Awesome game... until it's time to putt
Putting in TW09 Wii is an initially unintuitive, always fiddly, and frequently frustrating affair. You don't take a natural putter stroke as you would expect. Rather, you aim the shot, taking into account the lay of the green, "cock" the remote back (90 degrees from vertical is required for full power), wait for the power meter to reach the power you want, then quickly swing the remote forward to "lock-in" your shot with that power. Even more confusing, you have different putters in your bag, each with a different maximum distance (automatically selected depending on where you place the targeting circle), so a 100% shot might move the ball only a foot or two with one putter while another putter will send it clear across the green. Adding to the frustration, it can be difficult to dial in exactly the amount of power you want making over- and under-hitting the ball a common and aggravating experience, and you'll often find yourself having to 2- and 3-putt what should have been 1-putt holes. It just never felt "right" to me, even after half-a-dozen full rounds.
Curiously, I found myself hoping for a miracle chip-in on every hole, not because chip-ins are good for my score but because it meant I wouldn't have to wrestle with the unsatisfying putting mechanics. This makes a series of great fairway drives rather unrewarding because I approach the green not with exhilaration but with trepidation, and this really sucks a lot of the fun out of this game. Even Wii Sports does it better!
It's particularly disappointing because the rest of the game is put together so well, and there's a lot of content to keep you occupied with the career mode, dozens of mini-games, party play, online play, and so on. The presentation is also sharp, and the courses look and play great. It's just a pity that we're let down by the poorly designed putting game. Maybe next year, when EA incorporates the WiiMotion Plus into the design, we'll finally have our perfect virtual golfing game. But this year, I say rent it first.