Golf may not be the most exciting game in the world, but…uhh…end of statement, actually. It’s the very definition of a “love it or hate it” scenario. Watching it could put a glass eye to sleep, but playing it can be pretty fun. Playing 8-bit golf video games is another matter entirely.

I have to preface this post by saying I don’t know much about the technicalities of golf. Drivers? Caddies? Strokes and holes?! I know that you hit the ball and the less hits it takes to sink it the better, and that’s where my knowledge ends. In other words, if you’re a hardcore golf nut and you’re looking for hyper realism in your Nintendo Entertainment System Golf sims…why? But more importantly, the deeper technical aspects are utterly lost on me. These games are strictly judged on how fun they are, plain and simple.

One more thing: this list only covers the seven golf games officially released for the North American NES. No imports or aftermarket stuff.

Without further ado, let’s dig into the best and worst of NES golf games!

1. NES Open Tournament Golf (Nintendo, 1990)

Awwww yes. Let’s hit the ground running: NES Open Tournament Golf is far and away the best golf game on the system. The visuals, bursting with that trademark Nintendo polish, are adorable and pleasing as can be. The character sprites and boppy music are full of lighthearted charm. The controls are nice, responsive and easy to understand…which is not something a lot of games on this list have going for them. Best of all, NESOTG actually cuts a good pace when it comes to finishing an 18 hole course, unlike many other 8-bit golf titles. There’s reason to come back and play it multiple times too, thanks to its built-in save function and progression tracking. There are plenty of game modes to dabble in, most of which reward Mario with sweet, sweet prize money. The ultimate goal is to make at least $1,000,000, which takes a fair few hours of upgrading your golfer rank, and playing tons of tournaments to accomplish. There’s nothing saying the causal gamer couldn’t just play a quick 18 hole course and be done with it, but playing it for the sake of achieving the ending definitely makes the game overstay its welcome a bit.

But that’s not to say you shouldn’t play it. It took the top spot on this list for a reason! This is the only NES golf game that simultaneously doesn’t take itself seriously, and also offers the most gameplay depth by a mile. If those two design philosophies can live in harmony with one another, you’ve got something special on your hands. With airtight gameplay, adorable graphics, boppy music, and as much or as little gameplay longevity and depth as you personally like, NESOTG stands leagues above all other golf titles on the system. If you only play one game on this list, play this one. You’ll be glad you did.

Final score:

2. Golf Grand Slam (Atlus, 1991)

Sporting the snazziest graphics of any game on this list alongside some decent tunes and a password function, Golf Grand Slam is a great time on the green. Just one little hang-up: it’s crazy technical! You have the option to meticulously edit your club choice and grip, your stance, the trajectory of your shot, and even the height of the tee. If you’re a serious golfer in real life, this game might just be your NES wet dream. Not gonna lie though, I have NO idea what effects most of this stuff had on your shot. Lucky for the golfing simpletons like me, the default settings and a decent choice of club will get you to par no problem. But I’d imagine this is the sort of game where, if you can sus out the right combination of settings, you could consistently shoot eagles with ease. Pure speculation on my part, but that really is the level of depth of this thing.

I’d say the only real bad thing about Golf Grand Slam is the way the power bar is handled…because there is no power bar. Instead, there’s this erratic dot that jitters across the surface of a golf ball, not unlike the way my cat starts darting around the room when she wakes up from a 7 hour nap and has to pee real bad. The closer you can land the dot to the center, the better your shot. It takes some getting used to, but with practice it becomes second nature. It’s something you have to try for yourself to really see if it clicks with you, but I thought this was a genuinely fun time and I’d happily play it again. This is one of the best golfing experiences on the system, and will likely be the better option for people who aren’t interested in sinking hours into NES Open Tournament Golf to chase that game’s ending. Don’t miss Golf Grand Slam!

Final score:

3. Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf (SNK, 1988)

Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf was famously parodied in that one Simpsons episode where Bart shoplifts and nearly ruins Christmas. In that episode, it was known as Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge, and it was framed as a horribly dull game that Bart couldn’t stand to look at. Sure, most NES vid kids weren’t going to willingly pick this over Mario or Zelda, but how does it fare in the self-contained realm of NES golf titles? As it stands, Lee Trevino is a relatively standard affair. The only thing that sets it apart from the other games on the list is that it has a small roster of characters to choose from. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses, essentially acting as a choice in difficulty setting. But even while playing as the easiest character (that being Pretty Amy), the power bar moves at a breakneck speed, making the whole thing a bit awkward and mildly unpleasant. There isn’t even any fighting! I wanna see Pretty Amy throw hands with Lee Trevino and win, goddammit!

They didn’t call the parody version of this game Putting Challenge for nothing, because putting is the hardest part of the game. Maybe I just sucked at it, but the ball landing on the green – something that should be worth celebrating – goes on to become a practice in pain tolerance. Your first time firing up LTFG, you will not putt the ball into the hole in one stroke. I guarantee it. No matter how gently you tap it, the ball hopelessly rolls around the outer rims of the green like the sad marble circling a roulette wheel. I can’t tell you how many borked runs of this game got abandoned because I was up 12 strokes with no end to putting in sight on one hole. If you can actually strongarm your way through LTFG‘s hardcore putting mechanics, there’s an…okay golf game here. This may be #3 on the list overall, but don’t take that as a glowing recommendation. It almost feels like a default placement, because most of the other NES golf games are just…worse. Besides the next one, that is.

I can’t tell you how many times I unironically typed out that title as Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge…

Final score:

4. Golf (Nintendo, 1985)

1985’s Golf is the ultimate dad game on the Nintendo Entertainment System. If you read anecdotes about people’s parents dipping their toes into the video game world back in the 80’s, there are countless first hand accounts of dads buying Golf to play on little Timmy’s Nintendo once he went to bed. This may not have been the first golf video game ever made, but it was the one that set the standard for every other golf game ever released afterwards. That’s no joke! A power bar, wind affecting your shots, and clubs with varying degrees of striking power were all ideas that originated in this humble little cartridge. That those mechanics are still being used in modern golf games, 41 years after its initial release, is a testament to Golf’s strong design.

It’s still decent to play today, albeit veeeery much on the simple side. With its minimal graphics, total lack of music, and single 18 hole course, you’ll have seen everything Golf has to offer after one 10 minute game. But as far as “pick up and play” NES golf games go, a bit of Golf is totally serviceable. It’s also one of the only ones on this list that doesn’t take an hour to play through 18 holes, and I think that should be commended. If it weren’t for the extreme barebones nature of this game, I would’ve ranked it higher than Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf in a heartbeat. So it goes.

Final score:

5. Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach (Bandai, 1989)

To summarize Bandai Gold: Challenge Pebble Beach in a single image:

Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach is 1985’s Golf with jankier gameplay, worse graphics, and worse music. Those last two points are especially impressive, considering Golf was 1) one of the first ever games released on the Famicom, and 2) had no music. Those factors combined with a choppy display and unpleasant aesthetic choices manage to make Bandai Golf feel like an earlier golf game than the aforementioned Golf.

It’s mediocre at best, and a pain in the butt at worst. You’d be much better off spending your time with the other games above it, but if it’s the only NES game you’ve got, well…Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt carts are really cheap. Maybe remedy that. The nicest thing I can say about Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach is that it’s not the worst NES golf game, and it’s also not the game with the stupidest or the longest title on this list. That in itself should be applauded.

Final score:

6. Greg Norman’s Golf Power (Virgin Games, 1992)

Greg Norman’s Golf Power is ass. Granted it’s not the worst NES golf game – there’s one more that takes that dubious honour – but there’s nothing good about it, either. Before digging into the gameplay, I need to tell you about the sound design. I bring it up because the music on the title screen and the options before jumping into the game is shockingly bad. Some of the worst I’ve heard on the NES that could still barely be classified as music. But the most off putting thing about GNGP is this grating buzzing sound that drones constantly when you’re on the green. Is it supposed to be wind? Is it just a deeply unfortunate glitch? Is Greg Norman under the constant threat of aggressive bee attacks? No clue. I even checked YouTube for other people’s playthroughs to ensure my TV/NES weren’t bugging out. Sure enough, the buzzing was present in most of them. Not all, though, so what the deciding factor of the aggressive bee attacks are is anyone’s guess. For the sake of your sanity, play it muted. Better yet, don’t play it at all.

Oh yeah, I should talk about the actual game. GNGP lets you make your own custom courses, but who cares? As a result of that sweet feature, this thing has long and frequent load times. Like, “inbetween every single time you attempt to hit the ball” levels of frequent. Bear in mind that this is an NES game, and 99.9% of those do not have load times. I can understand if you’re trying the course editor, but what purpose do they serve in the single player course? You know, the one pre-made by the developers? As far as gameplay goes, hitting the ball is okay, I guess, but when everything else that surrounds it is dookie, does it even matter? Outside of the loading, it does nothing different from the other games on this list, but about six times worse.

Overall, GNGP is as boring as can be, and does nothing of interest outside of the course editor. Which I doubt anyone has played around with in a good 25 years. Blah. Just don’t bother.

Final score:

7. Jack Nicklaus’ Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf (Konami, 1990)

Jack Nicklaus’ Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf is a mouthful of a title that perfectly encapsulates the gameplay that lies within. The eye candy of Jack Nicklaus’s handsome visage, much like the in-game graphics, is some slapped-on glitz and glam meant to distract players from the ridiculously long and drab 18 holes of golf that await them. Don’t let the Konami logo on the title screen fool you – they didn’t develop this stinker, only published it.

Jack Nicklaus implements an attempt at a 3D view, similar to the one in Greg Norman’s Golf Power, but worse. I’m sure they were going for something cutting-edge for the time, but this design choice bogs the entire game down. See, when you hit the ball, as the laws of physics unfortunately demand that the ball must move, the course has to re-render the background graphics to accommodate where the ball lands. In other words, this 8-bit cartridge game has even more frequent and slower load times to contend with than Greg Norman’s Golf Power. Thanks to that, this is the only golf game on the NES that cut a similar pace to real life golf; slow as tar and half as interesting.

I know the fun factor in golf is already questionable for most players, but Jack Nicklaus is totally devoid of joy. It’s slow and finicky, the graphics suck, and the load times suck even more. At least Greg Norman hid theirs behind a pointless stats screen. Do yourself a favour and don’t bother with this one.

Final score:

Final Verdict

NES Open Tournament Golf and Golf Grand Slam are the only must-play golf games for the North American NES. Golf and Lee Trevino will scratch any 8-bit golf cravings you may be unable to satiate with the previous two games, but aren’t worth going out of your way to track down. If you don’t mind a piece of unsolicited financial advice, I’d recommend not blowing your hard earned money on cartridges of Bandai Golf, Greg Norman or, God forbid, Jack Nicklaus. Not worth frittering away your precious time via emulation, either. Buy a snack and watch some “best of” golf plays from the 80s instead. Or grab a friend and hit the nearest mini-golf course near you. It’s pretty fun on a warm day with a nice drink and people you like.

P.S.: I’ve done similar lists for every hockey game and every soccer game on the NES. Check ’em out!