Best/Favorite Golf Games/Sims

[digitalpress]

You'd think after several years and nearly half a million posts there would have been a "golf game" thread, but I couldn't find one, and now I'm curious.

I'm sure many here have played many different golf games over the years, from the old Atari "Golf" right up to the latest Tiger Woods, Hot Shots and Links offerings.

With my schedule finally free through the end of the year I'm getting back into that stack of games that I haven't had time to open, let alone play, and what was the first game I picked up to try? Links for Xbox. I was really impressed with the graphics and the overall speed of the gameplay. Golf games that take forever to play are not my thing.

I've also got Tiger Woods 2004 (PS2) in the hopper and Hot Shots Fore looks very promising. So I ask you - over ALL TIME, what are some of the best video golf games you've played, and why?

[Querjek]

Mario Golf: Avance Tour and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour because each one has a large variety of fun modes an cool unlockables, plus the connectivity makes each game longer.

[Mayhem]

Leaderboard, Tiger Woods and Mario Golf (on N64). Pretty much the best 3 right there ever.

[kainemaxwell]

I was always a fan of the old Links PC series myself.

[boatofcar]

I'm really enjoying Mario Golf: Advance Tour for GBA. The RPG-ish leveling up and training modes offer variety that most other golf games don't have. I also played a lot of NES Golf in college, which moved pretty quickly too. I think it is impossible to shoot a hole in one on that game though.

[downfall]

I really really like Swingerz Golf on Gamecube. I picked it up for a few bucks from Best Buy, and I must say, it's a blast.

I'm not much of a golf fan either, nor a golf game fan, but I can sit down and play 18 holes of Swingerz Golf about anytime, and I don't get tired of it. It's not overly complicated or anything, just a good, well-done, fun golf game.

It's also by Fresh Games, the same guys who've done R-Type Final, so that's what prompted me to pick it up in the first place.

[Gamereviewgod]

Mario Golf: GBC and GBA
Tiger Woods (insert current year here)
Swing Away, PS2
Neo Turf Masters, Geo
Arnold Palmer, Genesis
Hal's Hole in One, SNES

[hydr0x]

i've got to second Neo Turf Masters for Neo Geo, great game, others:

Tiger Woods Series
Links Series (try Links 386 ;) )
PGA European Tour, PC
NES Open, NES
Mario Golf, GC/n64

can't think of more great golf games right now, but i guess there are more ;) there are also some unrealistic golf games like Devils Course and others

[Azazel]

The only Golf game I really liked was Zany Golf on the PC.

[Oobgarm]

In no particular order:

Tiger Woods 2004
The entire Hot Shots Golf series, 1-4
Mario Golf
Mario Golf: Advance Tour
HAL's Hole in One
PGA Tour Golf II (Genny)

[Blendo75]

Mario Golf, Mario Golf and more Mario Golf. Hotshots Golf is pretty fun as well but I'd rather play using Mario and his crew. Oh and Leaderboard Golf, that's a good (old) one.

[Sotenga]

Mario Golf is the only one I find any actual interest in... otherwise, I find it rather boring. Ah, Mario. Ya can spruce up anything that I would otherwise find to not be very good. :D

[AB Positive]

Neo. Turf. Masters.

Nothing else even comes close. My distant second favorite goes to Outlaw Golf.

-AG

[FantasiaWHT]

The only golf game I ever enjoyed was Sim Golf.

Just making my course as frustrating as possible and watching them cuss me out was great.

[Nez]

The only Golf game I've played is Mario Golf Toadstool Tour. Great game specially multi player.

[ECWSandmanECW]

I like the Hot Shots series, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.

[petewhitley]

Links 2004 for my daily fix because it's online and it's user friendly.
Mario Golf 64 for when you've got 3 friends over.
Ninja Golf for for the very concept itself.

[kjmontana]

I never see mention of my guilty pleasure: "Tecmo World Golf : Play 101 Courses In Japan". It is a bit rough-looking nowadays but it came out in '96 so we can overlook that. It must be tweaked(cameras)to get the full enjoyment but with a little extra effort you'll see what I see: a great little-known game! There are more than 101 courses and you can change the type of grass on several courses! The physics are still spot-on: you can't "spin" the ball out of the rough; the terrain actually affects the balls flightpath; you can't make every putt over 15 feet; you can't get 40 hole-in-ones in only 200 rounds(TW2004 PS2 can do all of these and more! BORING!). Try it if you can find it. Polygon characters were unheard of in golf games at the time(PGA '96, etc.). This game also has a hilarious Japanese woman speaking English: "bogey dis!"; "triple-da bogey dis!"; "nice pah!"; etc. Must hear it; funny every time! Enjoy!

[DTJAAAAMJSLM]

My favorite is the original Hot Shots Golf.

[Mr. Smashy]

Links 386 (http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/p,2/gameId,3757/) is still my favorite.

[Ninja Blacksox]

Anything developed by Camelot or Clap Hanz.

So...

Any of the "Hot Shots Golf" or "Mario Golf" games.

-A Boy

[Simply Dave]

I'll second Swingerz Golf. A fantastic game and probably the best golf game I've ever played. And I play them all. It may be one of the most underrated sports games of all time. Runner-up goes to PGA Championship Golf 2000 for the PC. Another fantastic game that would appeal to the more hardcore golfing fan.

I'm playing through HSG Fore now and I have to admit I am a little bit disappointed. All the new courses and players are a great addition, but the single player aspect of the game does not seem as strong as in previous installments. Perhaps it will pick up as I advance in the game.

[Atarian75]

I have always been a fan of golf games. I think it started with the PGA series on the Genesis. Since then I have really enjoyed the Hot Shot Golf Series and Mario Golf Series, Swingerz Golf and Outlaw Golf were pretty good too. Tiger Woods 2004 on the X-Box though, has easily been the most enjoyable and addicting golf game I have ever played. It may not be the most realistic, but lets face it, realistic does not always = fun. If you want realistic golf than you really should just go outside and play golf for real. That being said, Tiger Woods has the perfect balance of realism and fantasy that makes a great video game and the create a player option is top notch. If you spend enough time with all the features you really can have a character that looks like you on the screen playing golf. Anyway, thats my pick and I'm sticking to it.

-Atarian75

[kainemaxwell]

Ya know Mario Golf is actually on my list of N64 games to get still after playing it emulated months ago.

[-hellvin-]

Old school Links.

[ArnoldRimmer83]

Golf for Nes

One of the most relaxing video games I ever played.

[scooterb23]

I love me some golf games :D

PGA European Tour - Genesis - actually, all are good, except PGA Tour 97, that one reeks on the Genesis. Go for the one that has your favorite courses (I like the Euro courses the best).

Mario Golf - N64 - Excellent game, I wasn't quite as enamored with the Cube one though...

Hot Shots Golf - I think 1 and 2 are best...#3 was way too easy...#4 is fun so far, but I'm not too far into it.

And I had a heck of a lot of fun with Disney Golf on the PS2. I may be alone on that, but I thought it was pretty good :)

I haven't really tried the TW 2004, or XBox Links games...although I'd like to...

Finally, Devil's Island (for Links) is the hardest damned course EVER!!

[hydr0x]

And I had a heck of a lot of fun with Disney Golf on the PS2. I may be alone on that, but I thought it was pretty good :)


you're not alone ;)

[D-Lite]

I have to agree with AdamG that Neo Turf Masters has no equal. The gameplay is absolutely fantastic. The voice acting has just the right amount of cheese, and the lounge music is 100% complimentary to the feel. This game just exudes quality.

But actually, there is one game that compares to this. Neo Turf Masters Pocket for the NGPC!! 3 courses instead of 4 with the same gameplay!

As far as Mario Golf: Advance Tours, I thought it was really cool at first, but damn I blew threw it fast. And I even got a hole-in-one a couple times (no BS). The linking thing is cool, but I have no time for that at the moment as I usually play my GBA on the road and when I'm home I have other things to tend to. They should have made the game a bit deeper without the need to link up. But it is a good game. Putting freakin' sucks in that game though.

[Milk]

I liked NES Golf when I was a kid. I don't know if I'll like it now. I've played Mario Golf for the GBA, but quickly lost interest. It took way too much time for me to set up a character. I just wanted to pick it up and play.

[gavv]

I'd have to say Mean 18 for the PC, the first one back in the day that required EGA graphics, the first one (iirc) to utilize a 3click swing meter, and was so addictively fun to play

gavv

[Jedi805]

I am new here so I want to say hello to everyone first.
Long time reader first time posting.

My favorite golf game is Hot Shots Golf 2
Only golf game I ever liked. EVER :D

[jaydubnb]

I' have this weird relationship with golf...hate watching the sport, but dammit, I'm a sucker for an arcade styled videogame.

My two favorites are Neo Turf Masters and Hot Shots Golf. I just wish I could find a NTM AES cart. Grrrr....

[videogameking26]

Mario Golf for GC and GBA
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 for PS2
Links 2004 for Xbox
NES Golf

[videogameking26]

Oh how could I forget about one great golfing arcade series..Hot Shots Golf 2 for PSX,3 & Fore! for PS2..

[Rogmeister]

Due to this thread, I pulled out Outlaw Golf and Tiger Woods 2004 for the GameCube this past weekend. I'm having fun with Outlaw Golf though I'm not real good at it...and it's the first time I've played the Tigert Woods game. I've also ordered Hot Shots 2 and 3 and will get into those once they arrive. I think my favorites so far are Mario for GameCube plus the first Hot Shots...and Outalw Golf. Am I allowed to have 3 favorites?

[lucavi]

if Golden Tee counts that's where my vote goes :)

[Daniel Thomas]

I've never been a big fan of golf games, because there was always a creeping sameness to everything. I think modern technology makes them far more interesting, however, which is probably why I enjoy them more than I have in the past.

I remember playing Leaderboard Golf to death on the Atari computer when I was a kid; it probably was the title that set the gold standard for everything to come. I'm surprised at how many golf games used the same power bar for swings.

Neo Turf Masters was suggested on this board many times, and I've come to appreciate it myself, too. It's the one great arcade golf game that's perfect for short bursts, and another one of those little Neo Geo gems that gets lost under all those fighters.

Another overlooked golf game that I loved was Pebble Beach Golf Links on the Saturn. It was among the US launch titles, which probably hurt its sales somewhat. What I really enjoyed was the idea of playing against Craig Stadler, especially all those sarcastic, smart-ass lines from Stadler here and there. He really came across as a mediocre jerk who's only better than us schmoes. Oh, and the music was terrific, too.

Not long ago, I picked up a copy of Tiger Woods 2004 for my PC, and it's terrific fun. I'm just happy to see a new method of swinging the clubs, and it's so intuintive and simple that it deserves to become the new standard. Just slide the mouse down and up, and there's your swing. And everything just looks terrific. It's probably the best golf sim yet made, although I do miss all the heckling in Hot Shots.

As an aside, all the commentary clips on Tiger Woods 2004 are MP3 files. Theoretically, you could contruct your own play-by-play commentary for this game. Now there's an idea that someone should really run with, especially on the PC's.

[DigitalSpace]

Hot Shots Golf 3 is my current favorite. I haven't played Mario Golf and I'd really like to check that out.

My favorite oldschool golf game would probably be NES Golf.

[kainemaxwell]

How's NES Open Tournament Goilf?

[Captain Wrong]

Mario Golf N64/GBC. I can't count the hours I wasted with that combo.

Neo Turf Masters is a close second. I still need that cart someday. I have Top Players, but it isn't nearly as good.

[Rogmeister]

Coincidentally both Hot Shots 2 & 3 arrived today. I'll be having a putting good time on my next couple of days off...

[Wookie]

Am I the only one who likes Tee Off on the Dreamcast? Mario Golf (N64) and Leaderboard on my C64 have also gotten a lot of play. And even (does this count?) Ninja Golf on the 7800.
-Ron

[Rogmeister]

I haven't tried Tee Off yet...I heard it was basically a copy of Hot Shots...

What about Mecarobot Golf for the SNES? LOL

[hydr0x]

uh didn't like Tee Off at all, not enough details for me, and quite boring

[YoshiM]

NES Golf and the eCard version are still decent fun. Simplistic and no-nonsense. For modern times I do enjoy a bout of Links for the Xbox as long as it's with a friend. Seems boring without live commentary.

[eightbitonline]

"Looks like he hit the tree, Jim."

[scorch56]

Awesome Golf.. on the Lynx (I think that was the name).

"Let's play.. Awesome Golf!" (Guy sounded like a chipmunk. Hmm.. maybe it was just the itty bitty speaker.)

[RetroYoungen]

But actually, there is one game that compares to this. Neo Turf Masters Pocket for the NGPC!! 3 courses instead of 4 with the same gameplay!

HELL yeah! That was the game that I thought about as soon as I read the title of the thread. Other than that, Golf for the NES/e-Reader, and Golden Tee Golf in the arcade. That was the only golf game I've ever played in the arcade, because it was the only one that I found that looked like any fun.

[DaveD]

I see nobody has posted in this thread for a while, and I'll admit (actually confess) to getting perverse enjoyment out of both the Outlaw Golf games.
Under all the suggestiveness (thats putting it mildly....) is a pretty good golf engine and interface. It seems unforgiving at first, but becomes second-nature and dials in pretty quickly...at least it did for me. The commentary gets old after a while, but some of it is pretty funny the first time around....

[Rogmeister]

While they may have gotten a "name" comic for Outlaw Golf 2, I actually prefer the announcer on the first one. I wonder if we'll ever get an Outlaw Golf 3...or a new outlaw game of any sport....

[Trevelyan]

I love the Tiger Woods Golf Games, I think they get beter & better & are very relaxing! I always pick up my Golf games around the majors!

[GnawRadar]

My favorite Golf games are Tiger Woods 2004(PS2), PGA Tour Golf (Genesis), and Mini-Putt(NES Reproduction).

[darkhades]

I am not a big sports game fan, but 2 golf games I always enjoy are Power Golf (TG-16) and True Swing Golf (DS).

[Pantechnicon]

1. Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf for the Genesis
2. Awesome Golf for the Lynx
3. Golf for Virtual Boy (a must have for all VB fans).

[thetoxicone]

Let's see, I like different ones in different situations

Golden Tee if out drinking

Hot Shots Series if at home with a group of people playing

Tiger Woods Series if by myself

[Damaramu]

My faves?

Zany Golf
Sim Golf
Hot Shots Golf

[SpyHunter]

Neo Turf Masters. It has very simple controls, its very easy to pick up and play, but presents enough of a challenge that you don't get bored with it.

[Rogmeister]

I just got Hot Shots Golf Fore! and have been playing that a lot. I decided to look through my PS1 collection and see what other golf games I had for that system and surprisingly only found 3: Hot Shots Golf, Hot Shots Golf 2 and Putter Golf which appears to be a miniature golf game (I've not tried it yet but will in a bit). I'm really surprised I don't have a single PGA golf game for the system. I guess I don't really need to look for one since I have the 2004 edition of Tiger Woods for my GameCube...

[DigitalSpace]

My current favorites:

Golf (NES)
Golf Grand Slam (NES)
PGA Tour Golf III (Genesis)
Kirby's Dream Course (SNES)
Hot Shots Golf (PSX)
Hot Shots Golf 3 (PS2)
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (Gamecube)
Mario Golf (GBC)

[Marriott_Guy]

I am an avid fan in this area... My top 5 (in no particular order):

Neo Turf Masters (Neo Geo)
PGA Tour III (Sega Genesis)
Links 2K3 (PC)
Tiger Woods 2K8 (Microsoft Xbox 360) - has it's problems but I got my 3-click swing back!
PGA Tour Golf '96 (Panasonic 3DO)

There are allot of great golf games out there (as have been mentioned). Another non-console favorite of mine is Big Event Golf - which still is played often in my Room of Doom.

[Rogmeister]

I got Swing Away Golf for the PS2 yesterday and played that some. I played an 18-hole round and was pretty bad at first (no manual came so I was learning as I was gooing) but I was playing much better towards the end, getting par or under on 5 of the last 6 holes. It's no Hot Shots Golf but it's enjoyable. This seems to have a create-a-course option...is that hard to figure out?

[Rogmeister]

For some reason, I recently thought about getting a golf game for the DS as I have been concentrating on getting games for that system lately. Coincidentally, yesterday I ordered the DS version of Swing Away Golf. Are there any others for the DS worth getting? I know there are at least two Tiger Woods games for the DS...

[mikey167]

Im glad you bumped this thread, I bought a Neo Geo and Have been playing Neo Turf Masters Nonstop, and was going to start looking for a new golf game to play.

Are the Tiger Woods games any good?

[Rogmeister]

I have Tiger Woods for the GameCube and the PS2...I think I may have actually given the GC one to my nephew, though...and I I have enjoyed one or the other though I forget which one I had been playing. I thought it looked great though I haven't gotten all the nuances of gameplay down yet.

Nuances...like that word? :D

[richerdjohn]

hi,

I'm really enjoying Mario Golf like that the GBC and GBA.I am mostly enjoying the tour of these games.I like very carefully and so interesting.

[Rogmeister]

I received True Swing Golf for the DS two days ago. I mistakenly had referred to it a few posts ago as the DS version of Swing Away Golf...similar title confused me, I guess. I do like this game...it's a lot of fun. Of course, it should be since it was made by Nintendo.

[Steven]

My favorite golf game is BS Out of Bounds Golf

http://www.rvgfanatic.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_1516778/BSOoBG-CT2.JPG

http://www.rvgfanatic.com/7401/1516678.html

Just a really fun, clever little game. Now available for PowerPak action, too!

[RPG_Fanatic]

Both Hot Shots Golf on the PSP are my favs.

[frogofdeath]

I was just thinking about this game the other day and how awesome it was (still is maybe...?): Microsoft Golf. Used to play this on an old computer running Windows 3.1. Good graphics, virtually no load times, and best golf videogame comments ever.

"It's in the sand..."

[Gapporin]

and best golf videogame comments ever.

"It's in the sand..."

If Links recycled the same ones later on, then yes, this is true. "Get legs!"

Some of my other favorites include True Swing Golf (DS) and Neo Turf Masters (NGPC). I could (and have) sink many, many hours into those games. I enjoy Putt and Putter (GG) when I don't need a realistic simulation. Strangely enough, I never have liked actually playing any console golf games, but handheld golf is aces (or birdie, or albatrosses...).

[Brianvgplayer]

NES:
Golf
NES Open
Lee Travino's Fighting Golf

SNES:
The Irem Skins Game

Intellivision:
Chip Shot Super Pro Golf

Game Boy b/w:
Golf

Game Boy Color:
Mario Golf

Game Boy Advance:
Mario Golf

N64:
Mario Golf

Sega Master System:
Great Golf

Sega Genesis:
Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf
PGA Tour III

[DigitalSpace]

A couple more portable favorites:

-Neo Turf Masters (NGPC)
-ESPN Final Round Golf 2002 (GBA) - if you know of a GameStop that still has a copy of this Konami-developed hidden gem, it's well worth the 99 cents they charge for it.

[Singletriad]

Kirby' s dream course will always be my favorite golf game. When I played it as a kid I didn't even realize I was playing a golf game