HB Studios Next-Gen golf game: The Golf Club

[pk500]

Short iron shots to the green seem much more realistic after the patch. More bite. Excellent!

[Gangrel]

So I just finished the Christmas 4 round tournament at Flin Flon with handicap scores, ended up tied for 4th with 54 participants so far, still don't understand how someone gets a ridiculous score of -24 with handicaps?

Either lots of luck, or sandbagging!

[Aristo]

The Golf Club in $17.50 on XBL right now.

[pk500]

The Golf Club in $17.50 on XBL right now.

Co-Deal of the Year, along with sale on Titanfall around Thanksgiving.

[10spro]

The Golf Club in $17.50 on XBL right now.

Co-Deal of the Year, along with sale on Titanfall around Thanksgiving.

Thanks for this. I've enjoyed the game a lot on the PS4 and since they are still having random issues, I'll buy it for the X1too.

[Diablo25]

The Golf Club in $17.50 on XBL right now.

Co-Deal of the Year, along with sale on Titanfall around Thanksgiving.

Yep. Speaking of TitanFall...I need to fire that one up again. So many games right now. I actually fired up The Last of Us on the PS4 the other day. Forgot what a beautiful game it was. Sucked me right back into the SP.

[Pete1210]

The Golf Club in $17.50 on XBL right now.

Thanks. Got it!

[XXXIV]

The Golf Club in $17.50 on XBL right now.

Thanks. Got it!

You know it!

Installing!

Though Im pretty trashed so I will probably just watch GoT season one instead of playing tonight .

EDIT: Game is NOW on my XB1 but my gf has The Big sleep with Bogie loaded so no GoT.

I am feeling good!

[J_Cauthen]

The Golf Club in $17.50 on XBL right now.

That is one heck of a deal considering how well HB Studios is continuing to support the game with free content updates, not just patches. I have a strong hunch that the XB1 version will offer 900p resolution at least as an option in the next update. BTW, this sale is only good until Dec. 30th.

[DivotMaker]

I have a strong hunch that the XB1 version will offer 900p resolution at least as an option in the next update. BTW, this sale is only good until Dec. 30th.

It better.....they have done little to improve the rendering since launch. I think they need a Unity engine/Xbox One specialist to come in and help them get more out of the system. If what we currently have is the best they can do (DX12 or not), they picked the wrong engine for this game.

[10spro]

I have a strong hunch that the XB1 version will offer 900p resolution at least as an option in the next update. BTW, this sale is only good until Dec. 30th.

It better.....they have done little to improve the rendering since launch. I think they need a Unity engine/Xbox One specialist to come in and help them get more out of the system. If what we currently have is the best they can do (DX12 or not), they picked the wrong engine for this game.

I have seen stuttering that I've never experienced on the PS4. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy very much the game overall and the current sale is a must buy for any avid golfer out there. Just finished playing enough courses to get me a HCP of +5.2 compared to +4.o on the PS4. Once everyone gets their HCP magic number, we should shoot for DSP Tour and see how that goes.

[sportdan30]

I'm hoping in future versions of the game there's an upgrade in terms of presentation and atmosphere (fans, broadcast commentary, etc). The game is great as is, but definitely needs a jolt of energy to it.

[J_Cauthen]

It better.....they have done little to improve the rendering since launch. I think they need a Unity engine/Xbox One specialist to come in and help them get more out of the system. If what we currently have is the best they can do (DX12 or not), they picked the wrong engine for this game.

Agreed... all they've done is improve the performance at 720p res since launch, but even at that, it's still not performing at the frame rate it should. At that res, The Golf Club should be 45 FPS +, on the average course, not the 26 to 30 FPS we're getting. At Gull Island Sanctuary, it's more like 18 to 22 FPS!?

I'm starting to think they may have picked the wrong engine myself. Then again, they may be using what they could afford to use. I'm still a bit disappointed that we were led to believe back in April that 'the consoles were pushing 60 FPS at 1080p' in the Gamepur interview. We're not sniffin' that on either console, even on the most barren of courses.

Do you see the hinted 'double the frame rate improvements' with this update? I only see enough of a difference to tell that it's slightly better, but even that is only on some courses. Something had to have changed between the time that claim to doubling the frame rate was made on November 27th, to the time of the update release.

I hope they make an official comment on what might have happened here because something definitely didn't come off as advertised. I'm getting signals that 900p is in the works, but if it comes with a frame rate hit that's not even up to the marginal level we have now, it won't be worth the effort, IMO. I think they were spending more time on the Handicap Tool for this update, and that's why we didn't see as much of an improvement performance wise on the console front, and resolution wise on the XB1 side, in particular.

[J_Cauthen]

I have seen stuttering that I've never experienced on the PS4. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy very much the game overall and the current sale is a must buy for any avid golfer out there. Just finished playing enough courses to get me a HCP of +5.2 compared to +4.o on the PS4. Once everyone gets their HCP magic number, we should shoot for DSP Tour and see how that goes.

I own and play both console versions of the game, although lately, I'm playing the XB1 version less and less because of the overall slower frame rates and more importantly, the resolution difference. TGC looks so much more next-gen at 1080p than it does at 720p. Are you surprised at how much better the game looks at 1080p versus 720p?

I like the XB1 version's color depth and audio better than the PS4's, but IMO, the PS4 version eclipses it in every other department. Still, at the sale price they're running it for yesterday and today... it's a tremendous deal!

[J_Cauthen]

I'm hoping in future versions of the game there's an upgrade in terms of presentation and atmosphere (fans, broadcast commentary, etc). The game is great as is, but definitely needs a jolt of energy to it.

It does need some more real life atmosphere to round it out. The most glaring weaknesses to me are roads, fences, and cart paths. Until they figure out how to include these in the game, it's going to present an incomplete world. These landmarks are glaringly obvious in their omission, IMO. HBS has already indicated that all of these would eventually be added, but also suggested that they won't add them until it can be done without adversely impacting the game's performance. I don't think anyone can argue that it doesn't need anything else added to challenge its current level of performance any more.

[Diablo25]

I have seen stuttering that I've never experienced on the PS4. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy very much the game overall and the current sale is a must buy for any avid golfer out there. Just finished playing enough courses to get me a HCP of +5.2 compared to +4.o on the PS4. Once everyone gets their HCP magic number, we should shoot for DSP Tour and see how that goes.

I own and play both console versions of the game, although lately, I'm playing the XB1 version less and less because of the overall slower frame rates and more importantly, the resolution difference. TGC looks so much more next-gen at 1080p than it does at 720p. Are you surprised at how much better the game looks at 1080p versus 720p?

I like the XB1 version's color depth and audio better than the PS4's, but IMO, the PS4 version eclipses it in every other department. Still, at the sale price they're running it for yesterday and today... it's a tremendous deal!

Definitely a distinct resolution difference in the Ps4 version. Pretty as hell. the XB1 version did improve a bit with the last patch but it's still not at the PS4 level. Hope the 900p becomes reality.

[Danimal]

I've been playing the PC version and it runs fine and loos great. There are not many people in the tours or tournaments thought.

[J_Cauthen]

I wanted to alert everyone to a wonderful new course that has been unleashed in The Golf Club today. Theclv24 has created what I think might be the best recreation of Augusta National (He calls it Magnolia National so HB Studios can list it among their Suggested Courses without fear of reprisal from AN). It will test your nerves, but it captures the Augusta National experience very well. He used the Boreal theme, but was able to get some of the Countryside theme flowers in there to take the place of azaleas.

Theclv24 created a "Tour" using the Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday versions of Magnolia National on the PC and the PS4. I created one using the same format and settings for the XB1. The Tour name (and make sure you search for it under "Tours") is 2015 Masters Tournament. Be prepared to be astounded... it is an incredible course!

Remember, this is - in essence - a 72 hole Tournament, but because The Golf Club isn't equipped to have multiple pin settings for a course, the creator had to name the course a different name for each pin setting and the only way to use multiple "courses" is to create a tour.

[Diablo25]

I wanted to alert everyone to a wonderful new course that has been unleashed in The Golf Club today. Theclv24 has created what I think might be the best recreation of Augusta National (He calls it Magnolia National so HB Studios can list it among their Suggested Courses without fear of reprisal from AN). It will test your nerves, but it captures the Augusta National experience very well. He used the Boreal theme, but was able to get some of the Countryside theme flowers in there to take the place of azaleas.

Theclv24 created a "Tour" using the Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday versions of Magnolia National on the PC and the PS4. I created one using the same format and settings for the XB1. The Tour name (and make sure you search for it under "Tours") is 2015 Masters Tournament. Be prepared to be astounded... it is an incredible course!

Remember, this is - in essence - a 72 hole Tournament, but because The Golf Club isn't equipped to have multiple pin settings for a course, the creator had to name the course a different name for each pin setting and the only way to use multiple "courses" is to create a tour.

VERY nice course. Well done and very challenging. You must really stay focused or the course will kick your ass. Good looking out.

[MUTTS]

Just played the Sunday version. Fantastic!
IMHO, that just kicks the crud out of playing Augusta on the last EA sports version of TW.

Do you think EA is watching this game?

We need a pebble beach and sawgrass for the golf club that are this good!
Tony

[vader29]

Just played the Sunday version. Fantastic!
IMHO, that just kicks the crud out of playing Augusta on the last EA sports version of TW.

Do you think EA is watching this game?

We need a pebble beach and sawgrass for the golf club that are this good!
Tony

Saw this article last week about EA's golf game possibly getting delayed, maybe they are watching: http://www.pastapadre.com/2014/12/29/re ... -to-summer

[J_Cauthen]

VERY nice course. Well done and very challenging. You must really stay focused or the course will kick your ass. Good looking out.

I've had my ass kicked multiple times by this course, at least the Thursday through Sunday versions. I haven't tried the "casual" version yet. The best I've shot on any of them on the PS4 or XB1 is "Even". It has destroyed what little bit of confidence I had in my putting game. I haven't played a round on any of them yet where I didn't have at least one, 4-putt green. I'm loving it though... the course has earned my respect and will make a 68 all that more precious when I finally shoot one!

[10spro]

VERY nice course. Well done and very challenging. You must really stay focused or the course will kick your ass. Good looking out.

I've had my ass kicked multiple times by this course, at least the Thursday through Sunday versions. I haven't tried the "casual" version yet. The best I've shot on any of them on the PS4 or XB1 is "Even". It has destroyed what little bit of confidence I had in my putting game. I haven't played a round on any of them yet where I didn't have at least one, 4-putt green. I'm loving it though... the course has earned my respect and will make a 68 all that more precious when I finally shoot one!

I was playing with your ghost and ended up with a +10. Definitely challenging, in the end my putting just let me down.

[DivotMaker]

VERY nice course. Well done and very challenging. You must really stay focused or the course will kick your ass. Good looking out.

I've had my ass kicked multiple times by this course, at least the Thursday through Sunday versions. I haven't tried the "casual" version yet. The best I've shot on any of them on the PS4 or XB1 is "Even". It has destroyed what little bit of confidence I had in my putting game. I haven't played a round on any of them yet where I didn't have at least one, 4-putt green. I'm loving it though... the course has earned my respect and will make a 68 all that more precious when I finally shoot one!

Try playing it with no green grids.....was +6 at the turn, managed to finish +2 for my first round on the NO_GRID Tour.....great course....with grids, I believe I would have been 6-7 under par....missed alot of close putts.

[J_Cauthen]

Try playing it with no green grids.....

I couldn't play Little Brook Manor without green grids, let alone Magnolia National. I hate to admit this, but in all honesty, I'm too lazy to play without green grids It's a bit more of a hassle to assess the breaks with the techniques required to pan, rotate, and change the camera angles to than I'm willing to do. I can see where the reward for your efforts would be greater without grids, and really, I wish I had more where-with-all to undertake it.

was +6 at the turn, managed to finish +2 for my first round on the NO_GRID Tour.....great course....with grids, I believe I would have been 6-7 under par....missed alot of close putts.

The best I've done on Magnolia National was an even par in the Thursday round. I've not played three rounds in a row where I didn't break 80 there!? All of the sudden, I've lost all confidence in my putting and this course was the final nail in my coffin. I had a 4-putt green from 6 feet, and a number of others in the 15 to 35 foot range. Talk about missing close putts, I missed a 2 foot putt for par last night on 17, leaving it short of the cup!?

This is what I love about this game though, I've gone through similar inexplicable losses in confidence with putting in my real game and I go through the same backswing length, backswing pace, follow through distance, etc. there as I do in this game. Magnolia National will have plenty of staying power though, especially with four tournament pin options.