PGA Tour 2K23 has returned after a two-year break from its last title, PGA Tour 2K21. Developers HB Studios and 2K have brought this game to life, and for all the die-hard fans or newcomers to the PGA scene, you are not going to be disappointed.

PGA Tour 2K23 has brought one of the biggest names in PGA to the front and center, seeing as he has not been in a title since Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2014, and that is the one and only Tiger Woods. 2K has celebrated Tigers Woods’s legacy by introducing him as both the cover athlete for the game and a playable in-game pro. HB Studios have brought numerous new features and enhancements to this year’s title, and it feels like the most realistic approach to golfing to date.

The MyPlayer mode looks so clean this year, and with the enhanced UI and what you can do within this feature, it works hand in hand with the MyCareer mode. Whilst in the MyPlayer selection, you have several different options, the first being Pro Shop, which gives you access to spend the hard-earned in-game currency on some cool merch, and I might have splurged on the Micheal Jordan bundle. The locker room has so many customisation options that anyone who loves building their characters will be there for hours having fun. You can customize your character to wear different clothes from Day 1 to Day 4 whilst on the green. You can also customize things like the golf balls you are smacking down the fairway, the golf clubs you are using, and even the Caddy that walks around with your bag. In MyPlayer, if you don’t want other people touching your built character there is the option to have 3 guests who can also be fully customized.

MyPlayer also has access to the MyPlayer Skill Tree, which gives you the ability to enable perks once unlocked, and these can help do things like give you a small swing path boost, giving you that slight upper hand to help you on the way to become the G.O.A.T. The skill tree has multiple different skills for each club you use, so you can upgrade anything from the Driver to the Iron, or even the Putter, so you can play around for a little while to work out which clubs you use the most and upgrade those first.

When you dive into MyCareer mode, you will be prompted with a couple of different options on where you would like to start, the first being Q-School, which is a field of aspiring amateurs who are all playing for their chance to make it to the PGA Tour. Once you jump into this mode, you are competing in the final stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament in hopes to go to the next stage of your career.

After completing the Q-School and qualifying to move to the next stage, you will move onto the Korn-Ferry Tour, where you need to climb the ranks in points to try and earn a spot in the PGA Tour, but before that, you will move onto the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. When you enter the Korn-Ferry Tour, you have three different options to move on to the next stage in your career. You can win three single sessions to advance up instantly, advance to the PGA Tour, or finish in the top 25 on the points rankings. If you finish in the Top 75, you can progress to the championship on the Korn-Ferry Tour, and if you weren’t lucky enough to instantly advance to the PGA Tour, you will be in the championship where you need to score within the Top 50 to advance, and this is where things become a little more fun.

When you enter the stage of the PGA Tour, you are playing again the most elite players in the game, and they’re all fighting to win the FedExCup. You get to play against some of the biggest names in the PGA Tour, and this is what sets you as the G.O.A.T if you come out on top.

Clubhouse Pass has made its triumphant return into this year’s title, boasting 50 tiers you can potentially unlock. The free section of the pass has a total of 10 rewards, whilst the premium rewards have a whopping 52 rewards, most of which are cosmetics. The premium pass on the Clubhouse pass will put you back about AUD $17, which works closely with your MyPlayer model, so whilst doing MyCareer you can look like an absolute badass on the green.

The online mode of this is called Competitive, which is not an understatement. I got slaughtered by what I’m assuming are pro PGA Tour 2K players. When you join online you are prompted to start a Society, so it must be time for an MKAU Golfing Team, though I don’t recommend this game mode for anyone that is not an elite golfer. When you are on the society menu you can opt to include handicaps, but those didn’t seem to help me too much. The developers have mentioned this game mode is relaxing but competitive. I found it to be anything but. I was not relaxed, but I’m also not a pro golfer.

In casual mode, you have a few different options. You can verse your friends in a nice casual environment, playing the standard game of golf, having a few laughs, and watching yourselves fail, or you can choose to verse AI, so you could verse Tiger Woods if you so please. The feeling of getting smashed by Tiger Woods was not great, but ultimately it was expected.

TOPGOLF has made its entrance into the PGA Tour 2K series, which is a popular driving range with a twist. Colourful nets act as targets, and when you hit the targets you get points, and if you have the highest points at the end of the game, you win. It’s a more relaxed game mode and lots of fun, taking away the stress of trying to hit the fairway or smashing the ball into the green. The sole thing you need to focus on is driving the ball into those colorful targets.

PGA Tour 2K23 has a whopping 20 fully licensed courses; three more from the previous title in 2021. This includes the new Wilmington COuntry club, The Renaissance Club, and St. George’s Golf and Country club, but the developers have announced there will be more post-launch, so this number is sure to rise.

The course designer has been overhauled this year with more features that allow you to create your dream golf course within the game, and the enhanced UI will give you more freedom to create whatever it may be that you want. Once you have spent time creating your dream golf course, you also have the option to upload this online for other players to experience your creative side.

You will also see the introduction of playing as PGA Tour Professionals, both male, and female, with an awesome lineup of over 14 professionals. The first professional I tried was Tiger Woods, who has been added as a playable character in this game mode, and I didn’t do his skill set justice. PGA Tour 2K23 and NBA 2K23 have done a sneaky little link-up as well, adding Micheal Jordan and Steph Curry as playable characters in this year’s title, both of whom are available from launch.

NB Studios are well known for making true simulations that use controls that can be unforgiving, but this year, PGA Tour 2K23 has added another way for players to play the game they love. Anyone returning to the series will remember the standard analog swing which made you complete a nice smooth swing with the right analog stick, trying to keep the motion as straight as possible, all while trying to maintain the ideal level of power for that perfect shot.

PGA Tour 2K23 has added the option of the three-click swing, giving players the ability to use the buttons to generate the power in the backswing, then you have two precise presses to get the swing and hit the straight shot. Personally, I stuck to the original analog stick swing as it’s something I was comfortable with and found easier to handle, but some might find hitting the buttons an easier approach to the game.

Everything from the clothes your wear to the clubs you swing, and even the golf balls have been made to look so clean in this year’s title. It was really quite incredible how much detail went into something as simple as a white dimpled ball sporting different logos, or the shine on the irons with the different brands and styles you can use. The courses themselves looked amazing when it came to the grass, water, and sand, but the tree’s still had that weird unrealistic feel to them, particularly in the leaves, and the audience looked like there could have been some more textures and time added to them just to make it feel that little more realistic. In saying that, the main focus is always going to be the players and the course, so it was still an amazing graphical experience.

I was blown away by the amazing mixed soundtrack used in PGA Tour 2K23, which had anything from bass-boosted organ music to an amped-up classic tune. It had it all. The commentary was beyond realistic and made it actually feel like I was on the course following the game. It didn’t have that “pre-recorded” feeling you get with lots of sports games. When you made those awesome shots down the fairway or onto the green, the audience cheered and clapped, and when you knocked it into the middle of the bush you hear nothing but the crickets chirping. The developers went to the next level with the audio and made you feel so much more immersed in the game.

Regardless of whether you are new to the series or a returning player, you won’t regret getting this title. The work that has gone into making PGA TOUR 2K23 is amazing, and hopefully, we will see some of you on the green. If you are an achievement hunter this would be an awesome game for you to rip your hair out to 100% the game.

Written by: Hayden Nelson