The Wii has proven to be the platform of choice for golf fanatics, and the console has typically been ahead of the curve on the genre due to the systems motion controls. It’s no surprise that some innovative game maker would eventually make a game that promise to do for our golf swing what Brain Age does for our noggin. My Personal Golf Trainer with David Leadbetter isn’t a game, according to literature, but rather it is a tool for improving your golf swing and making you better at your favorite past time.
The game, if you could call the David Leadbetter Wii title that, is relatively simple to play. You’ll only hold the Wii controller in a golf-type grip while standing on the Wii Balance Board, and the game will start by analyzing your golf swing and suggesting drills. These drills can range anywhere from swinging your “club” like a baseball bat to practicing how you shift your weight. Wii David Leadbetter aims to make you a better golfer, and most of the game is given over to instruction, but the instruction is certainly solid. It’s also very interesting to see your golf swing analyzed as a 3-D model, and due to the games design, it’s hard not to get an accurate view of how your swing is shaping up.
[amzn_product_inline asin=’B003O6E6CA’] [amzn_product_inline asin=’B00386VMZA’]
However, people who are looking more of a gaming experience my steer away from the David Leadbetter Wii title, since it’s unabashedly a trainer much in the fashion of the slew of fitness titles on the system. My Personal Golf trainer doesn’t aim to entertain so much as it does to instruct, and some may take issue with this. The graphics certainly aren’t anything to write home about, and although it comes with the option to play an 18-round hole of golf, there’s only one course and it’s not entirely pretty. Also absent is compatibility with other Wii golf peripherals, such as the Chicken Stick golf club by Bad Chicken, which would provide an additional level of realism.
The Wii David Leadbetter title requires both the Wii Motion Plus as well as the Balance Board in order to accurately track your swing, but claims that sticking to the training regiment presented in the game will actually improve your golf game, which is a first for a Wii title. Developers of the game have mentioned that a club peripheral is on the way, in order to make the simulation feel more realistic.
Truth be told, there’s not a whole lot of game here, but that’s okay. If you’re involved in golf in any way in your outside life, your game will likely improve with use of My Personal Golf Trainer. However if you’re more likely to play a round on the Wii than you are on the actual green, a different, less technically comprehensive title would probably be better for you.