Puttluck is a new golf game developed specifically for the iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

As the name suggests, this game is purely focused on putting, and it uses a highly innovative control system in an effort to simulate the real-world physics of putting as realistically as possible – you hold the phone like a putter and swing it, (much like a Wii controller) to hit the ball.

It definitely comes across as much more of a simulation than an arcade-style game, but nonetheless it will appeal to both golf fanatics and casual gamers alike. The golf courses are well designed, the concept well thought out and the app on the whole incredibly intuitive to use.

Puttluck is the first golf game for the iPhone 4 that makes use of the gyroscope, and it’s by no means surprising to learn that it was developed with input from a professional PGA golfer over more than a year. If Puttluck set out to revolutionise the way golf games work on handheld devices, then it succeeded!  Users on the App Store have already suggested that games like the frankly underwhelming Tiger Woods PGA Tour will incorporate this kind of control system in future releases.

Black Widow has sponsored Puttluck and are putting (no pun intended) up prizes for Gamecenter based competitions to be held during major ‘real world’ golf tournaments, which adds another dimension to a game that already boasts enough features and innovation to impress anyone.

Overall, Puttluck provides enough originality and satisfaction to more than justify the £0.59 price tag and don’t be put off if you’re not a golfer. The game play is unique, fun and equally enjoyable whether you’re a PGA golfer or a part time iPhone gamer. Download it here.

As far as golf games go, this one has to be one of the simplest we’ve seen on the app store. But we unfortunately found there’s a fine line between keeping it simple and making it, well, a little dull.

Now, what it is worth pointing out is that this app is free on the app store and there are lots of different game play modes. The concept is, as we said, simple. You have no control over the power of the ball, just the direction it goes in. With Golf Putt Pro you have to choose the direction in which you putt according to the slope of the green as displayed to you with a number and arrow.

There are some great features:-

• Lots of game play modes, including “3 Lives,” where you can miss three times before the fame is over and “Super Pro,” where the slope of the green makes getting your shot on target isn’t so easy! There are 5 game play modes in total.

• It’s Gamecenter compatible. Not such a big deal for everyone, granted. But for those of us who like to get a little competitive with our iPhone gaming, this is a great addition.

• It is easy to get to grips with. Nobody wants to spend an hour working out how to play a game, so the ease with which you can pick this up has its appeal.

• It’s free…. so there’s no questioning value for money here! The app does run ads within.

On the other hand though, it fell a little short in other areas.

• Simple or boring? Call us harsh but it just failed to keep us entertained for much longer than a few minutes. It seems some reviewers on the app store agree with us, one in particular commenting that; “I thought the game was ok but it was a little boring, not much to do but put the ball in the hole…no obstacles?”

• Little by way of a real challenge, other than getting the direction of the shot right. There are no obstacles and you have no control over the power of the shot. This could be dramatically improved by adding power control.

So to sum up, it’s entertaining for a few minutes. It certainly does not seek to replicate the real golfing experience in any way but as a simple, fun game to pass a little time.

Flick Golf! by Fullfat Games uses a unique method of control compared to all other golf games we’ve played on the iPhone and other platforms. Players must flick the ball straight off the tee towards the hole, then use subsequent finger swipes to add spin to the ball and guide it towards the hole.

While the control method is great, the game focuses entirely on driving the ball aiming for a hole in one every time. The game dispenses with many of parts of the real golf game, such as fairway shots, chipping onto the green and putting, which makes the game feel quite shallow. The control method allows the user to guide the ball to the right, then back to the left, then to the right again, which again takes away from any sense of realism and makes the game incredibly easy.

The graphics are great and the developers have created a unique control method that works very well, but we’d like to see a more realistic golf game from Fullfat Games.

“Sickeningly Addictive” is how one reviewer described StickGolf, and we have to agree. For such as simple game StickGolf has surprising longevity due to the difficulty of the courses and the challenge of ever improving your record scores to compete on the OpenFeint leaderboards.

StickGolf is a great buy at £0.59 ($0.99) and offers a huge selection of courses, each with unique graphics and personality.

StickGolf takes Golf to a new dimension, leaving the traditional fairway behind in favour of crazed holes within caves, impossible landscapes, and even on the moon.

Easy Mode focuses on a players command of the Aim and Power controls. Hard Mode adds Wind to the equation which adds significant extra difficultly to the courses. Our only criticism of the game is that the wind can make some shots impossible, and the best scores on OpenFeint’s leaderboard are those where the players have received a big dollop of luck when the random wind direction and power have worked to their advantage. For this reason, Easy Mode can seem like a more pure and skilful game mode, and the leaderboards on this level are incredibly competitive with the top scores being anything but ‘easy’ to replicate.

With over a million downloads, StickGolf is easily one of the most popular golf games on Apple’s AppStore, however the game does not necessarily appeal to the serious golfers looking for a faithful simulation of their favourite sport.

Despite being one of the more popular golf games on the iPhone, Tiger Woods 10 by EA doesn’t hit the spot for many players, with hundreds of complaints   surrounding the game about the game’s lack of longevity, annoying sound effects and lack of features for the price.

The main gripe with the iPhone version of Tiger Woods is the sheer easiness of game, particular after your player increases their skill level. The game quickly becomes tiresome. Putting in particular is deemed to be far too easy, as one iPhone user puts it:
“Every green is a one-putt from any distance” by Poorpoorpoor, 27th Oct 2010

Serious golf gamers are turning to games like PuttLuck and the less-realistic but challenging StickGolf for a real gaming challenge. The commentary in Tiger Woods iPhone has also received a great deal of criticism from many reviewers such as this one.

Although the game play itself isn’t as good as the console versions of Tiger Woods, the graphics are superb compared to other iPhone games and the general game quality, course choices and controls are excellent, as noted by reviewers on this forum.