There’s just something incredibly relaxing about playing golf games. They are one of the few sports sims that don’t feel like you need to be switched on minute to minute, so you can stand there, sip your tea, line up the next shot, stare down the fairway and when you are ready, bomb that golf ball down the course. PGA Tour 2K23 is really looking like it’s going to capture that chilled out golfing magic.
Given the choice, I immediately opted for the 3-click control scheme for hitting the golf ball, generally remembering how bad I am at swing stick controls. The issue I always have is that I end up swinging up and to the right, sending the ball wildly off course. By contrast, the 3-click system (which was discussed in our first PGA Tour 2K23 preview) plugs a lot of the holes in my accuracy, making it miles easier to hit a button prompt as the pointer moves around the circular metre, getting a more accurate shot the closer to the centre I hit it.
I started in MyCareer with a MyPlayer pro that I’d forged in the customiser, making a somewhat likeness of myself, but minus the man bun which for some reason was missing. What is improved over PGA Tour 2K21, is the ability to create your golfer with an archetype, starting as a power house or maybe someone who is an expert in the short game.
While I felt that progression in 2K21 was lacking in that you never levelled up your pro or put any stat points into them, this is back in full force in 2K23, letting you earn XP from games and improve your stats, making you lethal on the fairway.
It’s not only your character that can be customised, but clubs can have custom fittings, you can customise your caddie and you can of course play dress-up with branded apparel.
The career mode itself has also made some significant upgrades, making the game feel a little more alive. You start out on the bottom, and slowly work your way up to the PGA Tour, along the way, facing a whole bunch of professional golfers such as Tiger Woods, Lydia Ko, Collin Morikawa and many more, making rivals of them if you so wish. Sadly, nobody wanted to be my rival while previewing the game, though not for my lack of effort or success!
As you progress through the tours, you’ll naturally be offered sponsorships on your balls, clubs and aparell. Performing well while you have a sponsorship active earns you XP for that sponer, which in turn, unlocks items such as apparel and other goodies.
Overall, 2K23’s career mode feels like a big improvement over 2K21. There seems to be a little more life surrounding it and as well as improving your own personal skills, you can build the stats of your golfer. It feels like you are actually progressing.
I also got a chance to try the online multiplayer in the form of the new TopGolf mode. What’s TopGolf, you ask? Well, it’s basically a golf driving range with electronically tracked golf balls that you fire at giant dartboard-esc targets. The closer to the pin you get, the higher the score you receive.
How this works in PGA Tour 2K23, is up to four players have two minutes and unlimited shots to try and score as high as possible, the winner naturally being determined with the highest score at the end of the two minutes.
I have to say, this was a lot of fun. Even though I was against randoms, I was still frantically trying to be as quick and as accurate as possible, and had a laugh doing it. It’s a far cry from the slow paced golfing you are used to. I can only imagine it will be miles better if you can get your mates together to play a few rounds.
So far, I’m really liking how PGA Tour 2K23 is shaping up. It would seem like some vast improvements have been made to the formula, HB Studios learning from their last outing and adding some new things into the mix. TopGolf is also a welcome new addition and it will be interesting to see how the other multiplayer modes add to the overall experience. Right now, it’s looking like it could be a hole in one!
