Teeing off with PGA Tour 2K23

It should be expected that when PGA Tour 2K23 releases it will be right up there as one of the best golf games of recent times – especially seeing as Tiger Woods will be front and centre; cover star, executive director, in-game pro and leading the charge with the Tiger Woods Edition of the game. We’d suspect the mere mention of Tiger will be enough to sell PGA Tour 2K23 alone. 

But following on from PGA Tour 2K21, which in itself succeeded HB Studios’ (they who have teamed up with 2K to create this golfing masterpiece) brilliant The Golf Club series, PGA Tour 2K23 has some serious shoes to fill.

After going hands-on with what HB Studios and 2K have put together this time around, we’re very much of the opinion that if you’re looking to shoot low with a new golf game, PGA Tour 2K23 is the one that you’ll want to have in your bag. It’s going to give you the big shots when you need them, but equally it’ll be at home as you pitch up around the dancefloor, as you look to home in on the pin. 

PGA Tour 2K23 is set to release on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and PC come October 11th with the Tiger Woods Edition, followed by Standard Edition drops on the 14th; the official street date. When the final version arrives on digital platforms around the globe, it’s pretty safe to say that it’ll have all the components required in order to deliver the finest of rounds. 

Looking great visually, the PC Steam build that we’ve spent time with on PC and Steam Deck has, at times, blown us away with its presentational aspects. Very much playing out as a TV spectacular, the tees, the fairways, the bunkers and the greens of the twenty courses all pop into play brilliantly. When you consider that your shots and approaches are commentated on by Rich Beem, Luke Elvy and newcomer Henni Koyack, with a full broadcast-style setting them up, then things get even more immersive. 

A decent variety of real-world courses help aid this, pushing you through a MyCAREER which could well be as deep as you could ever wish for. It tasks you with making a name for yourself, working through the Korn Ferry Tour until you prove yourself as a PGA Tour. Shooting low as your required skillset gets to grips with the variety of swing methods – utilising sticks or making the most of a three-click method all work well – will see you taking to the clubhouse with the lowest of scores, helping unlock a variety of club and ball fittings, unlocks, skill tree’d abilities and more as you go. You’ll want to do so to keep your sponsors happy too.

It all comes together to see PGA Tour 2K23 go all out in the personalisation stakes, ensuring that you can equip your MyPLAYER with the clubs and gear needed for success to be found. And if that all seems like too much of an ask, a plethora of real-world pros are ready for a round or two too – fourteen in all with Tiger, Justin Thomas, Colin Morikawa, Lexi Thompson and more all awaiting. Oh, and 2K23 brings a caddie system along for the ride; something that could well be the start of a new feature going forward if 2K and HB Studios are able to build it into future instalments.

With Online Multiplayer, the usual Course Designer and – most excitedly – the inclusion of the hugely fun, massively rewarding Topgolf this time around, there’s very much something for everyone in PGA Tour 2K23. In fact, there is more than enough here to ensure that the previous genre-leading PGA Tour 2K21 will start missing the cut as the newer, sleeker, more accomplished pro plays through their debut round. 

When you further consider that PGA Tour 2K23 will run complete with seventeen courses ripped from PGA Tour 2K21, plus three newbies delivered to ensure things are kept fresh – those of the South Course of Wilmington Country Club, The Renaissance Club, and St. George’s Golf and Country Club – then yet again there’s more than enough content included to justify those claims. 

In all, PGA Tour 2K23 is on the verge of becoming a golfing spectacular; a game that will open the clubhouse doors, ushering in all – no matter what their taste in golfing etiquette. 

We’ll be sure to follow with full review of PGA Tour 2K23 as it releases on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5 and PC come October 14th (11th for those splashing out on the Tiger Woods Edition). It’s certainly set up to be the go-to golf game for the foreseeable future and we’d highly recommend you consider a pre-order from the Xbox Store if you’re an Xbox player – you’ve got the Standard Edition (Cross-Gen), the Deluxe Edition and that hefty Tiger Woods Edition all vying for your cash. 

Huge thanks go out to 2K for giving us access to PGA Tour 2K23 on PC for preview purposes.