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Get an early start on your Road to the Masters on March 8th

by: Peter Skeritt -
More On: Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters
March 8th is going to big for sports fans with MLB 11: The Show and MLB 2K11 hitting stores that day, but golf fans also have something to look forward to, courtesy of EA Sports. The demo for Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 12: The Masters is set for release for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms on March 8th, giving players a full three weeks of play in advance of the game's expected street date. 

The demo will have two notable modes of play. Selecting the Play Now option will send players as Tiger Woods to Holly, the 18th hole at Augusta National, as he attempts to close out a fifth Masters title. Holly is a 465-yard par-4 hole and is a challenging finish to each round of the Masters with trees to the right and bunkers that come into play for less-than-accurate drives off of the tee. An approach to an elevated green awaits, sometimes requiring an extra club to carry properly. This hole will give players a feel for the new presentation and unique touches and tradition that only Augusta National can provide every April. 

The second option will be a taste of the new Career mode in Tiger 12, called Road to the Masters. Players will get to play the first five holes at TPC San Antonio Oaks, gaining valuable XP and valuable familiarity of this new course addition to the Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf series. Upon completing these five holes, players will receive a very nice head start award for the full retail version of the game as they can elect to skip directly to the Nationwide Tour and bypass the introductory EA Sports Amateur Tour, which is the first stop on the full Road to the Masters. As with the demo for last year's game, all XP that is gained from playing the Tiger 12 demo will carry over to the full game later in March. In addition, player levels and XP will carry over from Tiger 11 as well, allowing for veteran players to spend less time leveling up and more time competing and playing for more than just stats. 

PlayStation 3 users who own PlayStation Move controllers will be able to sample the improvements that EA Sports has made to Tiger 12's use of Sony's motion control technology. This is significant as the PlayStation Move patch that came out for Tiger 11 last year felt tacked on and not as accurate as some players were hoping for. 

March is shaping up to be one of the best months for sports game fans in years, and we'll be covering all of the big releases including new baseball, tennis, golf, and wrestling games. In the meantime, if you haven't already circled March 8th on your calendars like a red 2 score on the island 17th at TPC Sawgrass, do yourself a favor and do it now. Look for impressions of the demo and a full preview of Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 12: The Masters next month.