In Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition, three new courses have been added to those shipped with the previous year's edition. A total of 117 holes is now offered with six full 18-hole courses and one nine-hole layout. Free Internet service is provided at the Internet Gaming Zone www.zone.com for cyber-golf fans who'd rather compete against human competition than computer controlled opponents. LAN and modem multi-player options are available as well.
Game courses include the Donald Ross Memorial (Harbor Springs, Michigan), the Greg Norman designed Medalist in Hobe Sound, Florida and two courses from Casa de Campo, The Links and Teeth of the Dog. Rounding out the venues is Eagle Heights, a fantasy course set in the Pacific Northwest and two courses from Bay Harbor, Michigan, The Bay Harbor Golf Club and the nine-hole Preserve.
Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition features four golf swing options including the standard two- and three-click methods, a Natural Swing where the golfer moves the mouse forward and backward to emulate a normal golf swing and a Sim Swing which is based on adjustable settings of style, strength and distance through the Edit Players setup. Demos of all swing styles are provided in the 2-CD package.
Customization of Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition includes three types of balls to play, each with specific reaction properties, hole fly-bys, ten golfer models from which to choose and play-by-play commentary by CBS golf analyst and PGA pro, David Feherty. A player creation function allows you to both edit and create either human or computer golfers with attendant preferences such as appearance, club selection, swing type, style, strengths (and weaknesses) and club distance.
Game types contained in Microsoft Golf 1999 Edition range from stroke and match play to skins, scrambles and Bingo Bango Bongo. Controls can be customized in the areas of course conditions such as sky (4 options), wind (5), pin difficulty (10), ground settings (5) and fog which can be toggled on/off. Team play, gimmies and mulligans are also optional.