The Golf Club 2019, the newest iteration of a golf videogame franchise by HB Studios and 2K Sports, features Ponte Vedra's TPC Sawgrass golf course.
According to Shaun West, the producer of the Golf Club franchise, the TPC course is depicted accurately in the game thanks to photo references, topographical maps, 3D information and intricate details of every aspect of Sawgrass.
"We were able to compile all the information we needed to rebuild the course quite accurately," West said. "It took a lot of time. It was a very fun and interesting process and it definitely laid a lot of the groundwork for a lot of our official courses moving forward."
West noted that even the smallest detail of the TPC Sawgrass course is included in the game, including the island tree on 17.
"We actually went and recreated a tree that looks exactly identical to that," he said. "We wanted to make it feel like you're there."
West said anyone who is familiar with the course will notice the videogame adaptation is authentic. Josh Muise, the creative director of HB Studios, said the data compiled by the developers allowed them to design the course with extreme accuracy.
"It's on par with being there in person," he asserted. "We're confident that the level of authenticity is second to none."
The course is playable in the game's PGA Tour career mode, which is one of the main features of The Golf Club 2019.
“We put a lot of effort into bringing that mode to the users and trying to create an authentic tour experience,” West said. “We’re getting a lot of great feedback from that game mode experience.”
The game also features an online mode where users can create their own season with PGA Tour courses or custom designs created with the course designer tool. The online mode offers a matchmaking and private match system, which creates a peer-to-peer experience for users to compete against each other and track their stats through online leaderboards.
What sets the game apart from similar sports titles, Muise said, is the realism of the franchise.
"We dive in on things like getting real-world ball physics nailed," he said. "We've worked on swing mechanics, swing feedback and we really do focus on the true golf experience. We come from the sports simulation background so following the sport as close to real life as we could is kind of where the game started from."
The Golf Club 2019 is a sequel to The Golf Club 2. The game is approachable for all skill levels, Muise noted, and users can choose between various difficulty options.
For more information on The Golf Club 2019, visit www.thegolfclub2019.com. The game is available now for digital download for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC through the Steam client. A physical disk copy of the game will be available Nov. 13.
