Not one to let a scandal keep a good golfer down, EA rolls out the Tiger Woods bandwagon for another tour on Wii. It’s been exactly one year since the previous installment hit the console, so fans might be wondering if the publisher has had enough time to prepare a fresh season. I dust off my virtual clubs and report back from the green with a scorecard.

Last year I reviewed PGA Tour 10, and though I’m not the world’s biggest fan of the game of golf, I was impressed and delighted by EA Sports’ use of the new Wii MotionPlus accessory. The game offered an enjoyable, easy-to-understand, and realistic approach to virtual golf, and the package was brimming with meaningful extras.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 has a few new modes and tweaks, and it’s also jammed packed with content. However, it’s a product that looks, plays, and feels so much like last year’s offering, I have a tough time recommending fans take a double dip.

First, let’s discuss what’s new in PGA Tour 11. For my money, the two biggest additions this year are the inclusion of miniature golf, and disc golf can now be played online. True View is another new feature – a first-person view of the tee – but honestly, I preferred last year’s presentation, as it was more practical for aiming shots. Tee Shot Live lets golf fans match their real-life scores with those of their in-game character to create a more realistic career experience, and Focus gives players the option to put points into a particular attribute before the start of each round.

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There’s definitely some cool, new stuff here. A new leveling system makes the career mode accessible to players of all skill levels, and the Ryder Cup is a hefty chunk of gameplay diehard golfers will surely appreciate. On the other hand, the mini-games are a rehash from last year’s package, and many of the elements that made PGA Tour 10 approachable have been traded out for more esoteric gameplay systems.

That’s not to say the game of golf has gone downhill in PGA Tour 11. With Wii MotionPlus, the gameplay is still enjoyable and wholly reliant on player skill. However, the changes to the game do less to enhance the experience than they do to confuse it. There are tons of options in terms of play style, but again, they’re mostly features we already have in PGA Tour 10.

From the main menu, you can do some quick play with Play Now, create a character in My Career, select from Golf Modes or Party Modes, or hit online for competitive play with others. Play Now offers stroke play or Stableford (same as PGA Tour 10), with the typical assortment of options; it’s a great way to simply jump right onto the green. If you’re feeling slightly more ambitious, you can hit My Career and begin your journey to the championship.

My Career in PGA Tour 11 offers most of the same options and gameplay features from last year’s package. Character creation is full featured, allowing you to tinker with all sorts of minute details of your character’s appearance. Unfortunately, the character textures are ugly, and it’s near impossible to form anything that looks presentable. If you’re like me, you’ll simply opt for the most extreme options and create a golfer that looks so ridiculously out of place, he or she will be worth looking at for sheer comedic value.