By Kim J. Harmon

Just a couple of days after walking off the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell, I found I could not get enough of it – the grandeur, the giddy sense of standing on a hallowed course, and the heart-thumping excitement of the treacherous 15th and 17th holes.

So I revisited it.

On my computer.

As luck would have it, I have Tiger Woods 2001 for my PC, which features 17 of the finest courses in the world – including the TPC at River Highlands, the site of the Canon (and soon to be renamed) Greater Hartford Open.

It’s all there – the sloping fairway and uphill approach to No. 1; the No. 6 green closely guarded by bunkers; the 200-yard carry over water at No. 8; the long narrow fairway of No. 10; the challenging tee shot on No. 13; the beautiful downhill approach on No. 14; the gut-wrenching tee-shot of No. 15; the nerve-wracking tee shot on No. 17; and the wonderful approach to the No. 18 green, which is nestled against a hillside.

Oh, yeah, EA Sports has rendered the course in almost exquisite detail and when I teed up it was almost like I was back in Cromwell.

But I quickly learned I was no professional – not by a long shot. Even though I chose the likeness of Tiger Woods and set up my own profile (I chose professional so I could play from the tournament tees), I quickly discovered how precise someone has to be to make a perfect shot on the PGA tour.

Very precise – let’s put it that way.

I quickly played through the course a first time, not spending a whole lot of time worried about pointless things like course management (use an iron off the tee . . . are you mad?) or lining up a putt (boy, a putt can sure roll a long way if you hit it too hard) and shot a nifty 92 (which is 20 strokes better than I would in real life).

Then I slowed down.

Paid attention.

And took into account many of the factors (wind, the need for caution) that might affect the thinking of the average PGA professional (unlike Phil Mickelson, who seems to darn the torpedoes whenever he plays).

I did a lot better the second time – an 82.

Well, third time is a charm. But I figured if I had any shot at all, I would have to drop my status from professional to amateur (which makes the shot bar move slower), change my clubs from flex to regular shafts (which cuts down on my distance, but limits how bad a shot I could hit), shift the fairways from normal to dry (give me a little added distance on the roll), and slooooooow the greens down.

First time through – 76.

Second time through – 74.

Sure, it was a lot better, but I still wasn’t hitting the greens and was still averaging about 1.9 putts per green. My driving accuracy was okay, but the approaches were difficult. With a course like TPC at River Highlands, you quickly realize you have to play smart. The CPU forces you to take into account the wind, the undulations of the green, the manner of your lie and all of that stuff. There are ways to put backspin on your ball (a little or a lot), draw the ball and fade the ball, and different types of shots from the knockdown to the bump and run and you have to take all of it into account in order to score well.

It is not easy.

But I’ll keep going back – keep going until I win just one darn tournament.

Other courses I could have chosen: Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, TPC at Sugarloaf, TPC at Sawgrass, TPC at Summerlin, TPC at The Canyons, TPC of Scottsdale, TPC at Heron Bay, TPC at Prestancia, TPC at Piper Glen, TPC at Southwind, TPC at Las Colinas, Las Vegas Country Club, Badlands Golf Club, Colonial Country Club, Bay Hill Club, Cog Hill (Dubsdread). Tigers Woods 2001 came with an additional course disk, which added several more disks like Spyglass and Pebble Beach.

Other golfers (as amateurs or professionals) I could have chosen: Stuart Appleby, Mark Calcavecchia (good ol’ Mark), Stewart Cink, Robert Damron (who?), Brad Faxon, Jim Furyk, Lee Janzen, Davis Love III (in the hunt last week), Justin Leonard, and Mark O’Meara.

Other features I could have utilized: Play Against The Pros, The Skins™ Game, Stroke Play, Match Play, The President’s Cup, PGA Tour Season (which starts at Q-School and you’re not going anywhere until you pass Q-School), and Golf Architect (design your own TPC at Joe Shmoes).