There are plenty of different game variations to play, from plain skins to Speed Golf to the outlandish Ring Shot mode, in which you have to hit the ball through a series of awkwardly placed hoops and make par at the same time. You can play tournaments against 29 virtual golfers from Nintendo games gone by (although, sadly, you never get to see them), and you can even play via the Internet, thanks to Nintendo's www.mariogolf.net site, which features a password system to allow entry to the online leaderboards.

The golfing innovation doesn't stretch as far as the control system, which will be instantly familiar if you've ever played any other golf game before. You just push a button to start the swing meter, push it again when it's at peak power, then push it a final time to aim for a perfect shot. It's unusual to see a Mario game which doesn't innovate in the control department, but then that's the only way anyone knows how to simulate golf. Maybe a Nick Faldo-style remodelling of computerised golf swings is called for.

Anyway, it plays beautifully. The standard games are as realistic as most of the golf titles you'll find on the PC, thanks to a pretty decent physics model, and there's a huge challenge involved in beating the more esoteric game variants, such as the devilish Club Slots mode. Plus you can use the D-pad and C-buttons to taunt your friends while they take their shots. It's difficult to see many pre-teen Mario fans getting into Mario Golf, but it's a barrel of laughs and a big challenge for the rest of us.