From Arnold Palmer’s Tournament Golf on Sega to Zany Golf played on multiple platforms, simulated golf play was one of the first video games and has endured to become one of the most popular genres of sports games apps on mobile devices today. While there are still many golf games sold for video game platforms and computers, the free online golf games are multiplying fast. Play on World Golf Tour’s realistic vistas or with Super Stickman Golf’s amped up boosts. There is so much variety among the choices that you are sure to find a golf game just right for you when you know how to play golf online for free.
Variations in Online Golf
Simulated golf games come in many forms. You can play like a pro on a beautiful high-definition course modeled precisely on a well-known course like Pebble Beach, or enjoy a fun game of putt putt style golf, overcoming obstacles like windmills and hungry clowns. Plus, you’ll find many variations between the two.
Online golf play is fun as an individual chasing after that elusive hole-in-one, competing with friends on a leaderboard, or forming guilds to challenge other guilds for fame and glory. Some games offer tips from pros and highly-detailed information on the shot while others give less information, focusing on the fun and potentially addicting quality of their games.
Realistic Golf Course Play
Shot Online
Shot Online is an online golf game with a role-playing aspect thrown into the mix. You advance in level as a player by completing games and quests, the latter going much better when you get help from other players.
The game presents itself to you on its Introduction page with this claim:
Arguably more than any other sport, golf requires focus and mental stamina, and so does Shot-Online, which is a reproduction of the full experience and game of golf in full, rich 3D graphics.
The game touts realistic play on real courses, a proprietary physics engine that adds realism to play, and a video golf experience that takes into consideration how much past practice and current fatigue should affect a given shot in the game.
Shot Online is free to download and play, but if you pay to upgrade to its premium membership you have more options and faster rewards. For example, the Gold Platinum Membership nets you 3X progress on courses, discounts on greens and repair fees within the game, extra locker space, and more.
Memberships are purchased in the Item Mall using Campus Credit, which goes for $10 per 1,000 units. Along with memberships, Campus Credit can be used to buy clubs, clothes, and access to courses.
Shot Online has been called an “excellent realistic game for golf lovers” and “a game that is good for the industry.”
WGT:World Golf Tour
World Golf Tour lets you choose from more than 18 courses to play. The game requires no download and play is free with optional premium purchases. Setting up an account is fast and easy when you sign in with Facebook.
After registration, the first thing you do is choose what you will look like in the game. Your choices are two: the male golfer and the female golfer. Once you have chosen who you will be in the game the pro gives you a quick tutorial on how to make shots in the game.
Courses are realistically beautiful with breathtaking vistas and greens from courses including Pebble Beach, Pinehurst, and St. Andrews. You can play as a single player or in head-to-head matchups with other players.
World Golf Tour has its earned a 4.1 out of 5 star rating from 74,000 reviews on Google Play, which indicates its fans far outnumber its detractors.
Putt-Putt Mini Golf Games
If you are more comfortable on a smaller course, take a look at the mini-golf games online.
Mini Putt from Addicting Games
At Mini Putt, there is no registration. Simply choose from a single, two or multi-player game, enter your chosen player name and choose the color of your ball. Then, you get to choose from Classic or Jurassic versions. The game is fun to play. The hardest thing for me was getting used to aiming from behind the ball instead of on or in front of it. Once you get it figured out that you have to shoot from behind the ball, remember that the farther you pull back, the stronger your shot will be. I had this figured out by the fourth hole and made a hole-in-one at the windmill. Your scorecard pops up in-between each play to show how you’re doing.
Mini Golf from AARP
For a straight-forward, no frills single-player game of mini golf, AARP’s mini golf is your game. The site requires no configuration at all. Just click and play. Scorecard pops up between each hole to keep you updated. In spite of its simplicity, some of the holes at this mini golf game were harder than those at other sites, which is a nice challenge.
Multiply Choices with an Emulator
For more golf games online you can download an Android emulator. An Android emulator turns your home computer’s browser into a great big Android device so that you can play games that were designed for your smartphone or tablet.
The most popular Android emulators are Andyroid and BlueStacks. Both have given players thousands of hours of joy playing all sorts of Android games online from Candy Crush Saga to Clash of Clans. Surely golf lies somewhere in-between.
While BlueStacks is the better-known Android emulator, touted for its ease of installation, relative newcomer Andyroid is gaining market share and praise for its improved gameplay with far less lagging.
Choose Your Game
Once you have selected and installed your emulator of choice to your home computer, you can bring any Android golf app to the big screen. Here is a sampling of the golf gaming apps you can find at the Google Play Store.
Super Stickman Golf
Its users say it is addictive, the most fun they’ve had in a golf game. The developers tout it as, “no ordinary game . . . it’s actually an award winning physics puzzler!”
Super Stickman Golf lets you play more than 200 holes in awesome HD graphics with tools like sticky balls and air brakes. Want to freeze your water hazard? You can do it here. With more than 5 million downloads and a 4.6 out of 5 stars rating from over 80,000 reviews, Super Stickman Golf is not your ordinary golf game, and its players are in love with it.
Golf Star
Meet with players from all over the world in Golf Star from Com2uS USA. Choose from single or multi-player games according to your skill levels. Play a tournament every week. Create or join guilds, improve your play, and become a world champion.
Golf Star is an Editor’s Choice app at Google Play. It has been rated 4.3 stars out of 5 in more than 400,000 reviews and has more than 10 million downloads.
Flick Golf
Offering 15 courses for play, Flick Golf claims to be, “the most fun you can have on the fairway.” Compete in Eliminator mode for the most holes-in-one in a row. With stunning full HD graphics, Flick Golf comes to us from Full Fat. It has earned a rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars from more than 30,000 reviews and more than 1 million downloads.
King of the Course
Presenting itself as a, “fresh new take on mobile golf,” King of the Course lets you challenge your friends to more than 300 challenges on the world’s best golf courses. Featuring pro advice from Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, and others as you play their onscreen characters, you’ll gain tips that will help in your offline game. From Electronic Arts, King of the Course has more than 1 million downloads and a rating of 4 out of 5 stars with more than 110,000 reviews.
Mini Golf MatchUp
Incredible 3D graphics makes Mini Golf MatchUp a delight for all ages. Offering ten courses with the usual putt putt obstacles plus a few you haven’t seen, this is another golfing game that players say can become an addiction. Over 10 million downloads and a 4.4 of 5.0 stars review supports that notion.
More Mini Golf
Mini Golf MatchUp is by far the most-downloaded mini or putt putt golf app at the Play Store, but there are a few others deserving a mention. Mini Golf City Adventure and Tiki Golf Adventure Island have interesting themes and visuals while Microgolf Masters has play on 500 courses for teams of up to 8 friends. All have 4-star or higher ratings from a smaller download and review base than most of the other games reviewed here, but all are well worth a trial round if you’re a putt-putt fan.
Choose Your Cup
Virtual golf gaming has come a long way from the early versions on Sega or Atari. As computer graphics have vastly improved with HD and 3D screens, games can realistically recreate greens from the world’s most famous courses and tournaments. Get shot advice from a pro as you play on a green with physics-based engines that account for the lay of the land as well as how tired you should be, or choose a fun game of putt-putt golf with clowns, tunnels, and windmills. Whatever your cup of “tee,” make the most of it by making sure you know all the options available when it comes to how to play golf online for free.
