Golf video games: Top 20 of all time
4. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
Beautifully blending golf’s past and present is the juice of Tiger Woods 14 and this made the game a classic.
The last EA Sports game released with Tiger Woods as its namesake was an amazing encore. It took everything that was good about two previous titles and made it into something special.
The Masters and Augusta National would make its third and final appearance in the game and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 also brought on the strongest list of legends ever in its series as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Sam Snead, Seve Ballesteros, Young Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Gary Player all were present in the game.
There were even different variations of legends. For example, you could play as Jack from either the 60s or the 70s and were even able to play the 1986 version of the Golden Bear, obviously the year when Jack won his sixth and final Masters. The same went for Arnold Palmer as you could play as The King from the 50s, 60s and into the 80s and you could do the same for some of the others as well.
This was also the first game to include all four major championships, giving you the chance to win that elusive Grand Slam. The LPGA Tour had its own season mode as well for the first time and included a major of its own, the Kraft Nabisco Championship (now the ANA Inspiration). The combination of legends and majors would collide in the “Legends at the Majors” mode.
In this trip through time, you complete certain big moments created by legends at all four of the majors.
In this trip through time, you complete certain big moments created by legends at all four of the majors. One of the challenges you can attempt is the famous double-eagle hit by Gene Sarazen in the 1935 Masters on hole 15. As you cruise through your historic major timeline, you take on each legend mano á mano.
Similar to the 06 version, you dressed the part and used the clubs of yesteryear, depending on the era. The game also featured the deepest collection of apparel for your created golfer. From polos to t-shirts to even knickers and classic cabby hats. Not only that, it was the deepest roster of courses ever featured in a game. 20 were included in the base addition to go along with 18 DLC courses you could purchase separately.
Furthermore, the amazing Historic Edition included five extra courses. Two of these were the famed par-3 course at Augusta National and the 1934 layout of the big course. To this day, the 1934 Augusta National layout is still one of the greatest features I have ever seen in a video game. To be able to replicate the original layout of one of sports’ most iconic venues was absurdly cool.
On top of that, as you played, you experienced a classic, radio-style broadcast while playing through a black-and-white film filter and if that isn’t your thing, you could still enjoy the original design in color. With a beautiful blend of the past and the present combined for one game, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is an all-time great.