Has it really been a “hole” year since the last Tiger Woods game… No, wait. I did all those puns in my review of TW13 last year.

This year’s model is further refined and with more features than ever. The Tiger Woods games are some of the most relaxing, calming games you could ever hope to play. For chilling out, say early on a Sunday morning – squeezing in some gaming time before your partner wakes up, they are unprecedented. Playing a Tiger Woods game can actually help clear a hangover.

So there’s no gunfire, no griefing and no need for twitch reflexes in a game like this. But it helps if you also like golf. If you despise it, you probably won’t get much out of this game. Personally I am still a bumbling, yet keen, golfing amateur; scoring 20 over on a round is a cause for celebration for me. But a golfer I am, so this game does appeal to me.

On top of that, the Tiger Woods games always tend to be released around the time of The Masters – arguably the biggest tournament on the most beautiful course in the world – Augusta. (Yes, I know St Andrews’ is great as well). Naturally these courses are replicated in full – in all of their variants and with all weather conditions. For the first time you can also play practice rounds at night – not sure why. I have tried playing golf in the dark a couple of times and it’s a bit rubbish, really.

Anyway, they are all here, as are their tournaments. The big four are present – The Open, the US Open, the PGA Championship and The Masters – along with 17 other tournaments to take part in, all accurately represented. This year also sees the inclusion of the LPGA – some tournaments and events are available to play, with many of the LPGA’s top golfers.

For me, however, the most fun I had with the game was playing the Legends of the Majors mode. This shows a long, detailed timeline of the game of golf, from the mid-1800s through to the present day. There are many stops along the way, each allowing the player to recreate a pivotal moment in golf history.

This ranges from the very first Open at St Andrews’ – you can play as Young Tom Morris in 1863, complete with authentic dress and an interesting selection of clubs. Forget having 5 irons and 4 woods in your bag, with graphite-shafted hybrids – on the older events you just have a Brassie, a Niblick and not much else!

But it’s great fun – it brings real variety to the game. Of course, the really old events are played with a comedy newsreel-style sepia filter to the graphics, but it works well. If you complete these events, which are shorter and challenge based – say a couple of holes, or a really difficult chip that occurred in a famous tournament once. These bite-sized, historically authentic challenges are very compelling.

Later on, you can play as or against many other great names such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, the late, great Seve Ballesteros or – my personal golfing hero – Ben Hogan. I know enough about golf to know who these golfers are and were, but playing through this mode helped me understand the key events that made them legends of the game.

Back in the present day, modern heroes such as Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and of course Tiger himself are included – you can either play as them, or create a custom golfer of your own. There are a few interesting details here – it is possible to balance out the strengths and weaknesses of the golfer you create. You can trade some distance for a little more accuracy, or you can be a golfer that fades or draws the ball. I tend to fade the ball more when I drive – it just drifts ever so slowly to the side as it travels, so it was fun to include that and make a golfer that looked as much like myself as possible (but with a flatter stomach, better muscle tone etc – naturally).

Single player is great – there are countless courses and events to choose from as well as a long career mode. I’ll probably never make it to St Andrews’ and I certainly won’t make it to Augusta, so it is good to take in the detail of these places. The graphics are as detailed and sumptuous as ever, Augusta is unbelievably pretty to behold.

Multiplayer is the mode I have been playing most, after the Legends mode – and it is as enjoyable as always. There are always plenty of lobbies to choose from, it’s easy to make up a four-ball online and play all the courses in various modes – stroke play, match play etc. Also, to save time, it is possible for everyone to play simultaneously – just take your stroke and watch the outline path of the opponent’s balls trace alongside your ball.

The whole experience is more civilized and calm than hyper-competitive multiplayer games involving guns and explosions. The really telling fact is that no-one ever seems to quit a game – even if it is a full 18 holes and they are having a nightmare round. But for all that, it’s still a challenge and every player brings their A-game. It’s never easy to win.

The controls are as refined as ever. In particular the Kinect controls on the Xbox version are note-worthy. Just stand facing the TV – unfortunately ninety degrees away from the real experience, but Kinect just can’t track everything in that plane – and swing. It really does capture the length of swing, speed, intensity and straightness (or lack thereof).

But, as good as that is, I always play with a pad. There is a superb control system here with the joypad – just pull the stick back as far as you want to draw your club back and push forwards with as much speed or depth as you want. Try to be as straight as possible, because every little wobble or divergence from straight ahead will appear in the downward path of the club, thus affecting the shot. It’s a great control system and is an addictive challenge in its own right – I love using the pad.

And the very act of playing it has improved my strategic understanding of the game. It has definitely improved my grasp on course management, breaking down shots properly and accounting for terrain, wind etc. Initially, many of my real faults from golf were present – I would always shoot too far past the hole, then frantically try to get back, wasting shots. With a little practice, I’ve learnt to calm down and take a sure thing in three or four shots, rather than desperately trying to beat each hole in two giant hits.

So, it’s an unbelievably full-featured game, that is accurate and historically faithful. It has arguably the best use of Kinect in a game (along with Fruit Ninja) and is just as good to play online as it is single-player. Unquestionably it is the best golf game on sale.

But, as always, it is only detail changes that separate it from last years’ version. If you already have that, or 2012’s edition, think hard about whether this is worth the outlay. Also, if you don’t like golf at all – well, this may not be for you.

I very much enjoyed my time playing this, though and it will continue to be my go-to game for chill-out and unwinding sessions. And I still need to unlock a few more challenges before I can finally play as Ben Hogan and Seve! Yes, if you are a golfer or a golf fan, get this. Great game.

8.5/10

Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour 14 is out now for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Both versions tested.