Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Last week, we bought Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 for the Wii. Mike and I have been testing it for its exercise capabilities. Sadly, as far as exergaming is concerned, it comes up short. Most of the exercise that you get when you golf comes from walking from hole to hole. With this game, you get none of the walking. Sure, you get to swing your arms to take the shots, but it has no cardio impact at all and very little muscle training. I played two days in a row without any muscle pain, which is something that I would have never been able to do with Wii Sports or Rayman Raving Rabbids.

As far as keeping you in shape during the winter months, I don’t think this game would be good for that either. I actually think that it might have the potential to hurt your game depending on how you have to swing for the game compared to swinging with a real club. Since I’ve never played golf in the real world, I wouldn’t be able to compare those two, but I highly doubt that this simulation will keep you in practice.

That said, I actually love the game. I liked that I was able to make my avatar look as close to me as I could. I didn’t have to choose between ten men and one blond famous golfer, I was able to make a golfer that looked kind of close to what I look like. I was even able to make her as fat or as thin as I wanted. Creating my avatar was really enjoyable, actually. Playing golf with her is even more so. They have animated certain reactions to good shots and bad shots. It’s funny to see how my computer golfer reacts to my miserable performance.

Additionally, it’s a lot of fun playing the courses. They have beautiful scenery, lovely clouds and tweeting birds. I can play the game at midnight and feel like I took a walk in the sunshine through a gorgeous park. I love how the trees sway when there is a lot of wind. I love how my golf ball skips across the water when I aim poorly. I even love how my golf ball got stuck inside a tree. Even the bad programming has funny effects.

Is it exergaming? No. Did it get me off the couch and interacting with my family? Yes! Most importantly, it introduced me to a sport that I might want to try in real life. It taught me the rules and got me interested in something that I never considered before. If sport video games pique the interest in a real live sport, then I’m all for them. My verdict on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 for the Wii? Go for it! It is a lot of fun and it might even get you interested in real-life golfing!