Game Name: PGA Tour Golf
Developer: Sterling Silver Software
Publisher: Electronic Arts Inc.
Platform: PC (1990), Sega Genesis, Macintosh, SNES, and Commodore Amiga (1991)
Price: Free Today on Archive.org
Introduction
I am not a very big fan of watching golf on TV. To be honest, I rather watch paint dry. However, it is a sport that is fun to play online and to play in real life. When I was a kid with a Pentium computer, I had this game. I am not sure how I got it. I am pretty sure my brother either bought it or got it from a friend. Long live the days for DRM free games.
Gameplay
I remember playing Golf on my NES and it was simple, fun however got boring fast. It was very basic with no advance stats. That was to be expected. You can find sample gameplay here below.
Golf (NES)
What this PC game has that the NES or other console versions did not have? Well for one, the graphics were a little better than on the NES. For back in 1990, these graphics were amazing.
There were 2 modes of play. You can play Amateur or Professional. You can choose from 4 golf courses to play.
Courses
TPC Avenel
PGA West Stadium
TPC Sawgrass
Sterling Shores
You can start off slow by practicing. You can practice on the greens, driving range or play a course just to scope out the terrain.
Then once you decide to play professionally for money, you have a leaderboard and you make money for every tournament you play. The leaderboard shows who made the most money and how many tournaments a player has won. It also shows what their best round of golf is and their best 72 holes ever played.
The mechanics used for the gameplay are common today. You have a bar at the bottom and you need to click 3 times for a shot. Depending on the club that you use, you will have a maximum swing and distance that you can make. The first click starts the meter, the second, puts the marker on the strength, and the third is for the accuracy of the shot. It sounds easier than it is. It will take a while before you master how the controls work. The shots vary depending on the wind and you have to compensate for that.
After every game you can see your stats. See a sample below.
PGA Tour Golf Stats
In between holes you will get a screen with a golfer giving you tips, which are mostly useless in most cases but it is there nonetheless.
Sample Tips Between Holes
So this game has all the hallmarks of an typical EA Sports game. It has decent graphics for the era. It is full of advanced stats and you have various modes. This would be the beginning of a very successful run for Golf games at EA which is still thriving today.
Sample Gameplay
Bottomline
This game is still fun to this day. Since it is available on archive.org, I can play for free and I can play the same way as I did 26 years ago. If you are a golf fan, this game is for you. It is not too over the top and it is perfect. Yes the graphics lack lustre by today's standards, but that does not take away from the fun of the game.
If you have a chance, play it. It costs 0$. It is well worth it.
Rating: 9 pars out of 10 !!!!!
What do you think? Let me know at my coordinates below.
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