Tiger Woods returns to the cover of a golf video game... but not one from EA like in years past. Instead, the 15-time major winner sits on the front cover of 2K Sports' latest addition to the golf video game market. With a brand new swing system, three licensed major championships and almost 30 licensed courses, have 2K set a new standard for golf video games? I gave it a go to find out.
Gameplay
Nailing the gameplay in a golf video game is difficult - developers want to find that sweet spot between arcade-like fun and realistic, difficult gameplay to represent the sport itself. In my opinion, 2K have done just that.
As a pretty experienced gamer, especially within the sports and golf video game sectors, I like a challenge. I want realistic offline gameplay that challenges me without being too over the top. The best compliment I can give this game in that regard is the number of different options you have in terms of tweaking the difficulty to your liking. Gone are the days of easy, medium and hard difficulty options, instead replaced by the option to tweak around a dozen different settings to tailor the game to your wants and needs.
In terms of the gameplay itself, the new Evo Swing mechanic might be the most realistic system I've ever used in a golf game. EvoSwing compliments the player's own rhythm and dexterity to better simulate the feeling of swinging a golf club when using Swing Stick and provides a real challenge to those who seek it. Those who want an easier, more laid back experience can opt for the new Perfect Swing difficulty setting, which reduces the material impact of external factors on your swing. This allows newer players to familiarize themselves with the complexity of the sport and the game mechanics without worrying about the intricacies of the golf swing.
I don't love the new system when it comes to short game, however. It felt very clunky and hard to judge, with pitch and chip shots feeling like a guessing game for the most part. A lot of the time, if I trusted the shot my caddy told me to play I'd end up rolling off the green or finishing nowhere near the hole during my MyCAREER play, but that could well be a skill issue on my end! Nevertheless, the short game mechanics will take me a while to get used to.
Game modes
I'll begin with MyCAREER, the game mode I tend to play the most in sports video games. Players can choose to start their journey in Q-School, on the Korn Ferry Tour, or by jumping directly onto the PGA TOUR if they want to skip the grind of the mini tours.
The word I would use to describe MyCAREER is vast - there was a lot to unpack, which is a good thing! However, I did notice a few frustrating features.
I'll begin with the good - licensing is always difficult to get in golf games, so for 2K to manage to acquire three of the four major championship is a welcome addition. The PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and the Open Championship are all included alongside a fully licensed PGA Tour season that features the FedEx Cup. As a player who loves realism, this is fantastic, although The Masters does feel like a big miss.
Like the difficulty settings, MyCAREER is extremely customizable. The player creator is by far the most in-depth 2K have ever added to a golf game, a welcome addition compared to what lacked in previous years. You can also whizz through your career at your own pace - play as little as 4 holes per round and simulate the rest or play four full rounds and embrace the long grind of a PGA Tour season.
It's not all perfect however. The 'rivals' feature, in which a PGA Tour players challenges you to beat them during a tournament, feels a bit forced and unfulfilling. The lack of up-to-date equipment and clothing is also disappointing, with most of the gear available on launch at least one year old if not older.
Arguably my biggest gripe is one that has, in my opinion, plagued 2K golf games in the past - the leaderboards. In my first three tournaments Andrew Novak won by nine shots, Tiger Woods won by eleven shots and Xander Schauffele won by 12 shots. Very rarely do you see bunched leaderboards on a Sunday or even a Friday for that matter which really has a negative effect on the realism in my opinion.
The wonderful course creator returns, allowing players to create the weirdest and whackiest courses they can and share with the world and will doubt prove an enjoyable feature like it has in previous games.
Golfers and courses
29 courses are included with the game at launch, most notably the PLAYERS course at TPC Sawgrass, the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club and The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club. More are on the way as well, with 2K stating St Andrews will be one addition in the coming months. 2K also include a handful of created courses, some of which are a lot more enjoyable than others but provide a good if not frustrating test.
2K have really up their game in terms of the graphics on offer here too. Pebble Beach in particular looks especially pretty and I loved the presentation of Royal Portrush and Torrey Pines. I would argue it still lags ever so slightly behind EA Sports' PGA Tour which was released two years ago, but the wide gap between previous 2K and EA Sports games has shrunk significantly.
The number of playable professionals is underwhelming, with only eleven to choose from. Pleasingly, there some of both the best male and female players in the world included including Tiger Woods, Max Homa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Lydia Ko, Tom Kim, Brooke Henderson, and more. Tiger Woods also being the highest rated player in the game at 99 overall is as eyebrow raising as it is unsurprising considering he's on the cover of the game. The female players also feature in your PGA Tour MyCAREER simulations - I battled against Rose Zhang down the stretch for the PLAYERS Championship for example, which felt a bit... weird?
Verdict
It's far from perfect, but I'd comfortably say that this is 2K's most complete golf game and an effort well worth competing against EA's PGA Tour game from two years ago at the pinnacle of the genre.
The overall experience from EA's offering might be a little more well-rounded, but it's hard to argue that 2K's new swing mechanics have now set the standard for golf gameplay, even with the slightly chunky short game features. MyCAREER is dense, boasting some cracking features and some more anti-climatic ones, but it will no doubt give this game a long shelf life for the golf nut who wants to get lost in multiple seasons of pro golf. For those gamers on the fence about the new 2K game, I'd say it's worth the investment.
PGA TOUR 2K25 is rated PEGI 3 and will be available for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Steam and releases on 28th February, with players who order the Deluxe or Legend Edition receiving the PGA TOUR 2K23 base game (digital version only) and seven days early access, allowing them to play the game beginning Friday, February 21, 2025.
