Golf Games 101

There is a wide range of Golf Games available to buy for PC or to download free off the net. The golf games vary from high definition Flash games that provide jaw-dropping settings and movement simulation, to cute cartoons that kids will enjoy (even Pokemon play golf these days). Golf may seem an incredibly unlikely candidate for PC sport gaming success but every year new games are introduced into the market. Your typical game may look tame in comparison to other games available on the internet - there are no guns or explosions, no high speed chases or fast music but the expertise channeled into the production of golf games and the demand for divergent styles shows that golf games are exceedingly popular and a lucrative corner of the gaming market.

A game of real world golf can be played by a number of players, as can computer games. However, what makes it such a successful cross-over to the computer gaming market is that one of the most deeply satisfying elements of golf is not the competition between players, but the rewards of self-improvement, which can obviously be enjoyed by single gamers. Simulations, whether they use specialised hardware or can simply be played with any PC or mobile phone, will help beginners become familiar with golfing rules and terminology. For an experienced real world golfer they allow the opportunity to play against the best with the best equipment - who doesn't want to beat Tiger Woods in Pro Golf with the best clubs? With computer golfing, this fantasy scenario can actually happen!

With many golf-related games (as with other sporting PC games), great care is taken with the appearance of players and locations, to give a strong sense of virtual reality (or virtual hyperreality - you can play golf quite convincingly in space these days!).Sure, simulations may not have the appeal of football or skateboarding when it comes to a youth market, but there is definitely a solid demand for new and exciting interpretations of golf games online. And as the average US gamer is 35 years old, having played video games for 12 years, one cannot expect the computer golfer to be of the same demographic as the actual world golfer, although no definitive statistics are available. Surely these games, to be so popular, are not being played only by people playing real golf - a tiny proportion of the population; people who earn in the highest tax bracket, who own property, who travel extensively. Men who wear suits to work every day and drive expensive cars. These are not the people creating a clamorous demand for computer golfing, surely!

So young people who enjoy the gratuitous action sequences and fast cutting of other PC games are also enjoying a round of golf at home. Whoever thought a chilled, old fashioned Sunday sport your grandfather played with his business partners would be something you now find your 10 year old playing on the latest, fastest TV console?