Better than Portal 1 in every way; one of the best puzzle games around with a really great story too.

Too big for me to get into (I'm not that interested in golf)

I'm not really one for visual novels but this game is more gameplay than tapping, and more thinking than reading. That said, the story is incredible, and every case is good to some degree.
It can be a little hard to think the same way the developers were (some of the logic doesn't make much sense), so don't feel bad about using a guide from time to time.