You will doubtless have already read about the delights of Holed Out, the golf simulation available for BBC, Electron and Archimedes. I must admit that as a (former) golfer I have been playing pretty obsessively with the Archimedes version for a while myself. I gather that the Arc version is not much different from the BBC implementation apart from sharper graphics, greater speed and the addition of excellent digitised sound effects. So maybe a much better golf simulation could be written for the machine sometime. No matter, Holed Out has that indefinable but essential quality of playability and has certainly kept me playing longer than any other game (adventures excepted) that I have seen for the Arc.

My only real criticism of the game is that, with practice, the putting becomes too easy and the scoring unrealistic. The course records for the original Cone Links and Pine Isles courses in my household (Professional level of course) currently stand at 20 and 19 under par respectively! There is also a certain loss of playability after many hours due to the fact that you have worked out the best way to play each hole, even under varying wind conditions. Hence, the craving for new courses.

Ideally one could do with a designer program to build your own. I understand that the company have considered this but decided against it on technical grounds. The complexity of their designer system apparently defies the addition of a simple user interface for the ordinary public. However, frustrated addicts can purchase either of two additional volumes which provide a further two courses each together with the original program and documentation. Each package is hence self-contained and slightly cheaper than the original game.

Having received the extra volumes as review copies, I have to try to judge whether I would have found them sufficiently entertaining to provide value for money. I think the answer is yes, because the courses are very different - and very much more difficult than the originals. However, if I were a paying customer, I think I would buy the first extra volume only after thoroughly exhausting my interest in the originals, and then make these last as long as possible before buying the second extra volume!

The extra difficulty in these new courses might make scoring a bit more realistic - though low scores can still be obtained with practice - but only at the expense of loss or realism in the golf architecture. The extreme perversity of placement of the various hazards is the creation of the kind of demented designer who might provide a basis for screaming nightmares for the likes of Faldo and Lyle! Holed Out enthusiasts will, however, enjoy.

Since the extra courses are self-contained packages the first time purchaser might be tempted to save three pounds by buying one instead of the original. It is probably better to learn the game on the easier and more realistic original courses, however. It would make sense now for the company to drop the price of the original to keep them all in line.