PGA Tour 2K23 brings its trademark simulation golf to consoles in October, and it includes an impressive 20 licensed official courses at launch for players to experience. Every golf course available has its own strengths and weaknesses, with each being more appealing than others depending on each player's play style when they hit the links.
Unlike other sports games like NBA 2K23 or Madden 23 where the opponent is another team or player, in golf games the opponent is the course, with each course having a unique personality and feel. While the playing surfaces in football, basketball, and hockey are all the same and the only differences are the aesthetic of the stadiums, every golf course will present a dramatically different challenge to players.
Hitting the Links in PGA Tour 2K23
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HB Studios and 2K Sports have upped their game with PGA Tour 2K23 by signing Tiger Woods as the cover athlete and including courses that even the most casual fan would recognize and be excited to experience. The presence of a golf legend like Tiger Woods in the game puts more pressure on HB Studios to create a deeper PGA Tour experience than the game has ever had before, requiring more authentic championship courses and relying less on the created courses that The Golf Club was known for.
While the course list in PGA Tour 2K23 is missing some notable legendary courses like Augusta National and St. Andrews, both of which are in the upcoming EA Sports PGA Tour, gems like the Detroit Golf Club and Canada's St. George's Golf and Country Club are hidden on the list among the various better-known courses. A wide range of course types is included in PGA Tour 2K23, with some heavy in water hazards, some demanding long and accurate drives, and others putting a priority on an accurate short game. Every course has its own appeal in terms of scenery and play style, with each of them being the location of PGA Tour events, but some stand out a little more than others.
TPC Sawgrass
Home of THE PLAYERS Championship every year, TPC Sawgrass in northern Florida was designed by famous golf course architect Pete Dye and opened in 1987. One of two courses at the complex, the championship course at TPC Sawgrass features tight fairways and water hazards on nearly every hole, requiring players in PGA Tour 2K23 to be precise and mindful of wind, lie and slope at all times.
Though nearly every hole requires accuracy, this is most true on the 17th hole, a par-3 with an island green that is world-famous in golf circles. The 17th hole is what makes TPC Sawgrass really stand out in PGA Tour 2K23 just as it does during the PGA Tour season, where many championship hopes literally sink from the pressure the famed island green presents and make it harder for players to put up a great score in PGA Tour 2K23.
TPC Scottsdale
The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale is home to the Waste Management Phoenix Open on a yearly basis and is a mainstay in golf video games, with a few features that help it shine out as a top course in front of the desert mountain backdrop. Built in 1986 and designed by Tom Weiskopf, the Stadium Course was just the sixth to earn the TPC designation when it was completed for use in the PGA Tour event.
Unlike Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale is a more wide-open course layout with random obstacles at different points in some fairways that challenge players to use some shot shaping off the tee or make decisions about focusing on one side of the green or the other. Scottsdale's 16th hole is one of the most dramatic holes on the entire PGA Tour, as it is completely enclosed by stadium stands, presenting one of the most pressure packed PGA Tour 2K23 Career Mode experiences that players will have.
Pebble Beach
It's not arriving in the game until a post-launch free update, but Pebble Beach is a classic American golf course that is one of the very best and toughest courses in PGA Tour 2K23. Pebble Beach is frequently rated the top public golf course in the United States, and it has hosted six U.S. Open tournaments with another four iterations of the major tournament heading there between 2027 and 2044.
Aside from the stunning scenery the northern California coastline brings to the course, Pebble Beach is known for high winds and steep elevation changes, including the par-3 7th hole's 40-foot drop from the tee box to the green, which is just 106 yards away. Fans will need to be aware of the equipment they're carrying in the bag when they play PGA Tour's Pebble Beach in PGA 2K23, as the elevations and wind will require great distance control and spin.
Spyglass Hill
Like Pebble Beach which is just a few miles away, Spyglass Hill will be added into PGA Tour 2K23 in a free post-launch update that will bring the Pebble Beach Pro-Am course into the game. Spyglass Hill is the 14th-ranked course in California, and has been a top golf course since 1967.
Spyglass Hill boasts stunning vistas and holes that are filled with huge sand traps and rocky terrain for players to navigate around with care. Since it is so close in proximity to Pebble Beach, players will have the same environmental challenges to work around on Spyglass Hill, meaning that there will be challenging wind gusts and inconsistent terrain, so they will have to account for things like elevation and wind in PGA Tour 2K23 by adjusting their aim or by changing the club length they are using on a shot.
Of course, if fans don't want to play on a licensed course in PGA Tour 2K23, HB Studios' signature course designer returns in this year's game for fans to create fun, challenging, or downright crazy courses. The course designer in PGA Tour 2K21 resulted in thousands of user-made courses for players to choose from, meaning the course offerings never felt short.
PGA Tour 2K23 is scheduled to release on October 14 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.