If you're like most sports fans, you haven't watched that much golf since June, when Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open — and then announced he was getting knee surgery and was done playing for the rest of 2008.

But while we might not be watching golf, that doesn't mean we aren't playing it. Even if you don't have an entire day to spend on the links, or if you can't afford the clubs and the greens fees, you can still squeeze in 18 holes in about half an hour. And it's all thanks to video golf.

Golf games have been around almost from the start of the video-game era, but over the last decade or so, EA Sports' "Tiger Woods" series has been atop the leaderboard.

"Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09," EA Sports; for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $59.99; Wii, $49.99; PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, $39.99Woods isn't the only familiar face in his namesake game: You'll also compete against pros like Vijay Singh and Annika Sorenstam. But the one guy you'll really see a lot of is Woods' coach Hank Haney, who pops up after every round with exercises to improve various aspects of your game. Haney is a welcome addition, and I found that his drills actually did improve my overall performance.The big improvement in "PGA Tour 09" is in the mechanics of swinging your club. The analog controls in last year's edition made it too difficult to gauge the power and accuracy of your shots. This time, EA has added on-screen indicators to give you a better idea, before you make the shot, of whether your ball is going to slice off into the woods. EA also added a club tuner that allows you to adjust the controls to compensate for your own tendencies.As usual, you get a batch of new courses, including China's Sheshan Golf Club and South Africa's exotic Gary Player Country Club. Longtime fans of the series, however, might be rattled by the new pair of announcers, Sam Torrance (dull) and Kelly Tilghman (annoying). Still, "PGA Tour 09" looks better than ever, and it's more fun for newcomers and veterans alike.Three stars out of four.

"We Love Golf!" Capcom, for the Wii, $49.99The Japanese studio Camelot has years of experience developing lighthearted, arcade-style golf games like "Mario Golf" and the original "Hot Shots Golf." So it's surprising that Camelot's "We Love Golf!" is somewhat of a misfire.The big disappointment is that "We Love Golf!" doesn't make good use of the Wii remote. Yes, you have to swing the remote to strike the ball, but the motions don't match the back-and-forth of a golf swing. Once you nail the timing, however, the game's awfully forgiving, making eagles and long putts all too easy.If you want to feel like you're actually on the links, other games are better bets.One-and-a-half stars.