Golf

Golf
Developer	Nintendo R&D1
Publisher	Nintendo
System	NES, Arcade, e-Reader, Switch NEC PC-8801
Release Date	NES JP May 1, 1984 NA October 18, 1985 JP February 21, 1986 (FDS) EU November 15, 1986 Arcade US 1984 e-Reader US April 21, 2003 Switch October 25, 2019
Rating	ESRB: E

Golf is a sports game for NES based on the eponymous sport.

Gameplay

Golf has two modes: Stroke Play for single players and Match Play for two players. The goal of the game is to get the ball to the hole on the green with as few strokes as they can. Obstacles such as sand traps and water hazards make the coarse more challenging.

The player determines how hard and what direction they hit the ball. The type of club used also makes a difference, giving those who play golf in real life an edge over those who do not.

Legacy

A Golf game was later made for the Game Boy. Golf was the basis for one of 9-Volt's minigames in WarioWare: Twisted. Also, nine of the eighteen holes in this game were used for the golf game in Wii Sports. The golfer from Golf (who bears a notable resemblance to Mario) also appears in Captain Rainbow.

Nintendo continued making different golf games afterwards, starting with NES Open Tournament Golf later in the NES's life and continuing with Mario Golf.

This game is also known for being one of the first projects that the late Satoru Iwata undertook for Nintendo. He was the game's sole programmer.

Ports/Remakes

• Two Vs. Arcade versions were made- Vs. Stroke and Match Golf in 1984 and Vs. Ladies Golf in 1985.
• Hudson Soft was allowed to publish Golf for the NEC PC-8801 in 1985.
• Golf was released for the Famicom Disk System in 1986.
• Golf was included as a bonus in Doubutsu no Mori and Animal Crossing.
• In 2003, Golf was released for the e-Reader.
• Golf has been discovered to have been hidden in the firmware of the Nintendo Switch as a tribute to Satoru Iwata, who died while the system was being developed. This version can be accessed by making hand motions with the Joy-Cons (similar to those made by Iwata during Nintendo Directs) on July 11th, which is the anniversary of his death. This version of Golf featured motion controls.
• In 2019, the arcade version was also released for download on the Switch as part of the Arcade Archives series.