This is a great golf game. I am not really a golf fanatic, but as far as the C64 goes, this game provides a fun, competitive course, especially if two, three or four people are playing. Even if just hitting the links solo, you will find this an interesting and challenging enough golf game.
The graphics are pretty good and the motion of the club swing nice and even. The course that the game provides has a nice balance of shorter par 3 holes, the usual par 4 ones and some longer par 5s.
There are sand traps, trees and plenty of water to avoid, or else your shot will splash down and you will have to hit another ball.
Before each shot you know exactly how many yards you are from the hole, which lets you judge which club and how hard you should strike the ball. Your aimer is a basic target circle and there is a simple power level to regulate how strong you hit the ball, which is the same from the tee to the course, and is easy to handle. Once you get a feel for it, you just have to worry about which club to use and that knowledge comes with a little time spend on the course
seeing how the ball travels off of each club. When the ball is sitting off the fairway in the brown areas, you will have to hit it a bit harder, usually a longer distance club is a good choice to get you back on target.
You have the full compliment of clubs at your disposal, actually more than most people would actually use. There are 1, 3 and 5 woods for the tee and 1 through 9 for the irons, when I find you only really use 5 through 9 on a regular basis. Of course there is also the pitching wedge for the traps and the up close shots and the game will automatically switch you to the putter when on the green.
I find the putting to be the best challenge of the game, with both the power and pitch of the green to worry about. The power level on the green is a longer level than the one on the course and your distance from the hole is measured in feet. I have found that a rough estimate on the level is five feet for each notch on the level bar. But even if you get the power right, there is still the angle of the green to deal with. There is a stake on the green that casts a shadow on the ground which shows you the pitch and you need to aim to the opposite side where the shadow falls. The straighter the line on the ground the more angle you need to give in order to have the ball curve back towards the hole when hit. It's a challenge to get both the power and angle right together, but when you do, you will be very satisfied when you can watch a 45 foot putt find the bottom of the hole.
I mostly play the game on novice level, only because the professional and amateur settings include wind as a factor on the tee and fairway shots, and it is a bit much. There is a wind indicator when on the course but basically on these levels your shots always seem to get pulled to the right pretty hard. I think it was a good idea, but the wind was made too strong. It would have been enough if the wind forced you to make slight adjustments on your shots. If wind really blew the ball around as much as it does in the game you would have to be playing in a storm.
I do highly recommend this golf game as on the whole as it is a very well done game, easy to play and yet will continue to offer you a challenge as I have rediscovered it and still love to play it.
