EA Sports PGA TOUR Video Game Wows with New Features, PGA Coaching

The new EA SPORTS PGA TOUR game is the most comprehensive video game for our sport —  EVER.

Its collection of golf courses at launch includes major championship venues such as Augusta National and Oak Hill — site of this week’s PGA Championship — alongside some of the more unique gems around the world like Tara Iti (New Zealand), Wolf Creek (Nevada), Teeth of the Dog (Dominican Republic) and Top of the Rock (Missouri). Not only has EA acquired the inclusion of preeminent brands across the industry, but new golf brands like G/FORE, Bad Birdie, Seamus Golf & VESSEL all making an appearance for the first time. 

Being an avid gamer with experience across many golf games on console, EA SPORTS PGA TOUR  is the best representation of golf courses and swing mechanics of its players. I’ve even heard that the caddies at Augusta National use the game to learn about the contours of the greens and fairways —  it’s that accurate! And this week, EA released a new patch for gamers to tackle more courses, including the East Course at Oak Hill, where they can tackle the PGA Championship venue themselves.

The main differentiator between this game and others is the sheer amount of shotmaking capabilities and interchangeable difficulty metrics that you must learn to play better. 

There’s a PGA Coaching and PGA Coach: Skills Trainer portion within the game that features 180 different challenges that provide basic to expert level practicing of differing shots around the golf course. This can be a great resource for newer golfers to understand the different nuisances and considerations that need to go into playing the game, and ultimately what can be practiced in real life.

I can envision a PGA Professional utilizing the video game to teach a young junior golfer how to make better decisions for choosing the right club and shot around the greens, with consideration to the lie, contours of the green, the distance to the flag, the elements — all these external factors are mimicked in the game to represent how we all as PGA Professionals determine the best approach to the next shot.

My only gripe is that there’s not enough content! I wish we saw more playable courses and professional golfers, as well as their own individual swing mechanics. Right now, the create-a-player mode only features 3 possible stock swings. It would be amazing if in the future you had the ability to craft your own swing or even digitally upload your own.

The fact that you can compete in various modes with a career that spans from historic amateur events, Qualifying School, the Korn Ferry Tour and onto the PGA TOUR — and, ultimately, in men’s majors like the PGA Championship — is incredible. There’s also the ability to compete head-to-head with other players from around the world in the online multiplayer mode, earning in-game rewards and climbing the leaderboards to become globally ranked through practice and playing. 

EA SPORTS PGA TOUR is by far the best golf video game I’ve come across and undoubtedly countless hours will be spent trying to improve my customized player’s skills and gameplay — and win the PGA Championship!