PGA Tour 2K23's simulation style of golf offers a relatively unforgiving experience that demands precision and accuracy in order to be successful on the PGA Tour or in the online modes of the game. To win, players must have the ideal load out of equipment and gear that maximizes their created player's skills, and the golf balls players choose in PGA Tour 2K23 matter more than they ever have in previous games in the series.
In the past, making the right choice of club was vital to success in PGA Tour 2K games, as attribute boots were directly tied to the brand and type of club the player was using. That left players unable to use their favorite brand or style if it didn't provide the best boosts for their created pro, so HB Studios listened to fan feedback and made golf club brand and style completely cosmetic in PGA Tour 2K23, instead tying boosts to upgrades on clubs and style of golf ball.
Picking a Golf Ball In PGA Tour 2K23
It is important for players to note that golf balls in PGA Tour 2K23 have two aspects to them, ball type and ball appearance, and only one of them impacts actual performance on the golf course.The appearance is only a cosmetic difference to ball the player wants to use. There is no impact on performance from the brand, so a player can choose Taylor Made, Wilson, or whichever brand they prefer playing with on the various courses in PGA Tour 2K23, knowing they will be able to affect how the ball performs by applying specific ball types to it. Once they purchase or earn that specific appearance, it is theirs for good.
Golf ball types, on the other hand, are consumable items that have a huge impact on performance in both the multiplayer and My Career modes of PGA Tour 2K23. Ball types are bought in sleeves of 3, 6, or 12, and each round played used up one of those items from a sleeve. Ball sleeves come in Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary rarity, with each type costing progressively more virtual currency to acquire. If players purchase the ball sleeves using real-world money to get virtual currency, they will spend between $1.13 USD for a pack of 12 Common golf balls to $5.63 for a 12-pack of Legendary ones. The default version of the ball, which includes no performance bonuses, is free and can be used at any time as well.
Sleeves have four different attributes that are impacted by which type of ball a player chooses, as well as the quality of the sleeve, with Legendary being the best available in all modes of PGA Tour 2K23. Spin, Flight, Bounce, and Roll are each impacted by which type of ball a player selects and will benefit a different type of player in the game. The Redline Pack impacts Spin the most, and will appeal to players who like to use a lot of backspin to stick shots close to the pin or topspin to get that extra kick on a shot. The Magnet Pack is similar to Redline in that it gives a strong Spin boost, but it is more for players who want to impact the ball after it lands rather than have it stick, since the Roll rating is much higher than in the Redline Pack.
Enhance Your Play Style
Players who want to channel their inner Bryson DeChambeau and crush the ball long distances in PGA Tour 2K23 will love the Aviator Pack, as it boosts the Flight attribute to 95 in the Legendary version. However, it also lowers all other attributes below 50. The Legendary Friction Pack has three ratings over 50, making it a pack that has decent balance, and focuses on Spin and Bounce ratings at the expense of Roll, which drops all the way to a rating of 5. The Legendary Packs have the highest ratings, with each of the less expensive packs having the same type of attribute balance but with a lesser impact.
Players will ultimately have to decide which type of sleeve works best for them based on their own play style. Virtual currency can be earned fairly quickly in the game, so it is pretty likely that most players won't have to spend real-world money to get ball sleeves, unless they want to use the Legendary versions in every round or primarily play PGA Tour 2K23 online.
PGA Tour 2K23 is scheduled to release on October 14 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.