PGA Tour Preview: Tour is back and realer than ever

SPORTS games have a very firm place in the gaming world, but the PGA Tour games have had a rough decade.

The series, originally published by EA Sports was an annual release for golf fans every year until 2015 when the series suddenly went quiet.

In 2018, 2K Games purchased the rights to the series and released three games – the most recent of which was PGA Tour 2K23, released in October 2022.

It wasn’t well received, but fans needn’t worry, because EA Sports are back with the series, reviving the classic series with the simple name of EA Sport’s PGA Tour.

This is in line with EA Sport’s recent direction after it was announced that the FIFA games will now be called EA Sports FC.

Addressing criticisms from their 2015 release, EA Sports have endeavoured to include 30 courses, a massive step up from last time.

These courses include Augusta National, St Andrews, and Bandon Dunes.

Drones were used to accurately map these courses, with lasers tracking every little bump and curve on the terrain.

There will be content updates post-launch too, as the team has promised that they will follow the roadmap of the real PGA Tour.

Releasing in late March, the game will open with the amateur tournaments and the ‘Road to the Masters’ mode, coinciding with the Masters in April.

That’s not all, as the PGA Championship, US Open, and Open Championship will all be featured alongside the Korn Ferry tour, FedEx cup, and Ryder cup.

This stream of content should keep the game ticking over nicely from month to month.

There was also an emphasis on women’s golf, although the roster is somewhat lacking in LPGA competitors.

Jin-Young Ko, Lexi Thompson, Danielle Kand, Jessica Korda, and Nelly Korda are currently the only women confirmed to be in the game.

The male roster isn’t much worth shouting about either.

While more names will be announced before launch, currently all we know about are Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, Patrick Cantley, and Jordan Spieth.

However, there are character creators where you can create male, female, or non-binary characters that represent whoever you want.

The game looks fantastic, but sacrifices were made. To get the game running at a 4K resolution, the framerate is locked to 30fps, but it runs very smoothly.

There will be the usual massive selection of clubs, and there will be 20 types of swing for each club, giving you all the fine details you need.

That said, there are also optional assist features, meaning the game can be just as accessible to new players as it is to hardcore fans.

Your swing will be controlled via the analogue stick, which might be strange for people used to the traditional three-click method.

We asked whether it would be included as an option in the game, and we were told it will be added in a post-launch update.

On top of the standard single-player and local multiplayer, there is an online mode that allows up to 16 players to get together and play.

Commentary and replays are shortened here to keep the action running smoothly with so many players.

On top of that, the career mode will have RPG-style progression, although very little is known about it right now.