Thanks for taking the time to write that very balanced and helpful mini-review!
I've been sitting on the fence with purchasing this game. I really want to like it, but in its present state, I can't justify spending that kind of money on a game released at this gameplay quality level. I know I would regret the purchase.
I just don't understand EA's reasoning behind the design and marketing of this game. They have gone to extensive lengths to create a significant collection of beautiful and accurate renditions of iconic golf courses and they are promoting the game as supposedly providing as authentic a professional golf experience as possible. From what I can tell, they have done a great job with the courses and presentation, but failed with the gameplay + professional golf experience. This is based on watching the various YouTube videos of the gameplay that have appeared.
It's perfectly fine to have casual and more arcade-like gameplay modes for those not-so-serious golfers and no doubt is required to generate enough game sales to make the game a financial success overall, but these customers are perhaps less likely to be as concerned about the accuracy of the course renditions as more avid RL golfers? For high-level RL players and golf fanatics in general, there should also be a very challenging mode of gameplay that accurately generates the shot dispersion patterns of professional golf. It should be very difficult to consistently play well in this simulation mode and this would give the game longevity and make it very satisfying to shoot under par on these courses. This is not what I am seeing in gameplay videos so far.
I am seeing gameplay where it is far too easy to hit straight shots and nearly always find the fairway with 300 yard+ drives. The best drivers on the PGA Tour struggle to hit 70% fairways and these tend to be the shorter hitters that favor accuracy over distance.
In EA PGA Tour 23, I've seen ridiculous flop shot, stop-on-a-dime par recovery saves from short-sided above the hole positions (and out of the rough!) when missing the greens at the Augusta National. This doesn't remotely resemble reality and true professional golf.
Fix the gameplay please!! EA is close to having a great golf game and a worthy competitor to PGA 2K23, but it never will be until the gameplay is re-worked.
