He may have been more famous of late for having ill-begotten dalliances with ladies and trees, but Tiger Woods is still a top notch athlete and sportsman. His golf may not be as awe-inspiring as it was in his heyday, but his technique and ability should be revered by any aspiring golfer.

That's why Pocket-lint applauds EA for not ditching him in his hour of need. Love rat, he may have been branded, but the Tiger Woods games have always been about presenting the best golfing experience...

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12

Format

iPad / iPhone / iPod touch

Price

Free for a limited time (£5.99 / £3.99 usually)

Where

iTunes (iPad) / iTunes (iPhone / iPod touch)

There's only been the one version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour on iOS devices in the past, and that came out two years ago for the (obviously) iPhone only. It was good, but lacked any of the sparkle that made its console peer so successful over the years.

Thankfully, much of that has been addressed with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12, although that's not to say it hasn't cut corners here and there.

Unlike the current console version, the mobile division of EA has decided to ditch the US Masters themeology (although the colour scheme is utilised) and instead offers up an experience which feels very much like former Tiger Woods games of yore.

Naturally, you can create your own golfer to play with, and take them through an entire PGA Season. The creation tools are more crude than with the console edition, and there's few options for physical customisation. Plus, rather than give you experience points to bolster your player's stats, you earn money which you can spend on better equipment as you progress. And that's just about the only role playing aspect.

However, eight entire courses are included within the app, including St Andrews, TPC Sawgrass, Greenbrier and, of course, Pebble Beach (you can't have a Tiger Woods game without Pebble Beach - it even appeared in the Megadrive version many moons ago), so there's plenty of variety.

And there's several styles of play too, with Tiger Challenge being the stand-out, offering unlocks in return for mastering a series of mini games.

Multiplayer is supported, with head-to-head play over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and you can even play on separate Apple devices - for example, one of you on an iPhone, the other on an iPad.

A cunning new social networking feature is added too. If you sign in to the in-game Facebook client, the game allows you to take part in closest to the pin challenges against your invited friends. You take your shot, it posts it, and when somebody else on your list takes part, it creates mini-leaderboards. Facebook pictures even appear in-game alongside the nearest shot.

Certainly, this new version of the classic is feature-packed, on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, but its biggest facet is the gameplay, and that hasn't really changed much from old. A touchscreen swing-ometer handles the business end, and you can draw or fade shots with different directional flicks of your finger.

The latest console version has added on-screen caddies this year, but they're missing here. However, the scenery is so stunning, and the improved HD graphics are so clean and crisp, you're grateful that there's nobody in the way to spoil the view.

In short, it's the best driving game on the market.

You can have that golfing pun for free.

UPDATE: And now, to celebrate the PGA Tour championship, EA Mobile is offering the game for free too. But only for a limited time, so grab it while you can.