EA Sports PGA Tour

[PigPyle]

Anyone else been playing it? I’ve played the game a fair amount on PS5 and have been really impressed with it overall. A few thoughts:

 

- EA really nailed the courses. They look stunning and are easily the most realistic of any golf video game I’ve played. The on-course dynamics are legit and make the week-to-week career mode much more interesting.

- swing mechanics naturally take a little getting used to and feel a tad “slow” to me. The shot types feature is pretty cool.

- obtaining gear/equipment/other bonuses takes a bit of time and the initial selection wasn’t great. EA has added a lot recently but it seems they are going the gradual rollout route and if you REALLY want something, you likely either need to save a lot of rewards points or shell out some $$$ (lame)

- I suspect this game was supposed to be released sometime early-mid 2022 based on the fact that 1.) 8 out of the 22 pro players on the roster are playing for the other tour and 2.) Select amount of the most recent generation of equipment.

- player customization could be more expansive and the featured pros swings are close but not all the way there. Example: Scotty Scheffler’s active foot action is absent.

- having the majors be a prominent focal point of the career mode is excellent. Those tournaments are true tests in terms of difficulty but the meat of the PGAT season can be laughably easy after you get the hang of the game. Turning off some of the putting and ball flight assists is an easy fix but makes the game less enjoyable IMO.

- I played 2k21 and 2k23 a ton and already in a short amount of time, EA PGA stands far far above the 2k series in almost every category. The best golf game experience to date, narrowly beating out Tiger Woods PGA 2012.

[tips09]

What’s the difficulty level like on this game? The previous EA PGA games are fun but incredibly easy even with the hardest difficulty and all assists off. 

[PigPyle]

30 minutes ago, tips09 said:

What’s the difficulty level like on this game? The previous EA PGA games are fun but incredibly easy even with the hardest difficulty and all assists off. 

The swing mechanics require more precision than previous EA golf games IMO, but you can definitely put up some comically low scores outside of majors on the career mode. Putting is pretty tough without some of the assists but I do wish they would allow for harder swing settings and more variability with weather/conditions. 

[Roody]

I just picked it up for PC a couple days ago, and fired it up for the first time last night. I used to play all the EA Sports Tiger Woods games on PS3 and PS4. But at the moment I do not own a PS5, so I decided to give PC a try. 

So far I think it's going to be fun. I'm still getting used to the 3-click swing, and find myself pushing many of my tee shots right because I'm still figuring out the timing. I agree that the courses look great (only checked out Oak Hill and Bandon so far). I love the career mode, that's pretty much what I always play anyways. 

 

It did freeze up on me a couple times already though. I'm hoping it's not going to be a continuing problem. 

[Roody]

Now that I've had a little more time to play it, some more thoughts...

 

I started career mode as an amateur. I played the first tournament, won it. That got me an invite to The Masters. I missed the cut by 14 strokes. Fourteen. Strokes. 

 

It's probably just growing pains and getting used to the 3-click swing, but some of the mechanics/physics of the game seem inconsistent. I had a few shots where the wind would be going 10 mph to the left. I'd swing and miss the third click by a smidge to the left, so I'm thinking the slight pull with the left wind would have me missing hard left. No. It pushed right. That could be me misunderstanding what the miss on the 3-click does, but then there are times where I'd have the same scenario (left wind, miss the click slight left) and the ball pull hooks like I assumed it would. So I've reached a point where I don't trust where it's gonna go (Hey! Just like real golf!!)

 

The chipping and pitching are a bit maddening at times as well. 

I've played all the Tiger Woods EA games over the years, but those were always on a Playstation with a controller. So while at the moment I'm a bit flustered with this PC version, I also assume I will eventually figure it out as my character's equipment and shot arsenal improve. 

[PigPyle]

On 5/30/2023 at 7:30 AM, Roody said:

Now that I've had a little more time to play it, some more thoughts...

 

I started career mode as an amateur. I played the first tournament, won it. That got me an invite to The Masters. I missed the cut by 14 strokes. Fourteen. Strokes. 

 

It's probably just growing pains and getting used to the 3-click swing, but some of the mechanics/physics of the game seem inconsistent. I had a few shots where the wind would be going 10 mph to the left. I'd swing and miss the third click by a smidge to the left, so I'm thinking the slight pull with the left wind would have me missing hard left. No. It pushed right. That could be me misunderstanding what the miss on the 3-click does, but then there are times where I'd have the same scenario (left wind, miss the click slight left) and the ball pull hooks like I assumed it would. So I've reached a point where I don't trust where it's gonna go (Hey! Just like real golf!!)

 

The chipping and pitching are a bit maddening at times as well. 

I've played all the Tiger Woods EA games over the years, but those were always on a Playstation with a controller. So while at the moment I'm a bit flustered with this PC version, I also assume I will eventually figure it out as my character's equipment and shot arsenal improve. 

 

I have yet to use the three click control setting so cannot speak to it. The wind gust feature is a real factor and makes particularly windy conditions a total mixed bag (much more realistic variability, but I wish the weather settings were able to be adjusted to be even more volatile in career mode.)

[Roody]

14 hours ago, PigPyle said:

 

I have yet to use the three click control setting so cannot speak to it. The wind gust feature is a real factor and makes particularly windy conditions a total mixed bag (much more realistic variability, but I wish the weather settings were able to be adjusted to be even more volatile in career mode.)

I've also found that this sort of crap happens A LOT:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CsTp6EhIYTm/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

It's kinda frustrating. 

[Stinger Sanchez]

I bought the EA game when it came out, but I couldn't get myself to like the game. I ultimately went back to PGA2k23. I find the 2k golf gameplay to be more fluid and challenging (I use to the swing stick and not the 3-click method). Whilst EA's approach shots are more fun and challenging, and the green/ball physics are better, it absolutely shocks me how easy it is to drive the ball. I think the 2k swing mechanic is harder, and similar to real golf, tempo of your swing really matters. The putting is better than EA too. The distance discount hitting out of the rough is larger and more realistic than EA IMO. EA has tremendously better graphics, customization and career mode, but for me, gameplay is the most important. I also like the online ranked matchmaking with players around the world.

[Holy Moses]

The graphics are incredible. Better PBP calls than 2K23. Swing mechanics are a little slow. I love all of the challenges you can do and moments you can relive and how they recreate challenges that just occurred on Tour. Why do you have to address the ball every time before swinging? That’s too time consuming. EA Sports admits there is a bug that they will fix where you can’t play just one round in career mode per tournament. It’s either they pick like 5 holes or you have to play four full rounds. So dumb. I hated that in the last iteration too. How could they not have that fixed? No driving range to practice on. 
 

Still, it’s a great game. I wish they could merge the strengths of this game and 2K23. 

[Holy Moses]

Something else I noticed that EA Sports has had an issue with for years. When you putt, the putt breaks too much early on and not enough late. It’s the opposite of real golf.