Sport generally has evolved beyond the pleasure of spectating but to the level where everyone wants to participate. From the impounding atmosphere in the football stadium, Lawn Tennis arena, Basketball arena, Cycling, and MotoGP. The PGA is rising and soaring in the sky due to its technicality and simplicity.
However, the inability to be on the field watching the PGA stars do their things is getting all the PGS lovers across the world all worked up and wanting to get in the game themselves. But you can make a profit by betting on the games either by virtual reality or on the game itself, you’ll need to use some of these sites to do it though.
More importantly, very few lend themselves alertly to video games. Sports like cricket are too complex, tennis can be so fast, and games like American football and rugby have so much going on between players that goes far beyond what can be predicted using algorithms.
The video game has evolved and the impact of virtual reality has modeled the golf in the 3D format with loads of career mode and tours. However, there are golf games in addition to PS4 and the latest version of PlayStation 5.
They were not as common in other lower versions of PlayStation, there are in PS4 and now PS5. Golf games are not abundant in the market as other games like football, Basketball, and Tennis but there are a number of them.
Golf video games have been around for many years, and some of the original titles have become classics that are still played to this day. Here are our top ten golf video games past and present. See if you agree with our selection or you think otherwise.
1. Mario Golf
Mario Golf is a 1999 sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. In the game, Mario, his friends, and his enemies play golf on a variety of Mario-themed courses.
A Game Boy Color version of the game[b] was also developed by Camelot Software Planning. Unlike the console version, it includes role-playing video game elements.
Of course, when it comes to cartoon golf, no game can hold a putter to Mario Golf. Released at the turn of the century, when the Nintendo 64 was the height of gaming sophistication, this is bold, bright and bonkers beyond belief.
Yet somehow it still manages to incorporate a whole host of technical tricks amongst its garish graphics, including some serious shot assessment tools.
Players choose from a variety of characters including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, and Wario. The game also introduces Plum, Sonny, Harry, Maple, and Charlie, new characters created by Camelot specifically for the game.
Players can then select from a number of courses which have features adapted to the Nintendo world. Mario Golf is very easy to play, as it makes golf very simple, because it does away with many of the complicated real-life aspects of the sport.
2. Cyber Tiger
CyberTiger also is known as Cyber Tiger Woods Golf is a 1999 golf video game featuring Tiger Woods, for PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color. Woods is the main opponent in the game and is the best-rated player in the game around the time the game was released.
CyberTiger includes Power-Up Balls which allow gamers to save themselves in desperate times or to give an edge. The game also introduces Tiger Control, which allows the gamers to put a spin on the ball while it’s in flight; real-time analog swing and ball control; and the ability to fade or draw.
Cyber Tiger had another early entry into the golf game canon, Cyber Tiger combined the fun of arcade golf games with the chance to play as real life pro golfers.
It was not only the testing ground for many of the features that would later set the PGA Tour games apart, such as power boost, practice range, and celebrations of great shots, it also had a unique Battle Mode, which pitched player against player in a lethal battle where more than a trophy was at stake.
3. Hot Shots Golf
Hot Shots Golf is a Golf series game and its fifth installment in the main Hot Shots Golf series was first released in July 2007 in Japan, and then in March 2008 internationally. It is the first installment for the PlayStation 3.
Hotshot Golf is one of the classic arcade golf games that were much popular, the Hot Shots Golf series has been around for decades.
Placing fun far ahead of real-life golf simulation, it was aimed at the gaming market, with a golfing theme, rather than the other way around. Undeniably cartoonish, with characters such as Ratchet and Clank, it was still really challenging to play.
4. John Daly Prostroke Golf
John Daly’s ProStroke Golf is a golf game developed specifically for Playstation Move. It is one of the ground-breaking golf games, John Daly Prostroke introduced motion control via the PlayStation Move controller on the PS3.
It was also amongst the first golf games to offer a first-person perspective as you addressed the ball. It was not without its faults, and it has since been comfortably surpassed by better golf simulators, but without it, it’s fair to say that many of the best golf games would not have become quite as good quite so fast.
The game features mechanics called ProStroke View and ProStroke Swing, which helps players with a first-person view. The game features 12 courses. It also features adjustable weather components. Although, the developers hinted at new golf courses available through downloadable content.
5. Wii Golf
In the fall of 2006, Nintendo released the Wii. After growing up on the likes of the Super NES, N64 and Gamecube, the Wii introduced motion controls to the industry.
Everyone that had a Wii can remember playing Wii Sports with their family and friends. Wii golf was such a large part of the game and actually made golf fun for people that did not play the real game. If you didn’t know some of the shortcuts and secret landing areas, you were missing out!
More importantly, the Wii Sports system was a real game-changer for video games when it arrived in 2006, bringing motion sensor technology to the forefront of the industry.
The system, which even included a golf club attachment for your Wii controller, meant the gamers could really swing for those big drives and tap those short putts as if they were out on the course.
6. Golden Tee (Arcade Version)
In arcades, bars, and pizza shops everywhere, Golden Tee is such a staple of golf gaming. The reason Golden Tee is still so popular today is because of the inherent difficulty of the trackball used to swing for the gamers.
Whenever playing with buddies and against people, Golden Tee is fun because of how volatile the game can be. One minute you are striping the ball and the next someone bumps you at the bar and the next thing you know, you are seeing the ball go dead off a cliff on the Cactus Canyon Course.
7. Real World Golf
Real World Golf only makes the top 10 because of its unbelievable controller. Released before the Nintendo Wii, Real World Golf utilizes a Gametrak controller. This controller looks like a golf club with gloves attached. Swinging is strange but overall it was a futuristic experience. The gameplay itself isn’t anything special. However, the unique controller and risks that were taken definitely earn itself a spot in the top 10
Real World Golf features a custom golf club controller that enables the gamer to track their swing in real time, and reacts in the game accordingly. It also features multiplayer modes for up to 4 players, as well as a variety of party games.
8. The Links
Released during the golden age of golf and subsequently golf video games, Links (2003) was an excellent accumulation of the genre’s major features. The game had diverse gameplay.
There were varying control options for hitting the ball, a developed career mode, multiplayer options, and compatibility with course designing software. While not on the bleeding edge of innovation, Links was still an excellent game.
Links 2003 maybe 17 years old, but it is still loved and played by fans across the world, many of whom rate it as the best golf game of all time. There’s no denying that in its day, it very probably was. It was certainly well ahead of its time and gave the early versions of the Tiger Woods PGA games a run for their money.
9. The Golf Club
Originally released in 2014, The Golf Club franchise now has 3 total titles. These titles include The Golf Club (2014), The Golf Club 2 (2017), The Golf Club 2019. The course creator function is excellent and allows for almost infinite playability.
While the first game did not feature a career mode, the latest game has a fully fleshed out PGA Tour Career mode. The game is clearly made by the same creators of the Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Furthermore, the graphics are excellent.
Following a similar theme to SimGolf, The Golf Club is as much about building the course as it is about playing it. Unlike other golf games, the focus is on the ordinary player, rather than the star, as the gamers build their course and invite others to come and play. Made with authentic golf course sound effects, recorded live, this is one of the most immersive golf games around.
10. Tiger Woods PGA Tour
The Tiger Woods PGA Tour is part of the larger PGA Tour franchise. However, the Tiger Woods ones are widely regarded as the undisputed best-golfing game. Specifically, The Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 is viewed as the greatest one.
Earlier titles lacked the perfect swing control and subsequent versions were viewed as too difficult. The game did not directly have any state-of-the-art features. However, it perfected the gameplay experience. Other titles in the franchise worth checking out are Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13.