Around this time one year ago, I wrote a review of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, using a copy of the game I bought myself. I’ve been a loyal consumer of the Tiger Woods series of video games since about 2002, when the games were much, much simpler.

After a few off years, Tiger 13 was a step in the right direction, and Tiger 14 continues that. There are some bad things, and a few things that had me ready to snap my controller in half, but I can say with certitude that Tiger Woods 14 is the best game to date.

It keeps Augusta National, which was introduced in the 2012 version, and has expanded to include all four major championships (the real names, not just “Summer Major Championship”). The LPGA joins the PGA Tour, and more courses are included standard that in recent year.

More importantly, for the first time since the mid-2000s, former PGA Tour pros are in the game. Tiger 14 includes an assortment of major champions, including Arnold Palmer, who joins Tiger on the cover. The game retails for $60 on Xbox 360 and PS3, or $70 for the Collector’s Edition (if you buy the regular edition, you can always upgrade to the collector’s via DLC, for about $20). Kinect and Move support remain, though I have neither, so I won’t be reviewing them.

Let’s dive in.

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I think of myself as a little bit of a history buff, not because I am any good at history (in fact I got really poor grades in school for history), but simply because I love to learn about it. As we approach the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club, Al Barkow decided to write a detailed account of the first U.S. Open held at the famed San Francisco layout. In 1955, a little-known man named Jack Fleck beat Ben Hogan in an 18-hole playoff that made ESPN’s list of the top 10 upsets of all time.

I found this book when I saw a preview in a magazine I was reading. As I enjoy reading books by Barkow, I was intrigued. If you have not heard of him, then I would recommend reading some of his work. He wrote a fantastic book on Sam Snead and a few others which focus on that time period. His claim to golfing fame was that he was the writer for the Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf and did some of the interviews of Ben Hogan while Hogan was promoting what was then called the Hogan Tour, which today is known as the Nationwide Tour (until 2013!).

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Butch Harmon is one of the biggest names in golf. He has been Golf Digest’s top-ranked golf coach every year since 2003, and he is the mastermind behind Tiger’s early career swing. He has coached some of the biggest names in golf, including Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Adam Scott, and Natalie Gulbis.

You may know Butch from his many media appearances, his 2006 book, The Pro, his PGA Tour win (the Broome County Open in 1971), or his monthly column for Golf Digest. The son of 1948 Masters winner Claude Harmon, Butch teaches amateurs and professionals primarily out of Las Vegas, Nevada, and has been in golf for over 40 years.

Butch is back, and this time with an all-inclusive DVD, Butch Harmon About Golf. The two-disc set of instruction contain about four hours of golf, with 57 chapters including the full swing, the mental game, and fitness. It even includes interviews and conversations with some of Butch’s most famous pupils. Is it worth the $80 USD plus $10 shipping and handling? Read on to find out.

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As I do nearly every year, I was quick to pony up a good deal of cash for the new Tiger Woods PGA Tour video game. Like with most good video games I’ve been engrossed with it since the day I bought it, but that doesn’t mean I love the game.

There are good things. For instance, the online country club feature is awesome, and we here at The Sand Trap have set up country clubs for Xbox 360 and PS3 to take advantage of that. But there is a plethora of shortcomings, not only in this game but in the series overall, and there simply has not been enough of an effort to overcome those. Numerous decisions clearly illustrate that EA Sports values the form over function when it comes to this game, and that comes at a detriment to the gameplay.

This year’s edition is available for $60 for PS3 and Xbox 360, and there is a Collector’s Edition for $70 also sold for both systems. We’ve already arrived to the first downside of Tiger 13, which is that last year’s game was also available for Wii, Windows, Mac OS X, and iOS. Kinect and Move are supported, but I have neither so I won’t be commenting on them. Read on to see if the price was worth it.

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When you think of golf in Scotland, you might think of the great courses, the unpredictable weather, or the rich history of the game, and yet there is an integral part you may overlook and that is the importance of the role of caddies. Scotland’s Caddies by Ron Colby aims to bring the caddy to the forefront and show just how integral their role has not only been throughout the history of golf but continues to play a vital role in today’s golf as well.

Is Scotland’s Caddies a “must see?” Should you add it to your DVD collection? Read on to find out.

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