The Nintendo Switch is home to some pretty incredible collection of smaller indie titles. We’ve seen quite a few hidden gems over the years on the Nintendo Switch and even some titles for genres that rather niche these days. One of those genres is golf games and while there are a few staple franchises players might already know about, there’s a good range of party games and miniature golf titles that might be just as fun for non-golfers. With that said, the one title we really wouldn’t mind putting on here is the upcoming Mario Golf: Super Rush, but since that game is not out yet at the time of writing this description, here are some of the other golf games that are worth the purchase.
#7 Infinite Minigolf
Infinite Minigolf takes players through a variety of different arcade putt-putt courses. Players will control an avatar and attempt to complete the wacky and colorful courses which may be perfect for a wide audience both young and old. Meanwhile, the courses themselves are themed around a giant house with cardboard-style ramps, a Halloween style town, to a Christmas-themed world. While on the subject of the courses, scattered around them are a few power-ups for players to trigger such as rockets to speed up your ball. Players can even create their own unique courses for others to enjoy online.
#6 House of Golf
House of Golf is another simplistic miniature golf game where there’s not much to it. There’s no avatar or clubs, but you will be controlling the ball itself. Overall, both analog sticks control the camera and your aim for the ball while a single button press will determine how much power you’ll have when hitting the ball. Meanwhile, the level design is based around different parts of a home so you could find courses based around the garage with different work tables and tools. With that said, there are other rooms as well to go through courses such as the bedroom, lounge, and kitchen. Unfortunately, there is no online multiplayer here but you can still enjoy the game locally if you wish to challenge a friend.
#5 Super Inefficient Golf
Super Inefficient Golf is a unique style arcade game. Players ditch the clubs and the avatars and instead go through a tough miniature putt-putt game. Here players are controlling the ball, but rather than hitting the ball you’re going to be using an assortment of bombs. With these wacky courses full of curves, giant fans, and multiple tier landings, players are forced to figure out how to take their ball to the hole by using nothing but bombs. That’s right, players are strapping an assortment of bombs on the ball which can be triggered at any time during the course. You can strap several bombs to shoot it forward, set a bomb off to make it jump into the air, and continue activating bombs to navigate it towards your destination.
#4 Golf With Your Friends
PC | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo
Golf With You Friends puts players into an arcade-style miniature golf game and come on, who hasn’t played a bit of putt-putt back in the day? Players will be controlling just the ball itself which can be altered to feature different cosmetics such as colors, patterns, or clothing to give it a bit of character. The same visual characteristics are brought to the actual set of levels as there are courses based around themes whether it’s set up to be a desert or located on a high-tech space station.
For those of you worried about the control system, there’s not much here to keep younger players away as it’s as simple as pointing the ball into the direction you would like to hit it from and then deciding how much power you’ll need to get around certain obstacles. There’s a wide range of style courses too such as loops, ramps, and hills so powering your way through each course won’t be the answer here. Instead, you’ll need to think strategically a bit on how to sink your ball into the hole without going out of bounds or taking as many hits as the opposing players. As the title suggests, this game is available for multiple players with the ability to go through a game with up to twelve players total online.
#3 Party Golf
PC | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo
Party Golf throws players into a 2D party-style video game. Here players are going through procedurally generated levels to get their ball into the hole before time runs out. As a result, the game is fast-paced and a chaotic blast. This is a simple game to pick up and play as well with players mainly just aiming their ball hit direction and adjusting the power needed to successfully get the ball into the hole.
Throughout the game, a leaderboard will show just who has ranked the most amount of points throughout the session intending to be the first player to receive 500 points. There’s also a pretty wide range of different game modes that can alter the mechanics and styles of maps so the gameplay can stay a bit fresh.
#2 Golf Story
PC | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo
Golf Story is going to be one of the more unique games on this list as it’s a bit of an RPG title. Players follow a story in which our protagonist seeks out to rediscover his love of golf by participating in a professional tournament. Now players are golfing against the best, meanwhile, each level you enter comes with additional side quests and secrets for players to uncover.
Since this is an RPG title, as you gain experience throughout the game, you’ll be able to upgrade different aspects of your character such as their skills, power, and accuracy. Gameplay mechanics for the actual golf phases during the title is based around a timing system where you’ll mash a button to set up different aspects of your shot such as accuracy and power.
#1 PGA Tour 2K21
PC | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo
PGA Tour 2K21 was known prior as The Golf Club franchise but it’s since going through a rebrand that granted the title to be included under the 2K Sports banner. This is a simulator-style video game with the title taking players through a variety of different courses around North America and facing off against several iconic PGA professional golfers. Mechanics are easy to get a grip on but those that are newcomers in general for this series will find that there is a ton of different helpful guides and tips that can be displayed on your screen.
These can give players some benefits in several areas to the course and hits but if you would like more of a challenge or simply lose the different indicators cluttering the screen, then you can turn off specific tips within the settings menu. While the main game is all about completing certain tournaments, there’s plenty, of course, challenges as well for players to make use of as well. This all will help give you a bit more money and experience in-game which can be used to unlock more cosmetics and gear for your character. I can’t forget to mention that there is a course creator option as well which will give players the ability to craft up their unique courses for others to enjoy online.
