Parents' Guide to The Golf Club 2019 Featuring the PGA Tour

Unlike most modern golf games, this one doesn't coddle players with gimmicky meters, but does constantly promote your creativity with its course creator. The Golf Club 2019 Featuring the PGA Tour is extremely realistic, especially with its swing mechanics. Figuring out the proper tempo to draw back and then push the analog stick forward to strike the ball requires great precision. Chipping, pitching, and putting are even more challenging, adding weight -- how far back to take the club based on distance and loft -- to each shot. Serious golfers ought to appreciate the delicacy of this system, which shares a surprising amount in common with a real-world golf swing, though there's a good chance it could irk casual players used to breaking a score of 70 within their first couple of rounds in most golf games. Even players craving more of a challenge could find this game's finicky controls for applying spin to the ball -- even a small fade or draw can greatly reduce your chances of hitting a good shot -- a bit too much to handle. But once everything comes together and you win your first PGA event purely out of ability and determination, the satisfaction is real.

But there are some players who'll hardly spare a moment to play a round. They'll simply come for series' renowned and powerful course editor, which remains as inspiring as ever. You can create, sculpt, and alter virtually every detail of a course, spending hours, days, or weeks perfecting an authentic track that feels just as realistic as those modeled after real-world courses. Or you can stretch your imagination, creating a regulation-length mini golf course where your tee shots roll thousands of feet downhill to funneled greens, making it possible to sink a 700-yard putt. These courses and loads more can be found in the game's lightly curated user-creation gallery, where players can play and rate their favorites. The Golf Club 2019 Featuring the PGA Tour isn't quite as polished or glitzy as other golf games. In fact, some character models are downright ugly, and the commentators offer a very limited and often inaccurate collection of lines. But it's evident that it was designed by people who love the sport, and that it's intended for people who share their passion.