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Keep your heads down, legs bent and your eye on the ball as you make your way slowly to the green in this tricky little golf simulation.

Fore! Good shot sir, and that's a fine pair of chequered slacks you're sporting. Is that a Marks and Spencer sweater? Ooh, yes sir, a fine looking set of clubs, and a real mohair golf bag. You must earn a pretty penny. What was that? Jack Nicklaus? You're that golfer on the telly aren't you?

Thought so. I've been playing your game. You know, the one on the CPC thingy. When I bought my copy I thought, wow! I can travel around the world's best courses in the confines of my living room. So I did, and I played on eighteen courses from Augusta to Royal Lytham and St. Andrews. I also played on the two courses that you designed especially for the occasion, in Colorado and Arizona. What I liked about it was the fact that I could play a variety of computerised people, play with some friends or with a computerised version of your very self, Mr Nicklaus.

The loading of the game is a little slow, especially with the cassette version. which meant that the games seem to last forever. A long walk up the fairway to the position of the ball becomes a five mile trek across some fairly boring rough. As I was a beginner, the program chose the clubs for me, although with a bit of practice I could probably venture to remove the stabilisers and choose them myself. One of the most difficult aspects I found was coping with wind directions which tend to vary during the course of the game. This coupled with the distance/strength dilemma makes for a fairly complicated game to master. As with the real world golf, like the game you play Mr Nicklaus, I had to contend with the natural obstacles such as trees and rivers, hills and that wonderfully inventive, man-made obstacle, the sand pit. I'm sorry? Oh I see. That manmade obstacle, the bunker.

To hit the ball I had to judge the distance and press the space-bar to start the backswing. A powerbar to the left of the screen indicates the power with which the ball will be struck. To stop the backswing and the powerbar the spacebar has to be pressed again. More often than not you see the ball playfully bounce off the tress, along the rough and into the river. It's a tough old game, Jack, and I'd be grateful for a few tips.

As I progress along a course, each hole begins with a map, showing me the obstacles that I am about to hit and the hole that I will probably never see. Nevertheless, there are some aids to help you through the hazards and stormy conditions.

An indicator to the left of the screen shows wind directions and speeds and, when you are in a green, it will show you the direction of the break. Balls often break to the left or right when aiming straight at a hole. Scorecards are also kept, informing me of my longest drive and so on. These are compared with the opposition.

It's a nice idea, this golfing game, with some nice control options. although it's a little slow between commands. The graphics are good when they eventually appear and the challenge is enough to keep you interested for as long as it takes to reach a good level. All in all Jack, I'm content. There's just one thing... do you play cricket?