A Virtual Reality Golf Game which is so much Fun!
To start off you will need either a Meta Quest 2 or Meta Quest 3 to play this game. Yes the handsets start at £250 and upwards but you can pick up a cheap second hand Meta Quest 2 for around £150, the Quest 3 retails at £480. We would suggest that you use Ebay and pay by PayPal as this will protect you and your purchase incase there are any technical issues unboxing the item.
The game itself retails currently for £22.99 (Jan 2024) but meta do have promotions so keep checking back on the website or alternatively add the game into your wish list and you will receive notifications.
Finally you will need to have a Facebook / Meta account to play this game as the headset is a Facebook / Meta product and needs an account to purchase games and upload them onto the headset.
We did purchase the additional golf club accessory which connects the stick to the controller to make this feel more like a club club that just holding the controller. The stick also extends an extra foot so whilst this doesn’t extend to a full length club it does feel more realistic as the stick has a grip and the weight of the control adds that extra balance. You can pick this accessory at any many online retailer.
One thing to mention is that you will need a well sized room both in width and also height as you will be swinging the stick / controller just as you would a golf club.
Phew ! once all that has been sorted out (and it does feel a tad heavy if you are buying everything from scratch) that’s it ! From unboxing to making your first swing should take no longer than 1 hour based on your internet connection and setting up the the headset and swinging space etc…
The golf course graphics are quite impressive
The characters do have that look and feel of the Nintendo faux realistic where they haven’t gone for realism but more of a cute avatar look which did feel a bit immature but don’t let that put you off the game. The swing dynamics are on point and the connect between the graphics and your movement are perfect.
The resolution is 960p which isn’t as high as some Consoles and PC’s but remember this is virtual reality and the loss of photo realism is balanced well with the immersive feel of actually being on the course. There are some amazing subtle foreground and background elements, where you play a links course and in the foreground you have waves crashing near the hole and the distance we have a stunning sunrise.
Everything is in perfect balance to offer you the virtual round of your life.
Play iconic Golf courses from the comfort of your home
Most of us will never get play the courses we see on TV, but with Golf+ using LiDAR technology and other hyper-accurate mapping, you can instantly step inside a virtual world and onto the tee box on some of the most iconic courses such as The Old Course St.Andrews, Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass and Wolf Creek to name but a few.
Just because you are playing at home doesn’t mean that you still can’t have that 4 ball with your team, Golf+ promotes multiplayer, so you and your guys or gals can all meet up and chat whilst you play a 9 or virtual 18 holes. There are even global tournaments you can enter to become the ultimate golf champion.
You can even import your own golf clubs into your virtual bag
The game developers have tried to incorporate all aspects of the golf round into this game which will have you coming back time after time. This is a game but the yardage and the club speed are not that far off being true.
There are several levels of difficulty from Novice up to Pro Mode, with Novice mode instantly letting you hit 300 yard bombs straight down the fairway to Pro Mode where everything is set to OFF and you are totally on your own with zero golf assists. What’s nice is that what ever level you are at you can instantly pick up and become as good as a pro so there is zero frustration is slicing or hooking like a typical round of golf.
This game for obvious reasons doesn’t translate 1 for 1 for a real course but what is good is the environment where the weather, the club choice, the ball lie etc, does play it’s part in the swing, carry and ball bounce just like a real course.
Tons of Golf Game Modes
There are also plenty of game options for you to choose from aside of the standard game of golf. You can just go to the putting greens to practice on your short game around the green or go full immersive and go to the virtual Topgolf driving range with friends, there are even weekly challenges to keep you coming back again and again.
Like most games there days there is also personal progress and development via an XP system where the more you play the more XP you can collect. The more XP you collect the more elements such as golf equipment you will unlock as you continue your golfing journey.
Have a look below at their game trailer:
So what’s our final verdict?
So for the price of a new driver and approx an hour to set up is this worthwhile?
Our verdict is a definite yes, this will never replace playing golf with the feeling of having the wind in your back and the sun on your face. But here in the UK there are so many months where the weather is awful, you don’t
Why not on a quiet evening have a round of golf at Pebble Beach? the principles of the game are all still here and realistically playing this game enough should improve your mental game.
Graphics 8 out of 10
Sound 8 out of 10
Playability 8 out of 10
Value for money 8 out of 10
