Operation Sports is proud to present our interview with Mike Olsen, lead designer of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003.

Operation Sports: How in depth will this game be as opposed to previous Tiger Woods releases?

Mike Olsen: With almost double the content from 2002, an all new Tiger Challenge mode (with wagering), 25+ new Tournaments (including 3 & 4 rounds with the option to save mid round), 50 new Scenarios, an all new SkillZone, new Trophy Rooms, the ability to post your Player Résumé online and compete in Online Events via password posting, this is the deepest Tiger Woods product we have ever released.

Operation Sports: What new golfers have been included?

Mike Olsen: There are a total of 28 golfers in this year’s product. There is about a 60/40 mix of PGA Tour pros and amateurs. New pros consist of Ty Tryon, Mark O’Meara, etc… and the new amateurs consist of Takeharu “Tsunami” Moto (an ex sumo guy gone golf), Dominic “The Don” Donatello (you don’t want to beat this guy ; ). All new characters are featured in the Tiger Challenge complete with a bio to give them a personality you’ll learn to love or hate.

Operation Sports: Is there a season mode? If so, can you play yourself on to a Ryder Cup team?

Mike Olsen: Our version of the season mode is the Tiger Challenge. Here users progress through a ladder of PGA Tour pros and amateur characters unlocking golfers and courses as well as earning Tour Cards and money, which is used to build up your character and purchase equipment from the all new pro shop.

Operation Sports: Are their endorsement contracts?

Mike Olsen: Not this year.

Operation Sports: What new courses are included?

Mike Olsen: We have 12 unique courses (9 licensed including Torrey Pines & St. Andrews both new to this year & 3 original designed courses which will definitely test your gaming ability) a new Tigers Dream 18 course (which are tigers choices as the best holes in the game) and we have also added a couple of new course features to this years game with the all new Random 18 (which randomly generates a par 72 course from all of your unlocked holes) and an all new Create-A-Course feature which allows each user to create up to 12 dream courses (3 courses per user) from all of the holes currently unlocked. Create an all par 3 or all par 5 course. In addition to the content upgrade, the courses have also taken a big step visually this year.

Operation Sports: What are some of the Skill Zone Challenges?

Mike Olsen: The SkillZone is a break from your traditional 18 hole round and offers up a quick and enjoyable way to earn money. Hitting to strategically placed targets, users will get a bucket of balls and compete in game modes such as Timed Targeting (giving users 90 seconds to hit as many targets as they can, earning more time and money as they progress); there is also a Target2Target mode, traditional Target mode and a couple of 2-Player modes.

Operation Sports: I've seen waterfalls and castles in screenshots, what other environments can we expect?

Mike Olsen: The two new original design course environments this year are The Highlands, set in a Scotland type setting where users play along the cliff side throughout castle ruins and The Predator, set in a rainforest type setting and arguably the most difficult course ever created.

Operation Sports: I bought Tiger Woods 2002 in March, what has been changed to justify the purchase of Tiger Woods 2003?

Mike Olsen: With almost double the content from 2002, an all new Tiger Challenge mode (with wagering), 25+ new Tournaments (including 3 & 4 rounds with the option to save mid round), 50 new Scenarios, an all new SkillZone, new Trophy Rooms, the ability to post your Player Résumé online and compete in Online Events via password posting, this is the deepest Tiger Woods product we have ever released.

Operation Sports: Is there going be an actual bump and run feature i.e. 7-9 iron chips that run along the ground more versus the approach mode with 3 wedges?

Mike Olsen: The approach mode will still be used for shots around the green, but there were some changes made to the swing.

Operation Sports: Did the street golf mode get scrapped? And if so can we look forward to it in the future?

Mike Olsen: Yeah, we felt that Street Golf could have been a game in itself, so we decided to hold off on that for a while.

Operation Sports: Do we still get the "arcade" sounds like the ball exploding on a big drive?

Mike Olsen: There are plenty of new “big hit” animations, sounds and special FX.

Operation Sports: On the console versions, have you done anything to make the putting more difficult?

Mike Olsen: Yes, we actually allow users to completely customize the game to their liking this year. Users will have full range over virtually every game interface aid on screen, don’t want to bring your caddy along?…turn him off.

Operation Sports: Will the console version ever get a true PGA style tournament mode?

Mike Olsen: We do have some “real” tournament events in this year’s product and who know what the future will bring :).

Operation Sports: What are the differences (if any) between the 3 console versions?

Mike Olsen: Each console has it’s own rendering engine, however the feature set remains close to the same for all three.

Operation Sports: Do you think this is the year that EA closes the gap with the Links series?

Mike Olsen: Without a doubt. We have stepped the product up visually.

Operation Sports: Are you going for more of a sim golf experience in the PC game as apposed to the console version?

Mike Olsen: Definitely. We feel the market on the PC wants more of the simulation experience while the console players respect the mix.

Operation Sports: It seems like the console version takes a more arcade approach to golf with every new installment. Does this seem to be the case this year?

Mike Olsen: We feel we have done a very good job of balancing the two and from early (p)reviews we have read, people are tending to agree. It is definitely a fine line that we walk, but we think you’ll find the mix to be satisfying to both genres.

Operation Sports: Does the console version still allow you to put spin on the ball after the shot is in the air?

Mike Olsen: Yes, we want to keep the user engaged in the controller throughout the duration of ball flight, but if that’s not your thing, you can simply turn it off.

Operation Sports: Why does EA insist on giving the PC gamer a more realistic golf game where the console gamer is stuck with a completely different game?

Mike Olsen: In the future you might expect to see a bit more of the console “arcade” elements leak into the PC world, but discussions are still taking place.