Followers of golf know this, but for everyone else, the final Major of the year on the PGA Tour, the PGA Championship held this year at Hazeltine Golf Club in Minnesota of all places, kicks off tomorrow, and if your virtual clubs treat you better than your real ones, man oh man does Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’10 have an opportunity for you.

Beginning tomorrow, August 13, and running through to the close of the tournament on Sunday, gamers playing on Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii can enlist in what’s being called the “Upper Deck Challenge” using the game’s brand new Live Tournament Feature.

The gamer with the lowest score in both Amateur and Tour Pro difficulty levels after submitting their final, four-round total will win limited, rare, and valuable Tiger Woods-signed prints from merchandise manufacturer Upper Deck.

Good luck to all!

Blast had its first go-round with Tiger Woods 10 on the Wii with the new MotionPlus accessory back at E3, and let us tell you that it’s a lot easier to play video game golf when your character is Tiger Woods — maxed out on specs and equipment — then when you’re amateur wannabe John Guilfoil with his lack of power and stock equipment.

There’s something else to consider. The MotionPlus accessory, bundled with this year’s game, makes the title a lot more realistic. Every arm and wrist movement can drastically alter the course of the ball. A swing that would have cut it in Tiger Woods 09 is in the trees in 10. Then you realize it…

Golf is a lot harder than we’re been led to believe all these years.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, Grand Slam Tennis and Red Steel 2 are the first major third party tests of the MotionPlus for us, and it gets a thumbs up so far. Tiger Woods 10 is a far reach harder than Tiger Woods 09, which is good considering nearly everything else about the two games are exactly the same — endlessly upgrading your clubs, picking corny celebratory animations, regretting setting your majors to four agonizing rounds, etc. etc. etc.

One thing we don’t like in Woods 10 right off the bat (or the club…) is the sheer lack of Scottish play-by-play announcers. It’s one of the few things that makes televised golf enjoyable. And, I’m sorry ESPN, but Scott Van Pelt saying “useful shot that” just doesn’t do it for me.

There are, ethnicity aside, some very nice new features in 10 besides MotionPlus, including actual live weather conditions and a mini game called Disc Golf played with a Frisbee that is exclusive to the Wii version. But the best new feature is the online live tournaments. You can challenge friends, play in EA tournaments, and match up with the pros with online tournaments during actual PGA events.

There are plenty of real courses in the game and plenty of tournaments but this series is missing things like The Masters and the US Open and some of the other “real majors” in golf. Because of that, career mode is that much less invigorating. You’ll spend a few weeks as an amateur, playing boring tournaments against idiotic computer characters just to get to the PGA TOUR where there’s really no reward — no green jackets or “Superbowls” of golf. You just play, get money, buy stuff, and play more. It’s a real problem with sports games.

You will get addicted though, and we highly recommend getting a golfing buddy, either at your home or online, because it’s kinda depressing to make an eagle and just stand there with the cat licking himself.

Just keep your wrists straight and follow through with your swing. This isn’t Wii Sports. You don’t just flick your wrist and five it 300 yards. Once you get used to it, you’ll be fading and punch shooting your way through the Fedex Cup. One thing about a harder game is that you really feel like you’ve accomplished something when you finally get good at it.

There are 28 courses and Wii’s “All Play” mode just in case you really, really can’t get used to the new controls. If you’re in a bad mood, turn on All Play and select Pebble Beach. In our tests, I shot two double eagles, two aces, and five eagles. But the announcing still sucks. I made a double eagle on 18 from about 200 yards, and all Van Pelt had to say was that my putting had been fantastic today.

Blast Factor: It’s Nerf or nothing. Tiger Woods is the only sim golf game out there, much like EA’s Madden franchise. It’s not the old days of six brands of computer golf that you play with your mouse. You actually have to get off the couch this time and swing the club like you mean it. The good thing is that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is simply great. The verbose online options give you plenty to do, even for the most finicky video game golfer.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is available on the Nintendo Wii bundled with MotionPlus for $59.99, or without for $49.99

If Tiger Woods is your man and golf is your game, you’ll be happy to learn a demo for the upcoming golf sim hit Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network this morning and truly teases what looks be a very solid installment in the franchise.

In the demo you’ll play two holes on the Bethpage-Black and Turnberry courses and also have the option to enter practice mode on the same courses.

EA has also made available a limited Tournament Challenege option for gamers to try their luck at in hopes of “selling the sizzle” as they say.

Start your download via the Xbox Live web marketplace here (even if your at the office or in class) or fire up your PS3 to get started.