The Evolution of Golf Video Games

Although golf itself is about six centuries old, golf video games have evolved much more rapidly over the past few decades. Like many other sports-related video games, such as tennis and pool games, golf-based games proved to be an instant hit with people as soon as they figured out they could use computers for more than just work.

But exactly how rapid has the evolution of golf video games been? Obviously, graphics have improved over time, but what other meaningful improvements has this niche seen over the past half a century?

1. 1978 to 1986 - First Steps on the Course

The very first golf-based video games were about as basic as clicking on a tiny white rectangle and watching it move toward the other (usually colored green) part of the screen. Of course, the game designers at the time did their best to make their games as detailed and descriptive as the technology allowed. For example, Computer Golf! was the first golf video game created by Magnavox in 1978, and even that game had a small blue pixelated stick figure hit the "ball" with a golf stick (itself made of several small white rectangles).

The next few years saw video games experiment with different designs and UIs, but the basic principles remained the same - a 2D map and pixelated dots moving across it. While players did not expect "realistic" graphics at the time, this overly simplistic design also meant that the player didn't have that much control over the ball's movement. In other words - the gameplay itself wasn't exactly realistic either.

This led to a common criticism toward golf- and other sports-themed games of the era: most of the gameplay was boring or based on chance. It was all just a bit "meh." Thankfully, all that changed rather quickly in the coming years.

2. 1986 to 1997 - Going 3D

When we talk about "3D games" made in 1986, we are obviously not talking about the type of graphics we associate with "3D games" today. Games in the 1980s certainly still were quite pixelated. However, game developers figured out that they needed to give the ball more spacious movement to capture the feel of golf on the computer screen.

This led to games such as the 1986 Great Golf, the 1988 Namco Classic, the 1990 Links: The Challenge of Golf, the 1990 PGA Tour Golf, and the 1992 PGA Tour Golf II. All these and dozens of other golf video games released in that period tried to go for a 3D effect even though their graphics were still quite archaic by today's standards. Nevertheless, this gave the games a much more realistic feel and gave the players much more control over what was happening on the virtual golf course.

Many games also went for a combination of a 3D view over the player's character and the ball's trajectory, coupled with a 2D view over the whole course, showing the path of the ball.

3. 1998/1999 - Tiger Woods and Mario Enter the Fray

By the end of the 1990s, it was becoming clear that golf video games had a lot of untapped potential. That is precisely when the two big names joined in on the fun - Super Mario and Tiger Woods.

The first Tiger Woods PGA Tour game came out in 1998 on PlayStation. Since then, EA Sports has released a new Tiger Woods PGA Tour game almost every year, many of which have become massive hits. The Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005, in particular, became famous as two of the best golf video games ever.

The Super Mario franchise also branched into video game golf with Mario Golf released for Nintendo 64 in June 1999 and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour following it in 2003. While the first N64 game released in '99 became an especially famous cult classic, Toadstool Tour is usually lauded as the best Super Mario golfing video game.

4. 2006 to 2011 - Golfing With Wii

Wii games emerged in 2006 and dominated many popular video game franchises for about a decade. Wii golf also became a thing, with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 being the first golf game released for the Wii platform in 2006. It was quickly followed by Super Swing Golf later that year, then Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, Super Swing Golf: Season 2, We Love Golf (all in 2007), and many others later on.

However, the last major golf-themed release for the Wii was Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 in 2011, as the popularity of the Wii quickly started to wane in the mid-2010s.

5. 2012 and Beyond - VR Golf and Video Golfing With Excellent Graphics

Unfortunately for golfing video game enthusiasts, the Wii wasn't the only thing decreasing in popularity in the mid-2010s. Golf video games as a whole stopped attracting as many new players after a certain point, likely due to other gaming franchises overtaking the public's attention.

However, this isn't to say that the niche stopped developing or that there wasn't a rather sizable and active player base still waiting for new titles year after year. The games also kept improving, both in terms of graphics and game design. Some of the more famous golfing video games from the last decade include PGA Tour 2k21, 2019's hilarious What The Golf, and 2021's Mario Golf: Super Rush.

Meanwhile, golfing VR games started coming to the forefront too, with titles such as the 2017 The Golf Club VR by HB Studios garnering much attention. We're not talking about the gimmicky low-res VR of the '90s either. Instead, VR golf has become so detailed and precise in recent years that many golfing enthusiasts have started using it as a training tool rather than just a game.

This might initially seem a bit controversial among golf enthusiasts, and no one is saying that you can become a professional just by training on VR. However, great games, such as Golf+ on Meta's Quest platform, can help newcomers to the sport learn the basics without even setting foot on a golf course.

The history and evolution of golf video games may be short, but they sure are eventful. There have been hundreds of different golf-themed video games so far, and more are made every year - including online golf slots that accept deposits as low as $1. And while the genre may not be as popular today as it was in the early 2000s, it certainly doesn't seem to be going anywhere either.