Sometimes, it’s better to play some golf rather than watch some golf.
Golfing can be entertaining, but unless you understand the nuances of the swing, it may bore you to death. Playing golf, however, is an entirely different experience. Sure, it can be a bit heady. You have to calculate the power of your swing alongside the trajectory of the wind. There’s math and physics involved. It can get complicated. However, it can also be just plain fun hitting a little white ball on some fresh green grass.
That couldn’t be more true than in a video game, where you don’t always have to account for brain-teasing golfing mechanics to have a good time and, if you’re lucky, win a set. But for a genre that started as far back as the late ‘70s, it can be difficult parsing through the golf games you should know and the ones you should try.
It’s all good, though; that’s why we’re here. We’ve done some research and played some games to present what we think are ten of the best games based on the sport often called “The Greatest Game on Earth.”
10.Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am
Genre: Kart racing, fighting, golfing
Platform(s): PlayStation 2
Release Date: November 5, 2007
The crude and wacky Aqua Teen Hunger Force have found themselves in a video game. It’s not the group’s first, of course, but it’s certainly the one best suited for this list. Creat Studios’ Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am is a hybrid fighting-golfing-racing game that distills the silliness of the iconic Adult Swim show into something equally as zany. Though the mechanics are clunky, the game is a joy for anyone looking for more Aqua Teen Hunger Force now that the five-episode twelfth season ended in December 2023.
9.Sid Meier’s SimGolf
Genre: Strategy, golfing, simulation
Platform(s): PC
Release Date: January 23, 2002
You might recognize the “Sid Meier” name. It’s usually attached to the turn-based strategy series Civilization, but developer Firaxis branched out in 2002 with SimGolf. If you know the Civilization games, then you can expect pretty much the same sorta mechanics here. You’re tasked with building golf courses for the default player, “professional” golfer Gary Golf, to swing through. It’s a complete system, allowing you to construct an entire golf empire with various holes, roughs, and obstacles to make the green that much more interesting.
8.Everybody’s Golf
Genre: Arcade, golfing
Platform(s): PlayStation
Release Date: April 30, 1998
You probably aren’t familiar with this name, but when developer Camelot Software Planning debuted this golfing franchise in North America, it went by Hot Shots Golf. Does that one ring a bell? Well, it totally should because this is an iconic series of games. The animations, the characters, the music, the systems—every part of Hot Shots Golf is incredibly memorable. It scored high when it came out in 1998, catapulted Camelot Software Planning to stardom (the studio’s working on Nintendo’s Mario Golf franchise now), and has multiple releases across console generations, with the latest one being 2017’s Everybody’s Golf for the PlayStation 4.
7.Outlaw Golf
Genre: Adult, golfing
Platforms(s): GameCube, PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Release Date: June 10, 2002
What happens when you mix the raciness of early MTV with the earnestness of golf? You get Outlaw Golf by developer Hypnotix. A 2002 golfing simulator, Outlaw Golf is what you might expect: a bunch of misfits and outlaws hitting balls on some grass. Instead of the respectability that golf necessitates for focus, though, Outlaw Golf cranks everything up to 11, with characters profusely cursing and sexily gyrating. It’s a bizarre juxtaposition that doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is good. It’s OK to be silly on the green sometimes.
6.Cursed to Golf
Genre: Roguelike, golfing
Platforms(s): Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Release Date: August 18, 2022
Some of the best golfing games are those that stir in another genre or flip the sport on its head. Developer Chuhai Labs’ Cursed to Golf does both of these things to massive success. A golfing game with roguelike elements, Cursed to Golf sees you take on 18 holes in golf purgatory. Your goal is to complete each course as you make your way out of the bowels of the underworld using three clubs and a ball that can take on various forms, such as a guidable missile. It’s a great experience for someone looking for something more to their golf.
5.Golf Story
Genre: Adventure, role-playing, golfing
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch
Release Date: September 28, 2017
Sort of following Cursed to Golf, Sidebar Games’ Golf Story also flips the sport on its head by transforming it into something more akin to The Legend of Zelda. In Golf Story, you’re an unnamed, down-on-his-luck golfer attempting to rekindle his love of the sport after 20 years away while impressing his estranged wife. So, there’s a narrative here—and it’s deep, something most golf games tend to not even bother with. But that’s not all Golf Story houses within it. It also features RPG mechanics for things like power and swing, letting you really customize how you play. In these two ways alone, Golf Story is unlike any other golf game you’ll probably play.
4.Nintendo Switch Sports
Genre: Sports, arcade, simulation
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch
Release Date: April 29, 2022
Nintendo Sports games on both the Wii and Wii U featured golf at launch, but the latest installment in this franchise, 2022’s Nintendo Switch Sports, didn’t include it off the rip. Instead, golfing came to the sports simulator as a free update in November 2022, and it whipped in the way you’d expect Nintendo Sports games to whip. With 21 holes from the Wii Sports series, eight-player co-op, and the usual hilarity that ensures with motion-controlled gaming, Nintendo Switch Sports is the perfect party game for both families and golfers.
3.PGA Tour Golf
Genre: Simulation, golfing
Platform(s): Amiga, Game Gear, Macintosh, Master System, MS-DOS, Sega Genesis, Super NES
Release Date: 1990s
One of the oldest games on this list, PGA Tour Golf from developer Sterling Silver Software is the Madden and NBA 2K of golf. If you wanted a serious, hardcore golfing simulator, then you needn’t look any further. Not only is it published by EA, the California-based company behind just about every hardcore sports simulator you can think of, but PGA Tour Golf also takes itself super seriously. You’ll account for the power of your swing, the trajectory of the wind, the weight of your club, the smoothness of the green, and so much more to hit that perfect drive on the grass. It’s one of those franchises that, while anyone can play it, serious golfers will love it.
2.Mario Golf
Genre: Sports, golfing
Platform(s): Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64
Release Date: June 11, 1999
Is there anything more to really say about Camelot Software Planning’s Mario Golf? Just put two and two together: Mario and golf. Boom, you know exactly what you’re in for. But for clarity’s sake, take PGA Tour Golf and, instead of golfers like Tiger Woods and Ty Tryon, you’ve got Donkey Kong and Mario hitting balls. That’s incredibly comical already, but the series—which has been running since 1999—is another one of those hardcore golfing simulators that packs a surprising amount of depth underneath that hilarious veneer. If you wanted something deep but not too realistic, any iteration of Mario Golf excellently fits that bill.
1.Golf
Genre: Sports, golfing
Platform(s): Atari 2600
Release Date: 1980
The oldest game on the list, Atari’s Golf is as basic as it gets—and that’s largely because of the time it was made in. But don’t let its simplicity fool you; the game features an array of nuance despite not being mechanically complicated. It features nine holes instead of the normalized 18, which makes it a breeze to play. Plus, you can hit some balls with a friend in two-player co-op, which is always welcomed. Golf may not have been the first game to make the sport digitally playable, but it’s the GOAT for putting it on the (gaming) map.