The best golf video games for Nintendo Switch
Nintendo consoles have a rich history of great golf games, many of which featured a certain mustachioed mascot. Mario and his friends from the Mushroom Kingdom recently brought their clubs and caddy to the Switch, but even without the plumber and his crew, the console has created a series of quality golf games since launch.
Let's take a look at the best golf games on Nintendo Switch.
What the Golf?
What the Golf? it's a hard game not to love; a riot of accessible, physics-based stupidity and great fun, whether you like golf or not. In fact, it's perfect for taking a second player with you who doesn't want to get stuck in the caddy. You can't go wrong with this off-the-beaten-path indie hit and we recommend you pop it into your golf bag right away.
Golf Story
An RPG in the mold of the exquisite Camelot Mario Golf on Game Boy Color, Golf Story was one of Switch's first-year indie hits and has lost none of its charm ever since. A multi-sport sequel called Sports Story is coming soon, so there's no better time to check out this treasure from top to bottom.
Golf Party
Party Golf transforms the tranquility of the real game into a crazy simultaneous race between you and your friends as you race against the clock to throw your ball into the hole on a side 2D course. With loads of customization options and a multiplayer focus, this offers a nice four-ball experience where you not you have to politely wait for your golf buddies to make their way to the green for a triple bogey.
Golf peaks
Isometric Puzzle Golf Peaks is yet another in Switch's range of fun and rewarding alternatives to a "fair" golf game that started on mobile before getting a Switch port. It's a short experience, best enjoyed in small pieces, but you're sure to enjoy your time with it. Who wants to wander a soggy hill for four and a half hours on a wet Saturday morning? Fast and carefree.
Infinity Miniature Golf
Coming from Zen Studios, a developer best known for its pinball games, Infinite Minigolf isn't perfect when it comes to user interface and clearly communicating its features, but it offers a very solid and well presented minigolf game and features a myriad of official and impressive fields created by users for fun. You can also create your own in the full game editor.
Golf with your friends
Golf With Your Friends offers a chaotic golf-like game with 12-person simultaneous online multiplayer that really shines if you can get a few friends with similar skills to join you. Keep in mind that mixing skill levels and playing with random people takes some of the shine out of things. However, provided you have enough friends online, this can be a rampant attack around some legitimately "crazy" golf courses. Just make sure you pay attention to the “With your friends” part of the title, otherwise it's just “Golf”, which is as fun as it sounds.
NES OpenTournament Golf
If you're looking for a first digital version of the sport, Hamster's Arcade Archives Golf brings the original Golf arcade to the Switch. It's a video game that comes from an era when video games could just use the name of the sport as a title without anything else. It is also the title that popularized the well-known power bar swing mechanic that many golf games use to this day.
However, if you subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online, you have access to its follow-up, part of the Nintendo Switch Online offering of NES games. While the training systems and mechanics developed in the 80s have advanced A lot meanwhile, the basic gameplay of NES OpenTournament Golf it's as solid as ever. Plus, it's currently the only golf game on the system that puts Mario on the tee. Enjoy nine quick holes if you haven't played it yet.
Neo Turf Masters (Neo Geo)
Neo Turf Masters (or Big Tournament Golf as it is known in the US) is a satisfying arcade version of the game and it still holds up very well to this day, despite being from 1996. The lack of career mode means it's hardly an investment in. long term, but as short and sweet as arcade golf games go, this is great. Don't expect to play it for hours on end.
PGA Tour 2K21 (Switch)
PGA Tour 2K21 plays a solid game of golf with enough flexibility in its control settings to appeal to both diehard simulation enthusiasts and casual golf enthusiasts who are just looking for a quick spin. Its real-life pro players are so underutilized that they might not even be here and the game may not yet have the typical 2K Sports hallmarks - the refined story mode, the sleek TV-style presentation - but it's not plagued by either. microtransactions and the result is a game that, refreshingly, gets along well.
Golf Club: Wasteland (Switch eShop)
Golf Club: Wasteland offers simple and straightforward gameplay with nice graphics and almost no user interface to get in the way of its post-apocalyptic fairways. The clean melodies and background story points provide a nice narrative storyline and help reinforce golf, which can get a little repetitive after a while. Some annoying neon signs adorning the environment irritated us a bit, but if you're looking for a golf game that offers something a little different, Golf Club: Wasteland is definitely worth a game at twilight.
Mario Golf: Super Rush (Switch)
Mario Golf: Super Rush is a game that hits the mark in many ways. Golf Adventure has a lot of charm and offers a fun way to learn various mechanics and unlock courses. Away from that solo effort there are decent options and customization for multiplayer, local or online games, button controls, or motion-based wobbles. it's not a prize fatigue, however, with an annoying sensation of cut corners and sometimes lack of creativity. However, many gamers should get a fair amount of fun out of this, whether alone or with friends. This isn't the Masters, but for Mario Golf fans it's a solid par.
