EA Sports PGA Tour will also feature many of the world’s most famous courses, where fans will have the option to play against and as some of the biggest names in professional golf.

During its longstanding relationship with the PGA Tour, EA Sports has entertained tens of millions of players around the world with its golf franchise. Now, through a new, long-term deal, signed this year with the PGA Tour, EA Sports will expand its history in golf with the next-gen PGA Tour experience.

The game will be built on the EA Frostbite engine and leveraging next-gen technology, promises stunning fidelity, breathtaking immersive environments, and approachable, dynamic gameplay.

EA SPORTS PGA TOUR will have 28 real-life and 2 fantasy courses for a total of 30 beautiful golf courses at launch. And on each of these courses comes a variety of gameplay and visual features that result in 30 unique experiences to play. Check out the Course Deep Dive below and read on to learn more.

State-of-the-art Technology Supports Course Mapping for Accurate Course Visuals

Each course is designed in stunning quality with Frostbite, so you can immerse yourself in golf’s finer details more than ever before. And to achieve the most true to life course visuals we meticulously mapped Augusta National, the home of the Masters, and other courses, with state-of-the-art technologies like photogrammetry scanning, drone technology, and survey-grade GPS. 

We also led custom LiDAR helicopter flights over each course in the game, scanning at lower altitude with slower speeds to achieve more data-point-density and a higher level of realism than scans from publicly available sources. Using these technologies, which are actually designed to discover underground gold mines and oil reserves, we achieved pin-point accuracy down to the blade of grass for many courses in-game. Each course’s scan has been transferred into EA SPORTS PGA TOUR to be developed and tuned for the most accurate depiction of them possible.

And we didn’t just scan the greens, the terrain map also created precise renderings of clubhouses, vegetation, bridges, tee markers, rock formations, water, and more on-course elements.

To achieve the highest granularity possible, we also took the time to visit these prestigious courses ourselves to fully understand how the course plays in real life. From walking the holes to surveying course superintendents, the unique conditions at each golf course were mapped and recorded in these in-person visits over the years. 

We were able to even record the distinct cuts of grass and how the ball behaves on them along with upcoming changes they’re making for future seasons to capture a full picture of these courses and how each of them play now and in the future.

So whether it’s The Old Course at St. Andrews or The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, you’ll be able to see and feel the distinct differences of playing on these courses just like you would if you were there in real life.

Course Visuals Enhanced by Time of Day Features

Inspired by classic American landscape artists, we set out to create the most beautiful courses in-game with lighting that changes the look of a course based on the time of day. The goal was to create discreet times of day that showed off each course or hole in its absolute best light.

 In game, we represent those as 3 different “tee” times, morning, mid day and late afternoon, across 4 unique “Biomes”. Each of the 4 biomes , Humid subtropical, Mediterranean, Oceanic and Desert, have varying lighting conditions, levels of contrast, clouds and atmospheric haze etc, to give each course a unique look based on its location and the time of day that you are playing.

Course Dynamics Support True-To-Life Ball Dribbling and Behavior

But stunning visuals are only one part of making a course feel like it does in real life. To make each course not only appear but feel accurate to real life, Pure Strike gameplay’s Course Dynamics impact the way the ball behaves on every green in the game.

Each course is tuned to behave just the way it does in real life which impacts the height of a ball’s bounce, the speed of its roll, the impact on ball spin, and the launch of the ball which vary from course to course.

Each course has its own subtleties including everything from the speed and firmness of the fairway to the firmness and length of the first cut. The ball reacts to these subtleties to result in a variety of ball behaviors that change on each course. So you’ll see the ball roll differently on the firm and fast fairways at St. Andrews in comparison to those of Harbour Town. 

The ball will behave differently across different terrains like pine straw, firm fairway, soft fairways and more. So you can expect to see the ball bounce differently on softer terrains in comparison to hard ones, just like you’d see in real life.

But you’ll also be able to feel how your ball behaves differently in the air as well since ball behavior and course dynamics are also impacted by altitude so courses above sea-level will see balls go further than those on the coast.

The Tee is Yours on 30 Prestigious Courses

From ball behavior on each course to life-like visuals, the Tee is Yours at these 30 prestigious courses listed below.

• Augusta National
• St Andrews
• Pebble Beach
• The Country Club
• Southern Hills
• TPC Sawgrass
• East Lake
• Wilmington Country Club
• TPC Boston
• TPC Southwind
• TPC Scottsdale
• Whistling Straits
• PGA West
• Quail Hollow
• Torrey Pines
• Kiawah Island Ocean Course
• Chambers Bay
• Banff Springs
• Wolf Creek
• Bay Hill
• Liberty National
• Harbour Town
• Riviera Country Club
• Tara Iti
• Top of the Rock
• Bandon Dunes
• Evian Resort
• Teeth of the Dog
• Wetlands (fantasy course)
• Lighthouse Pointe (fantasy course)

And there are more courses waiting for you after launch with the 2023 major courses including Oak Hill, Los Angeles Country Club, Royal Liverpool as well as Olympia Fields as a part of the FedExCup series and Marco Simone for the Ryder Cup releasing in the future.

EA Sports PGA Tour: Road to the Masters is the exclusive home of the historic Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, one of the most prestigious golf events in the world, with some of the most recognizable traditions in sports.

EA Sports PGA Touris the exclusive home of all four of golf’s major championships: Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open Championship, and The Open. In addition to playing the major championships, golf fans can build a legendary career as they authentically compete at THE PLAYERS Championship in addition to the FedExCup Playoffs, while experiencing the unique atmosphere and venues of each tournament. Players will also be able to compete at The Amundi Evian Championship, one of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour’s five major championships and will have the opportunity to play as several female athletes as well as create a female golfer of their own in the newly overhauled Create-A-Player feature.

In close collaboration with Augusta National, EA Sports has worked meticulously to capture the course and traditions of the Masters. Inspired by Augusta National’s own mission of innovation and improvement, EA Sports employed first of its kind aerial scanning to collect millions of data points, previously inaccessible in golf games, to recreate the unparalleled beauty of Augusta National authentically in the game. At launch, the game’s exciting 'Road to the Masters' content will deliver players the prestige of competing in the Masters Tournament, plus additional experiences exclusive to Augusta National.

Key Features:

• World Famous Courses - The tee is yours at 30 courses, including some of the world’s most  prominent venues such as Augusta National Golf Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Southern Hills Country Club, The Old Course at St Andrews Links, The Country Club, Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course, Torrey Pines, Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains, France, East Lake Golf Club, TPC Southwind, The Los Angeles Country Club, Wilmington Country Club and more. EA Sports PGA Tour will also feature the past major host courses in 2021 and 2022 as well as the new 2023 majors courses releasing post-launch.
• Your Career, Your Way - EA Sports PGA Tour provides players with an RPG-like progression system on the Road to the Masters. As their golf game improves, the closer they’ll be to becoming a major champion. Players will be able to create and customize a golfer, develop their skills and master each course to attack every hole like a pro. With 20 shot types available as players progress in the game, they can enhance their skill set for driving, approach, short game, or putting, depending on their style. Players will be able to compete to become a major champion, and take on the PGA TOUR's best events in the season-long chase for the FedExCup, as well as conquer the top Amateur Championships including the Augusta National Women's Amateur, the U.S. Amateur, and other elite international amateur events.
• THE PLAYERS Championship and FedExCup Playoffs - The PLAYERS Championship and all three events of the FedExCup Playoffs will be in the game, and players can earn in-game FedExCup points in Career Mode for the opportunity to compete in the FedExCup Playoffs. As part of the Career mode, top golfers at the end of the year will be given the opportunity to win the FedExCup.
• Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and The Amundi Evian Championship - In partnership with the LPGA, EA Sports PGA Tour allows fans to compete at The Amundi Evian Championship, one of the LPGA Tour’s five major championships, and have the opportunity to play as several female athletes as well as create a female golfer in the overhauled Create-A-Player feature. Players will also be able to participate in a series of LPGA-themed challenges and other events. Iona Stephen will be joining the EA commentary team as the first female on-course commentator in-game, bringing her experienced insights from both playing professionally and working in golf broadcasting. 
• True-to-Life Course Visuals - EA Sports PGA Tour will also present the most realistic visuals in any golf game utilizing EA’s Frostbite engine. Using state-of-the-art equipment such as drone technology, custom LiDAR flight helicopters and more to develop terrain maps, EA SPORTS PGA TOUR depicts courses exactly as they appear in real life. The photogrammetry and scanners were also applied to create precise renderings of clubhouses, iconic vegetation, bridges, tee markers, rock formations, and other on-course elements offering players life-like visual experiences of their favorite courses.
• ShotLink - Utilizing ShotLink powered by CDW, the PGA TOUR’s proprietary real-time scoring system since 2001, golfers will authentically be replicated with accurate player ratings, skills and magnified true-to-life in-game events. 
• TrackMan Data - Insights implemented from TrackMan, a world leader in 3D ball flight measurement and swing analysis, is a critical component to authentic gameplay utilizing a myriad of stats including club tuning, flight trajectory, landing position and much more.

EA Sports PGA Tour is coming to  PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on March 24, 2023.