"Forget about any golfers picking up the sponsorship slack," says Michael K. Ozanian. "According to E Poll Market Research, aside from Tiger, they generate no buzz with consumers."

He's talking about all products, not just video games, but if Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk can't sell shaving cream, they probably can't push a $60 title either. Tiger Woods has been the lead endorser of EA Sports PGA Tour series since 1998 - only John Madden has a longer association on the title of a sports video game. EA axing Tiger is a far different thing than AT&T or Accenture (although Nike and Gatorade have comparable product lines in play here too.)

This is all speculation of course. EA Sports' latest guidance is this stand-by-your-man news release. It's got a major release coming up with Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, a free-to-play browser-based product that's been in a closed beta already, with another coming up soon. And as said above, if Woods is so toxic that he can't rep a game, EA Sports would have no reasonable fallback. Of course this scandal is a disaster for Woods as a business; it's not a party for his corporate partners either.

Tiger's Troubles: The Winners [Forbes]

You have to go through about a minute of this video to get to the germane portion. In all, it's a nice use of Grand Theft Auto IV, but what's up with the its-a-me-Mario voice? Elin Nordegren is a woman and a Swede, not an Italian dude.

New Tiger Woods Video Game [Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.]

Says EA:

Our strong relationship with Tiger for more than a decade remains unchanged. We respect Tiger's privacy, we wish him a fast recovery and we look forward to seeing him back on the golf course.

Of course, this would be different had he hit her with a fairway metal. But the truth is, it would seem EA Sports needs Tiger more than he needs it. Who else would they find with even half the star power? Going back five years, the most famous Majors winners not named Woods are Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington and Retief Goosen. Hell, you'd probably sell more with Lee Carvallo.

Sponsors Stand by Tiger Woods After Apology [Reuters]

At the tail end of the Binghamton, New York's Press & Sun-Bulletin recent report about music legend Willie Nelson's Tuesday concert in upstate New York comes the following detail. The quoted individual is Mickey Raphael, Nelson's "longtime harmonica player." Who better to reveal the following:

Nelson is an avid golfer and apparently enjoys practicing the sport even when he's indoors. "He is addicted to Wii golf," Raphael said of the Nintendo video game, where players can imitate the motions of playing golf with their game controllers. "We may need an intervention soon," he said, laughing.

The paper reports that the 76-year-old Nelson is in the midst of a 130-gig tour. If Willie Nelson is reading this, then, sir, please also read this.

Legend Willie Nelson to perform in Elmira [Press & Sun-Bulletin]

PIC: Getty Images

Five years ago, Sobe, now 36, was the three-time defending national champion in Golden Tee - the bar and bowling-alley golf simulator that's one of the last arcade cabinets in America people are willing to drive somewhere to play. He parlayed his notoriety into a stable gig as a consultant and goodwill ambassador for the game's maker, Incredible Technologies, giving up his eligibility in the lucrative tournaments they sponsored.

And just two months ago, Sobe shook hands with his colleagues at IT and said goodbye, to return, more or less, to where his career began - as the owner of the restaurant in Mount Airy, N.C. where he first played the game.

"It is neat to be back here playing Golden Tee with someone again. When I left here, I never thought I'd be back - and I never assumed I'd be back at Backstreet Pavilion again," Sobe said, of the restaurant his parents owned for a time, and where he first learned the nuances of Golden Tee's notorious trackball, and how to make it pay off for him.

Sobe's parents owned the business in its first incarnation during the late 1990s, when its name and Mount Airy - which is literally the Mayberry of Andy Griffith lore - dominated nationwide Golden Tee leaderboards alongside establishments from Houston and the Chicago suburbs.

At one time, 10 Backstreet golfers made the national Golden Tee finals in Las Vegas, out of a field of 64. From his first tournament in 1997 through his third national title, Sobe won somewhere around $150,000 - not a living by itself, but a very nice supplement to his income.

"We had 10 really good, world-class players around that time," Sobe said. "Some have moved on, some are still around here. Some of the guys have come back around, we're going to give it another shot and see if we can do well again in the tournaments."

But over his five years with Incredible Technologies, Sobe had been somewhat out of practice. He still played the game nearly every day, but by now it was a job, and not something that he sought out in his spare time. Officially a products and services rep for IT, Sobe's job involved flying to Golden Tee locations, playing against local competitors, giving virtual golf lessons, playtesting new course designs, the works. He was even giving in-game golf advice with the press of a HELP button. He just wasn't playing in the types of events where he'd made his name, and he missed that.

"In the world of Golden Tee, the live events are really where it's at," Sobe said. "A lot of players can play well by themselves at their machine, but when you get to a live tournament, nerves become a factor, and the pressure's on."

So when his father called earlier this year to say the old Backstreet Pavilion building, which had different tenants since the family shuttered the business in 2002, was now vacant again, Sobe saw it as an opportunity to reconnect with his roots, in more ways than one.

"One day, Dad called me in Chicago and said ‘the Backstreet Building is vacant again.' We got into a discussion and he asked, ‘Do you want to do this all over again?'" Sobe said. "It was a good opportunity for me, looking into the future, and to have something for myself. And I can play Golden Tee again. I missed it. I missed playing at a high competitive level.

"For the last five years, I still played it, it was my job after all," Sobe said. "But I'd be lying to you if I said I'd be going out and playing Golden Tee when i didn't have to. In some regards I didn't want to play Golden Tee. I wasn't at the top of my game, and I wasn't putting in the work I needed to be there."

Golden Tee is a different game now - of course, it's a different game every time it's played, notorious for changing pin placements, tee box locations and environmental effects when IT updates all machines in the network at midnight. But opportunities to win real money in its online mode are more plentiful - including nine-hole scrambles and daily tournament events. The games's 2010 model can be attached to any size monitor, now, rather than fixed to an arcade cabinet. When Backstreet's new machine arrives, Sobe will hook it to a 42-inch panel so that everyone can see the action.

"You can make a lot more money now in Golden Tee than you could five years ago," Sobe said. The purse payouts may be smaller but there are more paying events than ever. "If you can shoot even par, you can play for money, playing against people at your own skill level."

For Sobe, taking over the mantle of a family business brings him full circle in another way. His father, Larry, serviced amusement machines for some 30 years, Sobe said, often taking him on overnight jobs. "I've been around gaming all my life," he said. "I can remember times when Dad would have to go cover pool tables at a bowling alley, and he'd bring me along. He'd say, ‘Bring a pillow, you're going to be sleeping on a pool table." No way, Steven would say, and he'd play Donkey Kong or Galaga all night on free credits, at no time then or later ever thinking he'd be standing at an arcade cabinet for a living.

"By no means did I ever think I'd get to where I did with Golden Tee, nor did I really try, it just kind of happened," Sobe said. "Everything lined up and went that way for me, and I'm very thankful for the opportunity. I got to do great things and meet interesting people, and do a lot of interesting things.

"But now I'm seeing if we can get us back on the map, and seeing if I still have it," Sobe said. "A lot of these guys around here, they still want to beat me. I'm anxious to get back at it."

Stick Jockey is Kotaku's column on sports video games. It appears Saturdays at 10 a.m. U.S. Mountain time.

From the footage it looks like the project is still under development. But with Xbox Live releasing Joy Ride - an avatar-based racing game - it's not out of the realm of possibility they'd do something like this, too.

The big question will be if this is a fun casual game without motion control, which is more than half the fun in something like Wii Sports.

We've emailed a Microsoft PR rep to see if they want to comment or swat this rumor. If we hear anything we'll let you know.

Leaked Xbox 360 Avatar Golf [Gametrailers via Joystiq]

The virtual golf rooms measure the distance the ball travels, and the newest golf rooms feature game systems that can reproduce famous courses in 3D.

In a crackdown late last month, the police pinpointed 39 video golf rooms and booked 36 of them for violating laws on food cleanliness. Many of these video game rooms reported themselves as sports facilities, but took part in activities like selling alcohol and introducing customers to prostitutes.

Police say that these types of "perverted businesses" have increased in number. "We will continue to inspect new types of immoral businesses."

Korea Beat › "Screen Golf" Rooms Getting in Trouble [Korea Beat via ROK Drop]

It might be some sort of horrible disease I contracted while working security at local anime conventions many years ago, but for some reason I enjoy the game of golf so much better when I can dress up my golfer in all sorts of different outfits. They don't even have to be whacky outfits, as long as I have some control over how my golfer looks, and can earn new items of clothing through playing. Perhaps it has something to do with my utter incompetence at playing the actual sport...this way I feel I have some measure of control over an activity that otherwise involves me wildly swinging a stick about and hoping to avoid lawsuits.

Based on the massively multiplayer golfing game Pangya, developer Ntreev brings the cutesy golf acton to the small screen, following relatively successful outings on the Nintendo Wii as Super Swing Golf 1 & 2. The game features the nine fantasy golf courses of Pangya Island, 18 adorable little golfers, and more customization options than you can shake a 9-iron at. Aside from golf, one of the main draws of Pangya is tricking out your characters in all sorts of freaky accessories, and the PSP version boasts thousands of unlockable accessories, outfits, and pieces of equipment to help build the strange little golfer lurking inside all of us.

The game also features several single player modes, from story mode to tournaments, along with single and team multiplayer tournaments for up to 8 players.

As a fan of Sony's Hot Shots Golf PSP series, I eagerly welcome any game that allows me to play dress up with anime golfers.

We heard about the event through some of the coverage last week. It involved golfers buying power-ups that could move golf balls, allow you to kick a ball into the water or arm golfers with beach balls.

Hit up MTV's Multiplayer for the full menu of options. They should look at adding this to the PGA.

EA Transformed Golf Last Week, Adding Beach Balls And Microtransactions [Multiplayer]

"UTour Golf will change the landscape of online gaming by bringing a pro golf simulation with cash play to the mass market. The game looks and feels like the real thing, and is designed to be intuitive for players of all skill levels - everyone can play and anyone can win," said Jon Walsh, CEO of Groove Media Inc.

UTOUR GOLF DRIVES TO BETA WITH CASH TOURNAMENTS FOR ALL SKILL LEVELS

Play for Cash Prizes or Just For Fun with the Next Phenomenon in Virtual Golf

TORONTO, September 20, 2007 - Groove Media today announced the beta release for UTour Golf, the world's first free, full-featured online golf game where players can compete for fun and real money. Delivering the most immersive golf experience available, UTour Golf gives players of all skill levels the chance to experience a pro golf simulation in a safe, fair online environment. The beta is a first-look at the next phenomenon in online gaming, and gives players the chance to get in early and prepare for upcoming tournaments. The beta is now open at www.utourGolf.com.

"UTour Golf will change the landscape of online gaming by bringing a pro golf simulation with cash play to the mass market. The game looks and feels like the real thing, and is designed to be intuitive for players of all skill levels - everyone can play and anyone can win," said Jon Walsh, CEO of Groove Media Inc. "The proven technology of our SkillGround platform ensures a fair environment for cash competitions. The transparent ranking system along with an accurate skill matching system makes UTour Golf fun for rookie and veteran players alike."

In UTour Golf, players can select from a variety of golf courses and game rule sets, enter tournaments or compete head-to-head. There's a game for everyone, including tiered tournaments from Rookie to Legend, and UTour Golf's automatic skill matching ensures that play is both fun and fair. The game is easy to pick up and play; even players new to video games will be sinking putts on virtual greens within minutes.

Advanced community features enable UTour Golf players to chat in-game, track their stats, invite friends to participate, view available cash prizes, practice and more. At launch, UTour Golf will also include buddy lists and tools to create user-generated events.

To find out more about UTour Golf and this innovative new approach to gaming, visit www.utourGolf.com.

3D Ultra MiniGolf Adventures is a game already released on the PC through GameTap, that features 3D minigolf adventure of the ultra variety, hence the name. It includes online play as well as a course editor so you can layout your own course using the game's three themes, Carnival, Old West, and Outer Space.

Gyruss is still Gyruss, and there ain't nothing wrong with that. There's an enhanced mode and supposedly some online play but hey, Gyruss. Woot.

I wish one of the games were as exciting as the fact that we're getting two at once this week. A sign of things to come, or just a fluke? Michael Fahey>

Two New Xbox Live Arcade Games Coming Wednesday [Firing Squad]

Right now, all the jazz is focused on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, but for those who like a little more fantasy on the course (dolphin sand dunes, uh, yes please!), there is a glimmer of hope that Nintendo will offer one of their famous Mario golf games for the Wii in some way shape or form after some of their new trademarks were posted for Joy Mecha Fight, Wii de Yawaraka Atamajuku, Mini Mini Daikoushin!, Brownie Brown, and of course, Mario Open Golf.

Although I desperately want Mario Open Golf as a regular game, there is the possibility that it will only be released as a VC game since it has already been confirmed for it in the European, Austrailian and New Zealand on their Wii Shop channels.

Cross fingers and legs! Kim Phu

New Nintendo Trademarks [Go Nintendo]

Best part about flash games isn't just that they are free. Oh no. They are free games that often "remind" you of games you must pay to play. Take Golf Ace, a flash game that features big headed Hot Shots Golf-like characters. Looks aside, it's loads of fun and cut into my evening work load. Here's hoping it does the same for yours! Brian Ashcraft

Golf Ace [Miniclip.com]

At this point, an ATHF game is a no-brainer. The fans are rabid, the graphics are lo-fi, the current buzz is... buzzy. Pure profit. But what the game play? There's really only one choice.

It's extreme combat golf. It's a golf game, but it's also laced with violence. Frylock is admitted to Jersey Pines, the very prestigious golf course in Jersey, and Shake wants to play, so he goes about ruining the course. So you actually do play golf, but you're battling the villains and some of your clubs might have a sawed-off shotgun.

Expect it in the second half of the year and hit up The Feed for further details. Michael McWhertor

'Aqua Teen' Videogame Coming [G4's The Feed]

Apparently, the graphics boys at EA are so unfreakingbelievably talented, that Tiger Woods, who probably knows Tiger Woods when he sees him, was fooled by the photorealistic digital version of himself.

Speaking at the Montreal Games Summit, Glenn Entis, EA's chief visual and technical officer, said of Tiger's first take on e-Tiger:

"We really got no response. He just said, 'Yeah?', and it's like, 'Well, did you like it?'. His response was telling; he said, 'Well, when are you going to show me the computer graphics?'. We figured if you can fool a guy who sees that face in the mirror every day, it's got to be working."

Yeah, I don't really buy that line either. But Entis does admit that photorealism doesn't mean squat if you haven't got the non-robotic animation to back it up, which I do believe. The Tiger demo we got at E3 looked great in stills, but when he started speaking, total horror show! Michael McWhertor

Tiger Woods couldn't tell himself from game version [Eurogamer]

No. There's only one single thing you need to know about the Wii: That it's sheer, unadulterated, peerless and incalculable FUN - for kids of all ages... and we mean that right up to those grown-up kids with mortgages and half-pints of their own.

And thus begins a glowing review of all the Wii games the reviewer could get his hands on: Wii Sports Tennis, Baseball and Golf; Warioware: Smooth Moves; a Duckhunt-like shooter; and Orchestra.

While these reviews are solidly positive, the absence of Red Steel from the list is glaring, and it's really the only one I'm interested in hearing about at the moment.

UPDATE! A buddy writes in to report:

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for good news on it. What I saw at E3 was undelicious. "Streamlined" sword combat means that the useful motions are pretty constrained. I've heard that the consoles weren't really set up appropriately there, but still - it was pretty underwhelming.

i've heard they've taken a lot of the E3 commentary to heart though,
so who knows what we'll get on Oct. 2nd, or whenever it is released.

Poop. Look, I just want to hit stuff with swords, okay? Shooting is good too. I guess tennis is okay for some people, but I anticipate playing Wii Baseball for exactly zero hours. Eliza Gauger

Whole buncha reviews [Game.co.uk]