A history of Computer Golf?
Does anyone know if there is any book - or books, or even websites that chronicle the history of Golf on computers and also consoles too? I was thinking I would like to write one, but not if it alre...
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@deputydog7268 wrote:Does anyone know if there is any book - or books, or even websites that chronicle the history of Golf on computers and also consoles too?
I was thinking I would like to write one, but not if it already exists!
I started played golf on electronic devices probably in the the mid-80s with Microprose Golf on Atari ST. Then:
Everybody's Golf Playstation 1
Virtua Golf also PS1
Then the Tiger Woods Games.
Everybody's Golf World Tour Playstation 3
More recently - 2K19/2K21/2K23 and of course the one this site is dedicated to. I never played The Golf Club or The Golf Club 2 which I believe preceded 2K19, I am not sure why.
I also have Everybody's Golf VR - on PS4 - it is an amazing thing, but such a faff to setup!
I've also played ones on Nintendo DS and PSP and around the late 80's - early 90's my friends and I loved an arcade golf machine in our local pub (it had a top-down view) can anyone help me with the name of that? I think it might have had a trackball like missile command, but I am not totally sure.
Can anyone fill in the gaps! There will be many, especially in the 2003-2005 period when my kids were born and nappies needed changing! (For example I have never played any Mario Golf games, but I know some people say that behind the Mario character is a pretty solid golf simulation).
I will appreciate any inputs - thank you. I would be especially interested in any hidden gems or indeed golf games that were absolute disasters!
P.S. I am in England - I assume there will be international variations on how computer golf has evolved...
Oh I forgot to mention Nintendo Wii golf (the best was probably on Wii Sports resort around 2009 - with the enhanced controllers) but actually, for some reason, I preferred Frisbee Golf on that machine around the same courses!
EA released several PGA Tour Games (and at least one European PGA Tour Game) prior to Tiger Woods. Some others I have played I didn't see mentioned. SimGolf. World Golf Tour. Lee Trevino & Jack Nicklaus (Golden Bear) both had their own branded games in the late 80's-late 90's.
If you go to mobile, you can find many additional games. Golf Star is one that comes to mind that's not bad.
Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge by Activision - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Nicklaus_6:_Golden_Bear_Challenge was, for me, my overall favorite golf game.
For the time (1997), the graphics were awesome. If you search the internet it will say the PGA Tour Golf in 1990 was first 3D golf game, but it didn't look or feel 3D to me. GBC was first, the first to feel like a fully 3D golf game.
Look at the putt grid! simple and easy to understand. Like most of the game, you could mod the lines to any color you wanted. This was everything came together right, and as you could mod just about everything, it was first golf game where modders could create and share real or fictional golf courses. I had SO MANY courses lol. I myself made some custom flags, scorecard backgrounds, different color aiming arrow, different color golf bags with logos and as a Canuck made and shared this shirt:
This is all in the glory age of gaming without microtransactions, in game stores, seasons and other means to try and milk more money out of your wallet. Tiger Woods golf came around and competitors started to disappear, including this gem of a game. GBC was the golf game I spent most of my time in and just enjoyed the most and benchmark with which i gauge other golf games.
The game won't stand up visually to anything today, but it had everything included, including AI that could give you a real run for your money. Golf games today have added some real great things, EA has got the best looking golf game I've seen yet, but some of the basics got lost. I asked HB Studios every year if they added AI players only to be told "we have better, you can see these fancy colored golf trails from previous players round" Suddenly, nobody can release a golf game with challenging AI, even though it was done YEARS before without issue. I fear nobody is ever going to release a complete golf game anymore, though I would be happy to be proven wrong.
In my time with computers and consoles I have also enjoyed Flight Simulators. Obviously MS Flight Sim was king and is now back on top of the tree again.
But for a time I really was impressed with one in the mid-90s called 'Flight Unlimited' by Looking Glass Technologies.
They also had a go at golf in 1997 with 'The British Open Championship', it was pretty amazing for the time and definitely 3D (but tough to play well) sadly it was not a commercial success and I think it was the final game by that company. If I remember right, it had very few courses, but rendered in great detail. It was a mouse 3-click game, as most were back then.
One golf game that slipped under the radar was Outlaw Golf by Hypnotix. It was available in PS2 and Xbox. The golf game was a mixture of Golf, hockey and UFC which includes crude humor and fighting with caddies. Steve Carrell was the commentator in the game. When the golfer was having a bad game, he/she would put down the gloves and get in a fight similar to the NHL.
