PGA TOUR 2K23

PGA TOUR 2K23 is a golf simulation developed by HB Studios and published by 2K, released in October 2022. It sits in a comfortable middle ground between arcade accessibility and realistic course management, and it is currently the most feature-packed golf game available on PC. If you have been waiting for a golf title that actually works for both the committed sim player and the friend who has never touched a golf game before, this is the one to check. The two swing systems are where the experience splits. The True Swing (analog stick) method demands real timing precision, penalising speed and path errors hard enough to frustrate newcomers. Flip over to the three-click swing and the game opens up almost immediately. A click to start, a click to set power, a click to time impact. Takes about five minutes to learn and still rewards good decision-making on club selection, wind reading, and shot shape. Both methods live under a solid assist layer that you can dial up or down freely, so casual sessions and competitive ones can co-exist in the same lobby without anyone feeling handicapped. MyCareer is the main draw for solo players. You build a MyPLAYER from one of several archetypes - focused on driving, putting, approach play, or a balanced all-rounder - and grind from Q-School through the Korn Ferry developmental tour up to the FedEx Cup on the full PGA Tour. XP feeds into a skill tree split across club types, with perks that buff swing path off the tee or putt path on the green, and a fittings system lets you modify club heads, shafts, and grips for further tuning. The progression loop is genuinely well-paced and earns that "one more tournament" pull. Fair warning though: the AI difficulty scaling is uneven, and on Normal the field can demand scores that would make real-world pros blush. For group play, the mode lineup is surprisingly deep. Topgolf is the headline party addition, an arcade-style target-shooting format based on 80 real Topgolf locations, playable locally or online with up to four players chasing high scores in a fixed number of shots. It works well with friends who bring their own banter, though it can feel flat in silence. Divot Derby supports up to 20 players in a battle-royale race to the ninth hole, and four-player Scramble mode is great for mixed-skill groups. Split-screen is confirmed, and a post-launch patch added full crossplay across PC and consoles, so online lobbies have held up better than expected. No crossplay was a launch complaint, so good on 2K for patching it in. The one social downside worth flagging: there is no crossplay for split-screen across platforms, and the season pass model pushes cosmetics behind a premium tier, which is not ideal for a full-price title. Graphically the game looks fine but not spectacular, and reviewers consistently noted it is barely distinguishable from its 2021 predecessor. The roster is headlined by Tiger Woods returning to video game golf alongside Justin Thomas, Lexi Thompson, Collin Morikawa, Lydia Ko, and others. A note for the LIV Golf crowd: several big names are absent due to tour conflicts. The Course Designer returns with a refined toolset and a community that has already built thousands of downloadable layouts, which meaningfully extends replay value beyond the 20 licensed courses shipped at launch. If you want a golf game that can run all night at varying skill levels without locking anyone out, this is a solid pick.

Riley · Scout Team

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