If you’re the type of person who prefers their country parks to have 18 holes, then you will no doubt be familiar with The Golf Club series. The efforts of Canadian developer HB Studios over the course of this generation have been fascinating to observe. The first game in its simulation series launched shortly after the PlayStation 4, and was widely regarded as an indie attempt. Since then, it’s designed a much-improved sequel, acquired the rights to the PGA Tour off EA Sports, signed a publishing deal with 2K Sports, and now – on the eve of the PlayStation 5 – is rebranding the franchise as PGA Tour 2K21 .
In many ways, this is an amalgamation of The Golf Club and NBA 2K’s trademark MyCareer mode. The emphasis is on building your own custom character and deepening it with licensed brands, be it Baseball caps from Under Armor or colorful pants from Tattoo Golf. Many of the clothes and clubs you will find to personalize your player are based on real-life articles, and it’s powerlessly entertaining when you unlock rare bits-and-bobs through goal-based contracts as you work your way to the top of the global golf Leaderboards.
But this is primarily a golf game, and fortunately the iteration of HB Studios over the past seven or so years is now really starting to pay off. As with previous installations, you swing with both analog sticks, and the title determines your accuracy based on the accuracy of your movement. On the higher difficulties you have to move smoothly, cutting the stick clean with the right timing. Follow through too slowly and your shot will fade, potentially adding unnecessary challenge to your next shot.
It’s a simple setup, but there’s depth to the game if you want to extract it. The shot shaper system comes back, allowing you to sober up the trajectory of your shot to defeat high winds, or add drawing to avoid dangers. Of course, the more complicated your shot, the better your accuracy will have to be, and it is this risk / reward system that really enhances the gameplay. After playing thousands of rounds, we never really felt like the title was deceiving us; all bad lies can be directly attributed to our own mistakes, and that makes the title missing when trying to clear up your own mistakes.
Do not worry if you do not have a huge handicap, as the difficulty is highly adaptable. You can adjust how challenging you want the circumstances to be, and how good your opponents are, which means all skill levels can find an setting they enjoy. In addition, you can choose to play against friends or strangers from all over the world, and because the title records every shot you make, you can test yourself against others, even when they’re offline.
While the excellent creator of golf courses returns from previous releases, there are more licensed courses than ever before. The likes of TPC Sawgrass, TPC Boston, and TPC Deere Run are accompanied by Quail Hollow, TPC Louisiana, and TPC San Antonio. While these are precisely represented in terms of their layouts and features, one of the criticisms we have is that the official courses do not yet miss the character of their real opponents, as they still consist of shares which are available on the golf course creator mode.
However, the game looks sharp and colorful, and the presentation has been seriously revised for this version. Broadcast highlights from around the course as well as from custom commentary bring the action more in line with NBA 2K, and it’s clear that the benefits of 2K Sports’ impulse budget have been put to good use. While after a few hours you’ll probably skip through some of the replacements, the whole package feels much more premium in this edition – it’s still a bit lower than the sports genre’s juggernauts, but it’s getting closer now.
That said, the release is still a bit too static for our liking. Given that golf is a sport that is heavily influenced by the weather, we want to see more movement in the scene to reflect what is happening in the game. At the moment, trees and grass remain completely still, even if you play the ball in a strong wind. While the physics system will ensure that the flight of the ball is precisely influenced by the wind, we consider a little more visual feedback could really improve the appearance of the game.
As you play through your career, working your way through the ranks, meet your opponents in the real world like cover star Justin Thomas and build rivalries with them. Unfortunately these amounts amount to more than getting a better score, but you will unlock gear and currency in game when you complete them. Contracts with sponsors like Adidas are equally reflected in the release, and while there is quite a bit of spectacle to complete them, it’s always fun when you unlock that rare strap you crave.
Outside of the career, there are both local and online multiplayer across a variety of different modes, ranging from traditional golf all the way to team-based challenges where pairs of players compete for the lowest score. You can also create communities that act as in-game hubs for communities and groups of friends. Here you can plan events and even set entrance fees, although the whole system feels undercooked compared to previous installations.
Conclusion
PGA Tour 2K21 is the best simulation golf game on the PS4, and it represents a real evolution for the Golf Club franchise as a whole. While it retains many of the features of previous installations, it is much better presented than ever before, and it ultimately includes a career mode that is worth your time and attention. There are still improvements to be made here – the licensed courses lack character and the visuals are static – but if this was a long par five tee shot, it would find the fairway enjoyable.
