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The Golf Club News Post



The HB Studios team is busy answering questions in their official forums right now, with several details coming out about their upcoming Golf Sim. We're hoping the HB Studios guys get on OS soon to do the same.

From the tone of the developers and reps answering questions, it seems as if The Golf Club will be a digital title with regular updates to add new features. It was mentioned that while PC Support will be initially supported (along with PS4 and XBox One), the team was going to look into the Mac platform as well.

Here are some more details:

-Tours and Tournaments can be created and shared with the world.
-No AI players, any competition will be with ghost balls/other user players.
-Game will be quickly iterated after release, makes you wonder what the business model will end up being.
-No PS Move/Kinect support initially.
-Swing mechanics are analog stick driven.
-No career mode.
-Everyone has the same attributes, so no advancing of skills or anything like that.
-Can’t set club distances, preference was to have everyone compete as equals.
-At the moment, no officially licensed gear appears to be in the game.
-All Fictional Courses
-Every created course is rated on a 1-10 scale by users and can be stored as a favorite.
-Each course is rated from Easy to difficult based upon how users are playing it.
-Three ways to play: Stroke play, match play, four ball.
-No difficulty modes. Since its you and the course, your difficulty mode is the difficulty of the courses you decide to play.
-You can start with a completely blank slate and create courses one hole at a time.
-No arcade features like power boosts, etc. Goal is to give a simulation golfing experience to users.

What do you all think of the game thus far?

Game: The Golf ClubReader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PC / PS4 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 7 - View All
The Golf Club Videos
Member Comments
# 21 DivotMaker @ 01/24/14 09:14 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seymour Scagnetti
Not sure why everyone is so ramped up for this. There's alot more to a good golf game than just a course creator. We all loved Links for the Xbox a decade ago but try playing it now. What was fun and involving10 years ago is kinda dull now because we expect more.
Not sure why you are so down on this game......another Golf developer is competing with EA (nonexistent for the time being) and I am pulling hard for these guys to pull off a good game. They don't have the resources of an EA SPORTS, but they do have a vision for what their game is going to look like. Another HUGE PLUS is they are listening to the community and taking in the suggestions and responding to those suggestions. I do not expect them to come out with a fully featured PGA TOUR simulation right off the bat, but I do like the fact they are working on getting the CORE GAMEPLAY and main features done correctly before bringing other elements into the game moving forward. Plus they are going to have Open and Closed Beta tests which certainly gives me confidence they are intending to ship this game with their best foot forward. If EA had taken a similar approach, TW14 and previous versions would have been much better than they actually did. Not sure what is wrong with that approach.....
 
# 22 Skyboxer @ 01/24/14 09:18 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by OnlookerDelay
You raise some valid concerns Seymour; however, there's a factor that we know next to nothing about so far with The Golf Club, and that's this portion of a feature bullet on the official website:

We’ve created and fine tuned a swing mechanic that is more about *feeling and fluidity* above the users’ accuracy of hitting a marker on a power bar.

I have a strong hunch that the feeling and fluidity of the swing interface are going to have a lot of bearing on the shot's distance and accuracy. To narrow it down a bit, I'm thinking there's going to be a rhythm component to their swing interface that has been AWOL in Tiger. It's a critical element of this game's chances for long term success, IMO. I don't think we're going to really know how it will feel or whether it will be the difference maker until we get our hands on it.

Plus posted at their site:

If you're in the long rough for example we
1) Calculate the lie of the ball (how deep it is in the rough)
2) Calculate the resistance the selected club will get from travelling through that terrain type and that lie if you hit the ball perfectly (example 30% reduced power on a 9 iron)
3) The shot difficulty is also increased for a normal fairway shot with that club (this increases hook and slice likelihood)
4) When you take a swing the game then analyses your swing. If it falls within the parameters of the perfect swing you'll get the original penalty calculated in point 2
5) If the swing analysis falls outside of the perfect swing parameter we'll then add Hook or Slice as well as more of a power reduction depending on how bad the swing was.
 
# 23 Skyboxer @ 01/24/14 09:24 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seymour Scagnetti
If they don't make this game very difficult to hit it straight then its kinda pointless. And having no difficulty levels makes me think the swing will be very forgiving and then you got the guys with the Hori controllers and online is ruined. Doesn't matter if you make the courses longer so no one hits -20, that's all relative anyways.

What's the point of joining a tour when you have no chance of winning because guys with Horis are hitting laser straight shots every time. Distance with your clubs was not an issue with the last couple of TW games so having everyone with the same club distances won't really make a more even playing field.

This game looks to be lacking a lot of basic stuff that you expect in a sports game that keeps your interest. Not sure why everyone is so ramped up for this. There's alot more to a good golf game than just a course creator. We all loved Links for the Xbox a decade ago but try playing it now. What was fun and involving10 years ago is kinda dull now because we expect more.
I actually still do own/play from time to time Links from the XBOX.
Great game is a great game.
If this game doesn't do anything for you fine but why do you care other do like what they are seeing?


This is a new game and I'm sure it will have some issues... but it's another choice for golf and it seems to be a company willing to listen and get feedback to make the game better. I'll not only support that but am surely excited about that.
A game has to start somewhere and simply doesn't just become perfect in release #1.

Again you aren't excited and that's fine. Some are especially at a new PC version of a sport we love.
 
# 24 OnlookerDelay @ 01/24/14 09:33 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyboxer
Plus posted at their site:

If you're in the long rough for example we
1) Calculate the lie of the ball (how deep it is in the rough)
2) Calculate the resistance the selected club will get from travelling through that terrain type and that lie if you hit the ball perfectly (example 30% reduced power on a 9 iron)
3) The shot difficulty is also increased for a normal fairway shot with that club (this increases hook and slice likelihood)
4) When you take a swing the game then analyses your swing. If it falls within the parameters of the perfect swing you'll get the original penalty calculated in point 2
5) If the swing analysis falls outside of the perfect swing parameter we'll then add Hook or Slice as well as more of a power reduction depending on how bad the swing was.
Yes, and thanks for pulling that into this discussion Skyboxer. The above says a lot about how they've weighed variables that really matter into the swing interface, for all types of shots and lies. It's going to make me think harder about trying to keep my ball in the fairway!
 
# 25 Skyboxer @ 01/24/14 09:44 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by OnlookerDelay
Yes, and thanks for pulling that into this discussion Skyboxer. The above says a lot about how they've weighed variables that really matter into the swing interface, for all types of shots and lies. It's going to make me think harder about trying to keep my ball in the fairway!
Yep. For me it shows they are really looking at the realism route also.
I don't expect version 1 to be a top of the line "great" game but I'm surely going to support their effort until I see them going down a path I don't like.
 
# 26 RumbleCard @ 01/24/14 10:16 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltide1017
I kinda disagree. If they can nail the core gameplay I think players will stick around. The possibilities are endless with and infinite number of course and community created tours. The deep career mode will be taken care of by the community, it may not be officially licensed PGA stuff but, it will be deep. I'm not sure if you played Links back in the day on PC but it had a huge community with extremely challenging and complex tours that you could join. There are people still playing those games to this day. If TGC can capture just a fraction of that experience, it will be better then any previous console golf game.

That may be a lot of ifs but, it has a lot of potential even without a career mode or AI golfers.
Just to clarify I'm not at all concerned with officially licensed stuff and real AI golfers. But there are a lot of users who do enjoy career modes offline. Customizing a tour with generated AI competition would certainly appeal to the masses just as much as online communities. No question, I'd be interested in both modes if they were available.

A realistic AI field could even work within online communities as long as its implemented correctly and they give the users administrative control and options.

Over all I'm excited I hope they look to grow in all directions.
 
# 27 pietasterp @ 01/24/14 11:08 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seymour Scagnetti
We all loved Links for the Xbox a decade ago but try playing it now. What was fun and involving10 years ago is kinda dull now because we expect more.
I have to disagree there; I actually busted this back out and played it again the other night just for kicks, and I still think it's fun. It's still a good game. The graphics aren't even that bad, considering.

I like what I'm hearing about the new game, and frankly, even if it falls short of expectations, anyone putting a charge into the long-dormant golf game genre should be welcomed with open arms.
 
# 28 TheTruth @ 01/24/14 01:06 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by OnlookerDelay
Yes, and thanks for pulling that into this discussion Skyboxer. The above says a lot about how they've weighed variables that really matter into the swing interface, for all types of shots and lies. It's going to make me think harder about trying to keep my ball in the fairway!
And this...

3) Will the ball be effected by spin/physics, wedges have back spin, draws and slices, etc? Can you hit shots with more or less spin?

Anthony Kyne HB:
3) Yes, we have all that in the game. We have a very unique grid/crosshair system that combines stance and club face giving you full control over the ball. The more it veers away from a normal shot the more accurate you need to be with your swing
 
# 29 rolltide1017 @ 01/24/14 02:06 PM
Well, I just read the first negative on there forums, IMO.

You can not have multiple pin placements on a course. The had it in and it was causing issues with there ghost ball feature so it is out right now. They are looking to add it in the future though.
 
# 30 ralphieboy11 @ 01/24/14 03:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltide1017
Well, I just read the first negative on there forums, IMO.

You can not have multiple pin placements on a course. The had it in and it was causing issues with there ghost ball feature so it is out right now. They are looking to add it in the future though.
I completely agree. This is big part of the immersion factor. I hope they can find a resolution. A hole can play completely differently just from pin placement alone.

I'm excited about what I've heard so far though.
 
# 31 OnlookerDelay @ 01/24/14 03:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltide1017
Well, I just read the first negative on there forums, IMO.

You can not have multiple pin placements on a course. The had it in and it was causing issues with there ghost ball feature so it is out right now. They are looking to add it in the future though.
Yep, that is a major buzz-kill, but it's something I think they can fix in the future... maybe even during the beta.
 
# 32 pietasterp @ 01/24/14 04:08 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltide1017
You can not have multiple pin placements on a course. The had it in and it was causing issues with there ghost ball feature so it is out right now. They are looking to add it in the future though.
It may be that, if I understand the ghost ball feature correctly, if that refers to asymmetric play with someone else, if you are somehow off-time from each other and the pin placement changes, the ghost ball may react to a previous pin placement while you're playing a current pin placement, or something to that effect...I don't know if that even makes any sense, but either way I hope they can fix it in the future.
 
# 33 Lieutenant Dan @ 01/24/14 04:50 PM
I'm jazzed for this title. It will be very complimentary to my TW14 game because its focus is different.

As long as the swing/gameplay is solid (no reason it shouldn't be...no suits in there telling the devs 'It's not arcade enough!'), this will become course-designing crack, at least for me. After watching the vid in the other thread, I saw days and months that will be lost to this game flash before my eyes.
 
# 34 Skyboxer @ 01/24/14 06:20 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seymour Scagnetti
I hope it's difficult to swing but if it's a straight up and down motion then you are going to get guys who shoot ridiculous scores almost from the get go because every shot will be perfectly straight. That's fine but this game is heavily dependent on online play so you would hope they have devised some method to limit the cheezers.
No matter what control scheme there will be those that find a way to manipulate it and shoot ridiculous scores.
 
# 35 OnlookerDelay @ 01/25/14 12:19 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltide1017
Well, I just read the first negative on there forums, IMO.

You can not have multiple pin placements on a course. The had it in and it was causing issues with there ghost ball feature so it is out right now. They are looking to add it in the future though.
We got some relief on this today it seems... a couple of developers have confirmed that the way to have multiple pin settings for a course is to, in essence, create four unique courses. Creating them would entail nothing more that copying or editing your original course, changing only the pin settings, and giving the course a new name. For example, if you created Doflotchy CC, you could name the original course - "Doflotchy CC - R1. Load it back up, edit the pins to what you'd want for round 2, and save the course as "Doflotchy CC - R2", and down the line.

You could then create a 72 hole tournament, play the first round at Doflotchy CC -R1, round 2 at Doflotchy CC - R2, etc. This can work because the devs have confirmed that you can have a 72 hole tournament, and use a different course for each round. Here, you'd be using a different course in name only, but it would still be the same track. I find this to be a tenable solution. Yes, it will make for a lot of course names, but if we followed the convention of keeping the root name, changing only the "R" (round) variable, it would make things readable. It would also tell the prospective player which pin settings you consider your "Sunday" settings, and so on.

How does this sit with you guys? Are there problems with this that I'm not seeing?
 
# 36 Lieutenant Dan @ 01/25/14 12:31 AM
Sounds great to me.

Especially that I can have a tree grow in the middle of the 18th fairway between rounds 3 and 4
 
# 37 rolltide1017 @ 01/25/14 01:13 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by OnlookerDelay
We got some relief on this today it seems...



How does this sit with you guys? Are there problems with this that I'm not seeing?

I just saw the dev's responses, they were in the thread were I made my first post. Sounds like a reasonable solution to me. I love the interaction and openness from the developers on their forum, it's refreshing.

It's amazing how quick I went from not expecting a golf game this year to being more excited for a golf game then I've been in a long time.
 
# 38 Skyboxer @ 01/25/14 02:35 AM
It's always refreshing to have developers listen and see what we want, instead of telling us what we want.
 
# 39 LingeringRegime @ 01/25/14 09:17 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyboxer
It's always refreshing to have developers listen and see what we want, instead of telling us what we want.
Sigworthy statement.
 
# 40 ComfortablyLomb @ 01/25/14 08:10 PM
It looks pretty and the course creator and tours could drive a community around this game. However, count me among those that are less than optimistic about this game due to the lack of knowledge about how difficult it will be to put drives down the middle every time. I find mouse/stick swings to be the worst thing to happen to online golf games due to the opportunity for abuse and if this game is yet another relying on an analog system, well, it is hard to know what to expect. Maybe this devs catch lightning in a bottle but reliance on a mouse/stick swing is just terrible news for what otherwise appears to be something special.

And, looking at those videos, there are a lot of straight-ish looking tee shots and approaches. I realize those are basically ads for the game, but for like the millionth time on these forums: professional golfers do not hit the ball straight very often. They bend it a lot, but intentionally.
 


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