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The Jack Nicklaus series is one of the largest, mostly from the large number of user created courses. Links has their following of hardcore simmers. And PGA Championship is starting to come into its own with the True Swing.

So what warrants buying PGA Championship 2000 over other games? Can it claim to be the best ever? And bottomline: is it fun?

The signature feature from the game is the True Swing. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it's the system where you take the mouse back and forward to hit the ball while the golfer moves in real-time. It sounds simple because it is. The 2000 version is more refined yet makes it a little more difficult to hit perfect shots. I think what can be described is a greater margin for error. In past incarnations, if you were the slightest bit off you would hit a 360 degree, Caddyshack hook right into the jungle. This year you can get away with being slightly off. But being slightly off doesn't mean its going to be a 300 yard piper. Slightly off in the swing equates to slightly off from the target.

The other factor in the True Swing is tempo. Just like in real golf you have to take it back smoothly and accelerate through the ball. What's a little disconcerting is that you can't crank a shot. Let's say you need to pound a drive on a 460 par 4, the True Swing doesn't allow you to do this. If you have good tempo throughout the swing you will hit a good shot. But it doesn't allow for you to reach back and let er rip. The times I tried to swing too fast through the shot, I barely make it 200 yards. Adding tempo to the True Swing was a definite plus. Gone is taking the club back and waiting until you feel ready to swing through the ball. I just wish over swinging wasn't penalized.

The first version of the game really set-off the "mouse swing" phase golf games have gone into. Which isn't a bad thing. Jack Nicklaus and Links have their spin-offs from the TruSwing. Which brings us too what is better, Tri-Click or True Swing? I think the answer can be said this way.past Tri-Click methods offered golfers a way to shoot too low of scores too often. I say past because I don't know if a Tri-Click method can't be as realistic as True Swing. So if you are a die-hard three-clicker it will take you some time to adjust to PGA Championship 2000. Not only in score but mentally. Gone are the days of shooting 57 and leaving a few shots out on the course.

The True Swing brings the level of realism to PGA Championship 2000 that can't be found in other golf games. Now you are itching to break 80 or 75 and it's darn near impossible to break 70 your first time out. For that matter, the second, third, fifth or tenth.

But there are some flaws in the True Swing's armor. Everybody uses a different mouse and depending on the ergonomics you might find yourself having a really tough time just making contact. At times to test out this theory, I put the mouse against something straight and swung. What I thought was straight back, really wasn't. Which leads to this point. Know your mouse and practice. Just the same with real golf right?

Just like in real golf, PGA keeps you guessing on shots all through out a round. You don't know where putts will break EXACTLY. You don't know where EXACTLY to line up your shots. You don't know EXACTLY how much to take back a chip shot or putt. All this leads to you having to think your way around a course. No more clicking down the fairway to aim up. I think right there, that eliminates "too easy golf". You don't know where your shot will go before you hit it. Sure you have an idea but it might walk that fine line between a great shot and struggling for bogey.

The poorest part of the game, and I will mention it throughout the review, is poor distances on clubs. Simply stated, you can't swing over the suggested club distances. I don't know about you but this doesn't seem too realistic. You can't overswing in this game. What you can do is deloft the club to get the right distance but it will affect your shot. Poor distances really affect iron play. Playing a long 3-par with water short, will give you nightmares. Let's say you have to hit a 3-iron into the green but it's just barely enough club. You might have 212 when a 3-iron can only go 210. You must hit the ball perfectly to get the ball to fly the correct distance. More than likely the ball will still be short. Why not just grab a club that will get me there? Well that's not real golf. Sometimes I just want to be stupid and hit a shot as hard as I can. Clubbing up is for wimps. But in this game you better or you might end up snorkeling.

Let's jump into the features before I change the article into a review of the True Swing. PGA Championship Golf 200 comes with quite a few modes to play, medal (stoke), match, scramble, skins, three different kinds of fourball and bestball. To compete with Links LS, they offer you the chance to play side games. While not as robust as Links LS mode creator, you can play for greenies, flagies, nassua, longest drives and others.

What sets PGA Championship 2000 apart from other golf games is that it comes with tons of courses, thirteen in all. That's important to note because often in golf games that come with a few courses, you get tired of them very quickly. And PGA Championship 2000 doesn't force you to buy course additions.

Another strong point, that is somewhat related to the courses, is a season mode. PGA 2000 lets you set up any season you want. If you feel the need to create the PGA season, the resources are there. And if you are like me, you'll just wait until some sucker does it for you. The game also offers you the ability to create lists of golfers. This means is that if you wanted to recreate Hogan, or Nicklaus, you could punch in their stats and have a cyber golfer of them. Or you could create lists of golfers ranging back to Tom Morris, Harry Vardon, Bryon Nelson and all of the greats.

After downloading a PGA Tour Pros List (Kudos to Joe Wells for creating it), firing up a tournament is much more rewarding. Now you can compete against the best and see how you do. I am sad to say that I haven't made it to the weekend yet against these big boys. An awesome feature in this game is the ability to be paired with CPU golfers. That isn't revolutionary but I am more than satisfied in the way it was implemented.

Remember back to the PGA Tour Golf days, where updates were posted on the screen to alert you on other golfers? PGA Championship might not have pop-ups but that same kind of tournament feeling is there. When you start a tournament you are paired with 1-6 other golfers, depending on what you feel like playing. Also the order in which you tee off is completely random if you so choose. You can start off in the fourth group and not know how the other golfers will play. Or you could be in the second to last group, birdie 18, only to find that the last group in beat you. This sense of real tournament play isn't matched by other games I have played.

You don't have to watch every shot. ReadyPlay lets you go throughout the course only playing your ball. The other golfers hit their shots when ready and continue until everyone has holed out. It's a little distracting when you are swinging only to see a ball come flying by you.

The CPU golfers don't play stupid golf. Some decisions are questionable but you won't get mad at them too often. If they need to hit a great shot, the game gives them the chance to do so. When the feel the need to punch out, they will. They will take risks that won't pay off sometimes. All this adds up to CPU play that isn't static.

Season and career play isn't what you might think though. While it's easy to set up tournaments, you are limited in what you can do. You can't play match play or any other mode of golf. You can't have gimmies turned on. And you can't save a round during your tournament. I suppose all of this is to prevent those people who shoot 55 from cheating. For the rest of us it's a hassle.

As for career play it's really not a career. There's no induction into a hall of fame, or something special like that. Once you get done with one season, reset it and do it over.

However, creating an ultra-realistic cyber copy isn't quite as easy. You can't just type in the same stats and expect them to play like their real life counterparts. A little manipulation will have to be done because sometime the golfer will hit too many fairways and miss too easy putts. Or miss every green and make 40 footers regularly. It's not a major problem just a minor distraction.

Another medium problem is ball physics. Calling these better than Links is by far the most absurd thing anyone could do. The physics are solid, just a little suspect at times. Chipping is what brings this to light. On the first bounce, after a chip, the ball takes an abnormally high bounce. Also, chips tend to play out a little longer than what would seem realistic. These are minor quibbles at the most. Balls bounce realistic down the fairway. Balls fly realistically through the air. But it seems when the ball hits the ground is where this game is a little off.

Putting and chipping is what I believe has the problem. The ball rolls differently for each shot. I had a 15 footer on very dry greens and all I had to do was tap it. On the other hand, chips don't seem to roll as they should. For instance, on those very fast greens, chips that should have rolled off the green only went past the whole by a few feet. The physics don't impede the game, just sometimes it's will make you think.gosh darnit.

The part that is unimpressive is graphics. Other golf games do better in this department. The fairways, greens, tee boxes all look great, its just when you look at scenery the game looks bland. Playing Black Diamond Ranch illustrates this. The course has a great layout but scenery is just par. I will note that this could also be due to course design in not adding enough variation in trees or shrubs. Buildings are pretty bad. They are your basic 3D shapes, not near the detail you might find in other games. If you are looking for eye candy you won't find it here.

Golfers aren't as polished as you might find in the Nicklaus series. They are a little rough around the edges. The galleries are your standard cardboard cut-outs but won't bother you a bit. The reason being, galleries in tournaments are dynamic. Play bad and a few poor souls will watch you. Play good and you'll think you're as popular as Tiger.

I mentioned above about the real tournament aura that is in the game; camera work has a little something to do with that. If you wanted to watch the closing group you could set up separate camera view of them. Or you could have a camera on any player. The game also allows you to set-up any camera angle you wish to watch the action.

All swings are done in real time. So you get immediate feedback on how you are swinging. I don't know if this is any different than watching a meter go up and down. Let me give you my reason why. When you swing back the True Swing limits you on how far back you can go. There's no way you can overswing. Basically its just like the meter, you have a beginning, stops at 100% and goes forward again. The only difference is that you see a golfer doing it instead of a meter. A nice feature would be to actually have to stop your swing at the top so if you go past parallel at the top you could be penalized.

To compliment your round you have a few commentators heckling your shots. Actually they give the basic run down of what's going on. They give you approximate yardages, say that you crushed it, tell you to aim left side of the cup. While the commentary isn't bad it's not ground breaking. Just some good back ground noise. Galleries are a different story. They will yell out when you hit a good shot, or "ohhh" when you burn the edge.

The sound is like in any golf game.it's there. But I was completely blown away by the original scores that accompany the courses. When you are selecting a course, each one has their own score. Listening to Cabo del Diablo, makes you want to learn salsa dancing. Gloucester has an Irish gig to it. Monterrey Shores has smooth jazz, while Jocassee Shoals plays a little country guitar. The menu music is truly inspirational and the first thing that strikes you when you start up the game.

There is one more part to PGA 2000 that I have to mention. If you get tired of the original courses, you can fire up the course architect and design some of your own. Maybe I have an attention disorder but using it isn't as simple as they claim. Sure you can make 18 holes with the wizard, add some trees a bunker or two and bingo you have yourself a course. For the more creatively inclined, it's tough to work a course to perfection.

To start off, you have to create land shapes. These are your fairways, roughs, tee boxes, etc. Simple enough to draw a shape and select what it should be. So let's say you have your hole laid out...next you have to drop the land shape. I don't know what that means but basically you're going from a outline to a real surface. After a few more adjustments you need to rework the green to better accommodate a shot. Well now you have to go back and pick up the land shape, which turns into an outline, edit and drop it again. Sure seems like too many steps in there. If you have the patience then it won't be a problem.

I will say that until we have a chance to see what Links LS's course architect can do. This by far offers designers the best utilities and options for their courses. To the Nicklaus fans, I am sorry, designing a course, hole by hole separately is so yesterday.

Where does PGA Championship 2000 stand? It is a definite buy for those of you seeking a fun game. "Fun" being the most important word. It might not have ultra-realistic physics or scenery like Links LS or very detailed golfers like Golden Bear Challenge. But the game has a wild card in that you play golf realistically. You are constantly guessing at to how the ball will bounce, where to line-up, or how much to swing. That's a bad thing for people used to fake golf but a good thing for the rest who want to struggle to shoot 75. Sometimes the struggles are more rewarding than a low number.

We must also be careful as labeling this the best ever. The game doesn't have the best physics nor the best graphics but who cares. The real question is, "can the game give us what we want?" And that is a game which takes the fun aspects of golf and puts them into our PCs. PGA Championship Golf 2000 does this no questions asked. By far the game has the most complete options with fun, yet realistic gameplay.