The Golf Club 2019 comes out swinging (see what I did there) as a vibrant and good looking golfing simulator.
It begins with a character creation tool that would rival The Elder Scrolls. With a multitude of outfit options that would make a Kardashian lose her mind and all manner of skin, hair and facial modifiers, The Golf Club 2019 starts with a bang.
And while the gameplay isn’t terrible, some control issues hold The Golf Club 2019 back from reaching truly great gameplay heights.
The Golf Club 2019 Review
After finalising your golfer and their look, you’re run through a tutorial to teach you how to play. While many arcade golf games use a simple three button press power bar, being a simulation, The Golf Club 2019 opts for something much more difficult.
Without the standard power bar, it becomes incredibly difficult to gauge your shots. Whether it’s hitting too soft or too hard, or swinging wildly to the left or right. The Golf Club 2019’s swing system is punishing.
When you want to take a shot, it’s performed by pulling back and then slapping the right stick forward as if you are actually swinging a club.
Often my control would hit the end of its arc and then register a sharp movement. This would see me slicing my ball off into the rough or even out of bounds. It was a real struggle to get to grips with the controls, though I suppose, as a sim, The Golf Club 2019 isn’t designed to hold your hand.
Strolling the Fairway
Visually, although your golfer looks really good, the same can’t be said for the environment. The Golf Club 2019 looks as if it has a short draw distance and as things get 20 meters or so from you, the visuals start to go downhill.
Obviously, you’re not playing The Golf Club 2019 to look at the spectators but their shadows quickly change from smooth to pixellated and blobby the further from you they get.
The courses are decently rendered but are quite sparse. The background areas looked to have no trees and very few buildings. Of those few I did manage to spot, they looked like irregular shoe boxes.
Graphics aren’t a make or break element for a golf simulation, but the odd visual hiccups and sparsely populated courses took me out of the game. As a sim, The Golf Club 2019 should immerse me and make me feel like I’m really on the course. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case.
Chip In
If the controls are something that you get comfortable with and the visuals don’t deter you find that there is quite a lot to do.
The career mode is absolutely huge. There are tonnes of courses from the PGA Tour in addition to many standalone tournaments courses too.
Available in both solo or competitive modes, you can practice these courses before schooling your friends on them. It’s here the game really shines. The Society Mode is a meeting place for fellow golfers and is similar to joining a guild.
When active in Society Mode tournaments and playoff games can be organised to see who of your community is the better golfer. Between members of your society, you can upgrade your virtual clubhouse striving to be the best and most prestigious.
Also included in The Golf Club 2019 is a robust course creation tool. The courses you build can be shared with others and can be used both locally and online.
The tool is very easy to use and making a mighty 18-hole behemoth is a walk in the park.
Overall, The Golf Club 2019 is going to please golf simulation fans, but those looking for a more forgiving, easier experience, might want to look to an arcade golf game.
The Golf Club 2019 was reviewed on Xbox One using a digital code provided by the publisher.
PowerUp! Reviews
Game Title: The Golf Club 2019
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Golf at its most pure form - 7/107/10
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Course creater - 7/107/10
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Controls can be figity - 5/105/10
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Visuals are 'off' - 5/105/10
