Review: The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour
- Platforms: PlayStation 4 (Reviewed), Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- Developer: HB Studios
- Publisher: 2K
- Release Date: August 28th, 2018
In 2014 HB Studios introduced The Golf Club, an indie sports title that provided a realistic golfing experience. The game’s mechanics preached practice and patience, as opposed to 375 yard drives and the ability to put wicked side spin on your shot in mid air. Players also fell in love with the game’s robust course designer, which added thousands of golf courses to TGC‘s catalog. The Golf Club gained quite a following after the release of the first game, which HB Studios then embraced by adding Societies to the game’s sequel in 2017. Societies allowed players to run virtual country clubs, socializing and squaring off in custom made events, with many societies being shared on the HB Studios forums and The Golf Club‘s subreddit. With all of these building blocks in place, the franchise was still missing a few key elements, including a full fledged career mode. TGC‘s latest title, The Golf Club 2019, not only adds the career mode, but also takes over the reigns of being the only officially licensed PGA Tour video game on the market. With this new career mode, official Player’s Championship courses, and all around improvements to its other features and mechanics, The Golf Club 2019 featuring PGA Tour is huge step forward for the franchise.
Before we talk about the improvements to the existing game modes, lets jump right into TGC 2019‘s main attraction, the PGA Tour mode. In this mode you will begin in Q School, working your way to qualify for the Web.com Tour, and eventually earning your Tour card to participate in the FedEx Cup. While playing the FedEx Cup events, you’ll gain sponsorships and earn cosmetic items depending on your performance. Some of these sponsorships are now from major brands that will have your player looking like a legitimate golfer, most notably Under Armour. As you play on the tour you’ll also attract rivals, and your results from each event will be compared. The concept is great in theory, but the way the rival system is played out is rather bland. There’s a lack of presentation when gaining a rival, and other than a brief results pop up at the end of an event, it doesn’t add much to the career mode. One thing that could help fuel some fire with the rival system is the inclusion of real PGA Tour athletes, as opposed to facing off against randomly generated average Joe’s. Overall the rival system, and PGA Tour career mode as a whole is good, but there is definitely room for improvement. If you’ve been a TGC player since the beginning you’ll likely see it as a huge step up, but if you’re someone who’s been on the outside looking in and are expecting the Tiger Woods EA experience you may feel slightly underwhelmed.
TGC 2019 also introduces new Alternate Shot and Skins formats to play with friends locally, or against other players online. In the Alternate Shot format a group of four will be split into two teams with each pair sharing a ball and alternating shots, much like the Ryder Cup. In Skins your goal is to finish each hole in less strokes than your opponent, with that player winning the hole. Your strokes aren’t tallied, but rather the player with the most holes won taking the round. Players can also now wager their hard earned virtual currency to raise the stakes of their matches.
The major addition from last year’s The Golf Club 2, Societies, continues to be the franchise’s bread and butter, with some subtle yet welcome tweaks. Running your own virtual clubhouse doesn’t have to be a solo effort anymore, as Society owners can now assign Admins to help out. The message board in your Society’s home menu has also seen a slight improvement to allow players to communicate with each other on how their rounds went, or to talk some smack to each other after posting a big score. The amount of societies are endless, and there are plenty of options for all skill levels to join up and play casually or competitively.
The familiar voice of John McCarthy has returned as the commentator for The Golf Club 2019, and has brought veteran broadcaster Luke Elvy along for the ride. Elvy is used somewhat sparingly throughout the game, mostly commenting prior to the first hole of a PGA Tour round and then returning for a brief status update of your standings after the front 9. It would have been nice to see McCarthy and Elvy broadcast together throughout the entirety of each round to give the Career mode a little more of the authentic PGA feel, but the little interaction between the two that we do get is pretty enjoyable.
Graphically the game isn’t a huge step forward compared to the previous game released a year ago. The courses for the most part look excellent, but there are still some texture issues when you’re right up close and personal with some of the trees, fescue, and shrubbery. Also the observers in the crowds almost look like models from last generation when seen up close.
Overall The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour delivers a much improved career mode experience without compromising the quality of its other game modes. Despite the visuals beginning to show their age, the official PGA licensing and publishing from a AAA publisher like 2K takes the TGC franchise in an exciting new direction, and it will be interesting to see what the future has in store for The Golf Club. Whether you’re an avid golf fan who wants to play official TPC courses, a social gamer who wants to test their skills against others in Societies, or simply a casual player looking to play a round or two while enjoying your morning coffee, The Golf Club 2019 has an enjoyable experience for everybody.
A Playstation 4 review code for The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour was provided by 2K
