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Like basketball there is no shortage of golf games on any machine, particularly the Amiga, which whilst being relatively young in hardware terms can count over half a dozen holf titles written for it already. Any addition for this reason has to be of good quality otherwise it's just going to be passed over. Jack Nicklaus is good enough to hold its own with the rest and, in some cases, better.

Accolade have chosen to go for an endorsement from one of the greatest golfers of all time to boost sales, but in truth its execution is strong enough not to warrant it. After an initially worrying bout of disk swapping the game sets itself up with clear and precis options. These include choosing whether to play alone, against the computer (you can choose its skill level by selecting from a list of names which include pros, women pros, experts and beginners) and deciding which course to play. There are two from the US - Pine Springs and Desert Mountain, and, a specially put together round of Big Jack's favourite holes around the world.

The gameplay is simple. You hit the ball simply by tapping the mouse button or the keyboard; once to start the swing, and once again to control it as the power bar at the side of the screen drops. Direction is manipulated by dragging a little guide ball at the top of the screen to the left or the right. A meter at the bottom shows the direction and strength of any wind, and later, when you putt, it shows any break from the green. All this is performed swiftly and efficiently enabling you to concentrate on the game.

Graphically, Jack Nicklaus is amongst the most impressive sports sims I have seen, with each individual course drawn out exactly, with natural features like water and trees outlined and filled in using a large palette of colours. One drawback though is the amount of time it takes to generate the screen. Each time you change location the screen is slowly revealed as a window pulls back. More annoyingly still, it has to access the disk if you want to see an overhead view (very useful) and then draw the screen again afterwards.

The golfer though, is very neatly illustrated and faultlessly animated as he swings cleanly through ball after ball in a way which would make even the Golden Bear himself envious. Sound, as is usual with these kind of sims is minimal, and although you get a nice thwack when you hit a second shot, you don't hear it when you drive for some reason. There's a generous round of applause when you sink a birdie too, but it would have been nice to hear some other sounds - the odd cheer, or shout of 'in the hole!'.

Compared to the likes of World Class Leaderboard, Accolade's version acquits itself impressively. There are some problems - the computer controlled opponent is agonisingly slow. I have some reservations about the putting too which doesn't work as well as it should, and there are some inexplicable mistakes when you play, but these are outweighed by the general playability and attractiveness of the product. Jack should be pleased.