Top 5 Golf Video Games

Golfing may not be as popular as, say, disemboweling castle monsters or flinging medieval metal-spiked balls into a dragon’s throat, but it’s still one of the most fun things you can do in video games. From a series of wacky and surprisingly entertaining physics-based games to more serious and challenging simulations, we’ve seen some excellent golfing video games over the years. These are the ones you should try if you’re a fan of the sport or want to brush up on your skills.

Golf video games may be less popular than other sports titles, but they’ve still sprung up sporadically since the late ’70s. While the most famous video game golfing franchise is Tiger Woods’ EA Sports line, there have been some notable standalone titles as well.

Probably the earliest golf game to see a commercial release, the aptly named Golf was the first to allow players to swing a club in a digital environment. Released for the Atari 2600 in 1980, it beat out a previous entry in the golfing video game genre that had only been released a year earlier. That was the aptly named Miniature Golf, which also saw a release for the same console.

One of the most iconic and successful golf video games ever, Hot Shots Golf helped to put Camelot Software Planning on the map (the developer’s working on Nintendo’s Mario Golf franchise now). It was a gleaming example of its kind when it debuted in 1998, and even though it was a PlayStation-exclusive for many years, this game has seen releases across multiple generations of consoles and is still in print today.

Another indie golfing video game to make a splash, Golf Story delivers a charming experience that’s just as much about the characters as it is the mechanics. It’s a charming homage to the pixelated golf games of the SNES, but with an interesting setting and a cast of hilarious characters, it offers more depth than most of its peers.

A game that arguably deserved to win the best golfing video game award, this one is a fantastically detailed and highly playable simulator. Its physics are top-notch and the sheer number of challenges on offer make it hard to put this one down once you’ve started playing.

Another great entry in the PGA Tour franchise, this one is a worthy successor to the venerable Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. It features a solid career mode and the most robust roster of golfers ever featured in a console game, making it a solid choice for anyone who’s a fan of the sport. That said, the lack of a true online career mode and some tweaks to the difficulty level may keep some players from returning once they’ve maxed out their golfer’s RPG progression.