There’s one thing we never could stomach about the past few entries in the Tiger Woods series, and that’s the loopy opponents we had to tee off against in the career mode. Tipsy Scotsmen in kilts? Shallow princesses from LA? We can play chumps like that anytime in real life at our local course — what we want from a videogame is the chance to walk with the legends.

So we’re thrilled that EA scrapped all that nonsense in Tiger Woods 10, swapping in a scenario-style career mode that makes quick-to-play snippets out of history. Called Tournament Challenge, it recalls famous PGA moments and gives you a shot at beating them. Instead of squaring off against “wacky” fantasy characters, you’re taking on Woods, Singh, Sorenstam, and company in excerpts from moments that fans will remember watching, like matching Jim Furyk’s great turn at Sawgrass in ’07 or, less famously, Paula Creamer’s 7th-place finish at St. Andrews that same year. When you face Woods in one of these, EA got him in front of the camera to talk through his recollection of the shot while a replay unspools behind him. It’s mesmerizing to watch, and playing through all these scenarios makes a much, much improved career mode that golf fans will love.

Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot more that grabbed us. Don’t misunderstand — the game has more new toys than just Tournament Challenge, and we’re getting there next. But you can definitely tell that EA went with a nine-month dev cycle, rather than the usual 12 months (a change designed to get the game out in time for Father’s Day sales). Tiger Woods 10 just doesn’t have the groundbreaking new hotness that we expect from EA Sports when it asks for another $60 less than year later.

With that bone picked, the game does add more sharp but not face-melting features — like Live Tournaments, which post daily and weekly tournaments and lets you post your best score to compete to be the best. As real-life PGA tournaments unfold, the pros’ scores will also be updated live, and you can try to take them down…in your videogame, anyway. It’s pretty entertaining, but score-posting tournaments are hardly new in the sports-videogame world.

However, Tiger 10’s putting model is. It uses a swing meter to calculate how well you aimed and how hard you hit the ball, and it’s far less of an autopilot gimme shot than the old putting system used to provide. We really enjoyed developing some mastery and the additional depth that it builds into the gameplay.

But it’s a good thing the new commentary team of Kelly Tilghman and Scott Van Pelt don’t have much to say…because when they do speak, you get two flavors: wrong or boring. They display none of the spunk that made David Feherty’s chatter so engaging, and half the time, they miscall your shot, pronouncing it safe when it’s clearly headed for the sand. Thankfully, you can — and most likely will — turn them off. That way, you can spend your energy appreciating some of the game’s other nice touches, like the new practice swings, the live real-time weather, or the handy practice rounds, which let you spot the ball anywhere on any unlocked course.

Serious golf fans will want to spring for this game, even though it’s a lightweight but quality upgrade on Tiger 09. But if you’re more casual and you only fire up Tiger every now and again, you’ll be fine waiting for next year’s game and what will hopefully be a beefier step toward golfing nirvana.

On Xbox 360

+ New, more authentic career mode rocks.

+ Great new putting.

- Definitely too light on big new features.

? Feherty's been in hot water lately, but are there really no other good commentators?

8.0