The Golf Club is a franchise that comes from humble beginnings of just a group of developers that wanted to create a golf game that offered options for players that hadn’t been seen before.
Fast-forward four years later and The Golf Club is entering new territory as a licensed title with The Golf Club 2019 featuring the PGA Tour.
Right away, players have access to a number of training options to help their game before even taking part in a round or a tournament. From putting to driving, The Golf Club 2019 gives you enough options to try and perfect your game. When on the course, you can even take a practice shot to get a feel for the lie and the club being used.
The game’s on-course UI helps players understand every aspect of a shot before and after a swing. The shot feedback returns, and helps you understand the speed and angle of your shot to help eliminate hooks and slices.
The swing mechanics continue to be some of the best in any golf game made as players have the ability to hit shots how they want in any scenario. Whether you want to try and hit a fade around some trees or lay it up short of a hazard, The Golf Club 2019 gives you every chance to golf your way.
There are shot suggestions from the game, but those are usually better off ignored if you want to really test your skills on the links. It’s up to the golfer to determine how far back and how quick to swing the club on a given shot. One simple mistake could derail your entire round, leaving you out of the running.
As far as putting is concerned, The Golf Club 2019 can be very unforgiving. While the game gives you a grid look at the green, it’s up to you to determine the power and break of each putt you make. There’s no power meter and no magic line to help you. It’s just you, the putter, and the ball working together to get into the cup.
Any mistake you make with your read could see your ball roll right off the green, leaving you chipping back on for your next shot. On the other hand, sinking a long or difficult putt gives off a major sense of triumph over a hole. It can be every bit as frustrating and rewarding as a real round of golf.
GO ON TOUR
The previously mentioned PGA Tour acts as the basis of the game’s all-new career mode. After creating a custom golfer within the deep customization suite, you start play in Q-School before moving on to the Web.com Tour to earn your PGA Tour card. Once on the main tour, you’ll battle your way through tournaments in order to qualify for the FexEdCup Playoffs.
The tournaments within the mode are a mixture of real and fictional events . Unfortunately, you aren’t playing at tournaments like The Masters or The Open Championship. And you aren’t going up against golfers like Tiger Woods or Dustin Johnson as no real golfers are licensed in this year’s installment.
The only way you truly get better is by practicing…
But even without that added content, the mode does justice in making you feel like you are moving up in the world of professional golf.
As you go through a season, you will have the ability to unlock new player customization options like clubs and clothing while also improving your golfer. On top of building up your player, there are sponsorships that can be unlocked based on your performance on the course.
There are also rivalries that can be developed against randomly-generated golfers throughout the 32-course schedule. As far as leveling up goes, you don’t actually improve your golfers attributes. The only way you truly get better is by practicing and improving your skills on the sticks.
Piggy-backing on the addition of the PGA license, The Golf Club 2019 features six licensed courses. With all courses belonging to the Tournament Players Club, it’s not the greatest selection, but it’s still nice to play at TPC Sawgrass or Scottsdale without having to create them ourselves.
That said, if you are itching to play on a specific or certain type of course, then let the community help you out. The most detailed course creator ever available in a golf game returns with even more improvements this year.
The simple-to-grasp interface returns, making it easy to add, remove, or change anything on your custom course. From adding a boat in the middle of a Par 3 to building a course with the most hills in history, course designs are seemingly limitless this year. In addition, as per the case the last two installments, you can then share your course for players across the globe to download and try out.
Also returning this year are Societies that allow players to create their own golf clubs that can be joined by friends or other online players. These societies can then go up against others in seasons.
Head-to-head online play is back as well with new additions in the form of Skins play and Alt-Shot (two golfers play as teammates with one ball between them).
A VISUAL TREAT
The Golf Club 2019 is the best-looking installment of the series. Each course offers a visual treat that will have you going to replay just to soak it all in.
From the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass to the green that sits in front of a beautiful backdrop of mountains, the attention to detail from the game’s artists can only be applauded. Even the ambient sound on the course is a treat to listen to. The chirping birds, the click of an iron making perfect contact on a ball, and the sound of a ball landing in the middle of the fairway are just some of the great sounds captured for The Golf Club 2019.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the commentary in the game. As is the case in the first two games, commentary is a mixed bag depending on the situation. Simple pick-up rounds of golf are fun to listen to, but will get repetitive after a few plays. Tournaments, however, are worthy of a mute almost immediately. Nothing that’s said adds to the experience during an event.
VERDICT
In it’s third installment, The Golf Club 2019 is the best in the short history of the series. The gameplay feels smooth and crisp while the courses look fantastic.
The new career mode shows a lot of promise for the future, especially if 2K and HB Studios can get more licensed courses and even some golfers moving forward. The variety of match types along with the seemingly unlimited amount of courses at your disposal add to the longevity that the game will offer.
The Golf Club 2019 presents a good challenge for new and experienced players alike, and does a nice job of making you feel like you’ve accomplished something anytime you pull off a successful round or tournament.
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