Many Canadians have a very long off-season when it comes to golf. We spend many months dreaming of fresh-cut grass, getting too much sun, and spending long days on the course.

Thankfully we’ve been blessed with many virtual versions of the sport since the dawning of video games many decades ago.

PGA TOUR 2K21 will be released on August 21st as the latest addition to the ever-growing golf-game list. The game, which was developed by Canada’s HB Studios (it is based in Nova Scotia), will feature a ton of PGA Tour courses as well as, many of your favourite golfers to play as.

Although nothing can replace the actual feeling of stepping onto the golf course, the following nine games have been part of our lives for years. During those long winters there is at least something to make us feel like we can swing the sticks again.

With the release of PGA TOUR 2K21, here are the top-9 golf video games of all-time. Chime in with your favourites in the comments!

9. Computer Golf!

Although nothing creative about the name, you cannot make a list of the best golf games of all-time without including the O.G. Computer Golf! It was released in 1978 and played on the Magnavox Odyssey. It has questionable gameplay (at least, according to YouTube videos of it) but still, it was the first opportunity to take golf to the computer screen.

8. Links

The Links series was a celebrated one for PC – the first game, Links: The Challenge of Golf, even won the 1991 Action Game of the Year award from Computer Gaming World magazine – and you have to tip your virtual cap to another one of the original games out there. The final game of the series, Links 2004, was released on Xbox – but for the most part this was a computer-based game. Most of the versions from the late 1990s took users to Hawaii and you got to play ‘as’ Arnold Palmer.

 7. John Daly’s ProStroke Golf

Yes, John Daly has a golf game. ProStroke gives users a solid experience with motion-control and it provides a unique first-person view at address. It was released for XBox and PlayStation and was a prime example (it came out in 2010) of the PlayStation Move (you can do an ‘actual swing’ with the controller as the club).

 6. Wii Sports – Golf

Released in 2006, the Nintendo Wii (something Golf Town athlete Brooke Henderson has said she has fun playing) was a revolutionary gaming console that used the controller exclusively as an extension of the users’ arm/body. There was a golf game released as part of the ‘Sports’ package and it featured a handful of courses and more than anything, was just plain fun.

5. Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf

Talk about another O.G. – the 1999 version of the Tiger Woods franchise from EA Sports totally and unequivocally revolutionized golf video games. Woods was just on the cusp of the height of his powers in sport that transcended golf and was a cultural icon already. Released on PlayStation and for Microsoft Windows, TW99 was the first that featured “real-time 3D acceleration” which, for that time, was pretty huge.

4. Mario Golf

Released in 1999 at the height of the Nintendo 64’s cultural dominance, Mario Golf (which was also available for Game Boy) features the usual colours and bubbly design one would expect from a Mario franchise. Users can play as Mario or any of his friends (and enemies) through a variety of courses. It was easy to play and received widespread critical acclaim. Although simple, the developers included lots of variables like wind strength, spin, and relief from the land.

3. Tiger Woods 12 The Masters

For the first time golfers got to see what it was like to play Augusta National and it was well received by critics. Players like Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, and Zach Johnson made their debuts in the game and of course the game wouldn’t have been complete without commentary from the one and only Jim Nantz of CBS. The whole game is wrapped in the Masters (why not!) and the career mode, for example, was built up to compete in the Augusta National event. Noticeable gameplay addition for TW12 was an in-game caddie who will recommend options to help out. But let’s be serious – the main reason this game was so sweet was because of the ability to play the world’s most iconic golf course.

2. Golden Tee

Whether it’s a sticky-floored bar, a friend’s basement or garage, or even a video arcade filled with youngsters, you’ll likely find a Golden Tee machine. The rolling-ball makes for non-stop fun whether its someone who has never played the sport before or even a PGA Tour-winner (while visiting TaylorMade’s headquarters in December, two Golf Town employees bared witness to Nick Taylor taking on Michael Gligic in a Golden Tee matchup!). The initial machine was developed in the late 1980s but became way more popular in 1995 with the release of Peter Jacobsen’s Golden Tee 3D Golf which supported online play – the Golden Tee cabinets were linked to a central computer which allowed you to compete against others. It’s one of the most long-standing arcade game series’ in existence.

 1. Tiger Woods 2004

TW04 is the highest-rated of all the Tiger Woods’ lineup of games from EA Sports. While the 1999 version helped usher in the modern-day golf simulation, the 2004 version of Tiger Woods was the year the analog swing was perfected. Not only that, it was the first version that included actual licensed products from manufactures like Titleist and Ping. You could play courses like Bay Hill, Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass, St. Andrews, and more. Finally, it was the first game to allow you, the user, to create a fully customized golfer from scratch. It tops the Tiger Woods franchise list, and it is tops on our list, too.