

Dropped/Subsumed:

• Loft Stick

Tiger 12
Additions/Changes:

• Draw/fade, grip (see bullet point below), and loft trajectory are all handled in one HUD with the right analog stick, replacing Tiger 11's Shape Stick-ish icon. These options are only tweakable if you do a custom shot – not a shot given to you by your caddy [lower right-hand of screenshot below]
• Grip – By choking up on your club you can decrease the club's distance and trajectory. It's like selecting a punch shot…but different
• Caddies' Course Mastery – This is a re-working of Tiger 08's Shot Confidence, which never really went anywhere
• True-Aim has been folded into the general difficulty settings

Dropped/Subsumed:

• The Shape Stick (again!)
• True-Aim

Tiger 13
Additions/Changes:

• Swing trajectory tracked in realtime via a color indicator that constantly keeps track of your swing arc [screenshot 2 below]. This is versus the ball-based HUD introduced in Tiger 09
• Ability to add velocity to your ball via your downswing. This replaces having to add power to your shot by jamming on the LB/L1 button.
• Change where the ball is in relation to your feet to get different loft trajectories [lower right-hand of screenshot 1 below]. This is versus Tiger 12's right stick application of loft
• Open/close your feet for fade/draw vs. Tiger 12's right analog fade/draw
• The Shape Stick returns…kind of. You can strike a specific spot on the ball for fairway shots to hit more/less of the ball. While the idea and the HUD for this is similar to Tiger 06's Shape Stick, it seems like the effect is different. It also seems to be different than changing the ball's trajectory [lower right-hand of screenshot 2 below]

Dropped/Subsumed:

• Tiger 12's all-in-one method of applying draw/fade, choke, and loft trajectory with the right analog stick and a single HUD
• Tiger 09's ball-based swing trajectory HUD
• Focus

Screenshot 1

Screenshot 2

Take a look at this video of Tiger lead designer Mike DeVault going through Tiger 13's swing mechanics and compare it to previous Tigers.