Since when did grown men play in sand pits? Well, since man (or indeed woman) first picked up a three wood and sliced a small, spherical white painted collection of rubber bands into a bunker.

A situation we certainly weren't unfamiliar with after our first few rounds of Links 2003. They always put those darned bunkers right in front of the green, or to the side of the fairway, with such precision that if you so much as miscue your shot by a gnat's wing, it's beach-combing time.

Despite golf's frustrating nature at times, it's an undeniably addictive sport (or hobby depending on your viewpoint!) and this holds true for computer golf. Particularly when it's as good as Links 2003.

The latest Links has a number of "go-faster" stripes added in the form of much improved visuals. The terrain is blended together fabulously and the courses look fantastic. The new golfer animations are tops too, with a range of gestures including chucking the club on the floor when a real cock-up occurs. Perhaps the only weak spot is the crowd, which appears to consist of cardboard cut-outs, plus the fact that it takes some time, especially on a slower PC, to render these quality visuals.

Links 2003 puts a premium on realistic gameplay too. The physics system is superb and you get no unexpected or unrealistically stupid ball bounces. But the most telling factor is the new real time swing mode, which allows you to control your golfer's back and forward swing by moving the mouse in those directions respectively.

We've not been entirely happy with previous incarnations of the real time swing method in other golf games, but this one hits the sweet spot. It really does feel like you're genuinely swinging that club yourself. Superb stuff.

The game's presentation is excellent too, with multiple camera angles and utilities such as a grid view of the green which make planning your shots that much easier. Help on any aspect of the game is available at the click of a button.

An impressive range of options really rounds out the package, with lots of customisable golfers, shot tutorials to practice with, full rounds of golf and an engaging career mode in which you try to be ranked number one at the head of a field of 200 golf pros. The multiplayer offers online tournaments, a match-making feature, even a play-by-email facility. And for those who want to get creative, there's a course designer too. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Microsoft has definitely scored an eagle here. Links 2003 is quality through and through, with tons of options, a great career mode and a really well implemented multiplayer mode. Its gameplay and graphics have been tweaked to near perfection and quite simply, if you're a golf fan, you must buy this and prepare the wife / girlfriend / cat for a fortnight or more of being ignored!