Golf
- This article is about the 1984 video game. For other uses of the term "golf", seeGolf (disambiguation).
| Golf | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 NES box art For alternate box art, see therelated gallery. | |||||||||||
| Developers | Nintendo R&D2 HAL Laboratory Hudson Soft (Hitachi B16, PC-8001mkIISR, PC-8801, PC-9801 and X1 ports) | ||||||||||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||||||||||
| Platforms | Family Computer,Nintendo Entertainment System | ||||||||||
| Release dates | Family Computer: May 1, 1984[1] 1900s[2] 1990s[2]Nintendo Entertainment System:  October 18, 1985[?] November 15, 1986[?]Hitachi B16: 1985[3]PC-8001mkIISR: 1985[?]PC-8801: 1985[?]PC-9801: 1985[?]X1: 1985[?]Family Computer Disk System: February 21, 1986[?]Nintendo PlayChoice-10: August 1986[?]e-Reader: April 21, 2003[4]Virtual Console (Wii U): October 10, 2013[?] October 10, 2013[?] October 10, 2013[?] November 13, 2013[?]Nintendo Switch:[A] March 3, 2017[?] March 3, 2017[?] March 3, 2017[?] March 3, 2017[?] March 3, 2017[?]Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Classics: July 3, 2024[5] July 4, 2024[6] July 4, 2024[7] July 4, 2024[8] | ||||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||||
| Genre | Sports | ||||||||||
| Ratings |
| ||||||||||
| Mode | 1–2 players | ||||||||||
| Format | Famicom:  CartridgeNES:  Game PakFDS:  Disk CardWii U:  Digital downloadNintendo Switch: Digital downloadGame Boy Advance:  e-Reader card | ||||||||||
| Input | Famicom: NES: Wii U:  Wii Remote (horizontal)Nintendo Switch:  Joy-Con (horizontal)Game Boy Advance: | ||||||||||
| Serial codes | Famicom: HVC-GF HVC-GF HVC-GF | ||||||||||
- Everyone
- All ages
- Three years and older
- All ages
- General
Golf is a game that was developed byNintendo andHAL Laboratory for theFamily Computer in 1984 and theNintendo Entertainment System in 1985. It is based on thesport of the same name and is the predecessor to theMario Golf series. The playable golfer, a heavyset man with a cap and mustache, has been identified asMario in supplemental material, albeit not wearing his traditional shirt and overalls.[9][10] However, the gameCaptain Rainbow would instead identify the golfer as a separate character named "Ossan," which happens to be a generic internal name Mario had during the development ofDonkey Kong.[11] On the North American box art forGolf, the character is shown with red clothing, likely to make the Mario connection more clear, though this is actually the Player 2 color; a similar situation occurred inIce Climber. Later installments retroactively considered part of theMario Golf series, such asGolf: Japan Course andGolf: US Course, more clearly depict the main golfer as Mario.
Nintendo had planned to release an 18-hole golfing game as a launch title for the Family Computer, but software companies declined the project, believing it could not be done with the limited memory available at the time. Then–HAL Laboratory employeeSatoru Iwata was eager to prove this technical achievement and program the game himself, which required him to create a custom data compression routine.[12] This is the second-released video game that Iwata programmed for Nintendo, afterPinball.[12]
Golf is a playableNES game inDoubutsu no Mori for theNintendo 64 and itsGameCube port,Animal Crossing. Additionally, a copy of the original game was embedded inNintendo Switch firmware. Activating it required the player to set the internal system clock to July 11—Satoru Iwata'sdeath anniversary—and perform his iconic "directly to you" hand gesture with both Joy-Con controllers on the HOME Menu. If the player was successful in doing so, a voice clip of Iwata froma Japanese 2012 presentation would confirm the input, andGolf with added motion control support would promptly boot up. This version ofGolf was overwritten as of the 4.0.0 update, making it unplayable. It was later added toNintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Classics in July 2024.
Gameplay[edit]
The gameplay ofGolf is relatively simple. The player is given a ball, and a map on the right side of the screen shows the hole that they must hit the ball into. The obstacles on the way are also displayed on the map. The player gets more points depending on how many times they hit the ball to get it into the hole. Many different types of clubs are also available to choose from by pressing Up/Down on the + Control Pad. Left/Right changes the direction the player will hit the ball in; on the fairway, this is limited to 16 directions and represented by an arrow, while on the putting green, the directions are unlimited and represented by a crosshair-like target.
Hitting the ball is done via a meter beneath the viewing field. Pressing the
button once makes the golfer swing the club back, with the arrow on the meter moving left. Pressing it again causes them to swing forward, also moving the arrow back to the right—how far to the left it was determines the stroke's power, and if it reaches the far left, it will start moving right again on its own without a strength being yet determined. Pressing it a third time hits the ball, with the arrow's position relative to the meter's target area determining the impact point and thus how the ball will move; hitting the target on the center makes the ball go straight, hitting to the right of the target causes a left-curving hook ball, and hitting to the left of the target causes a right-curving slice ball. If the second step is skipped, the ball will merely be swiped a few yards ahead, and skipping the third step causes the club to miss entirely. The ball's direction in the air is also influenced by the direction and speed of the wind, which varies between rounds and is determined by an arrow and label found above the viewing area. On the putting green, meanwhile, the direction is influenced by the lay of the green, represented by arrows in different directions and densities.
Unlike in most golf games following it, there is no distinction between fairway and rough; as such, the only terrains are standard grass, putting green, and sand bunkers (which halve the drive), with trees and water representing out-of-bounds areas.
Clubs[edit]
There are 14 different clubs in the game: threewoods (1W, 3W, 4W), eightirons (1I, 3I, 4I, 5I, 6I, 7I, 8I, 9I), apitching wedge (PW), asand wedge (SW), and aputter (PT). Higher numbers mean lower length on the shaft and the resulting drive. Woods have a drive that causes the ball to roll a short distance after landing, and as such, they are most useful for covering ground. Irons have a drive that causes the ball to stop short almost immediately after landing, making them the most useful for precision with avoiding hazards. The pitching wedge gives a short-length but very tall drive, and as such, it acts as a 10-level iron. The sand wedge gives a short-distance swat and is the most useful for escaping sand bunkers. The putter is unique, only rolling the ball a small amount forward along the ground to move it onto and across the putting green; its meter is shorter than the others and lacks an impact area, and it is the only club available while the ball is on the green.
| Clubs and meters | Fairway shot | Bunker shot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1W |  | 240m* | 120m |
| 3W |  | 220m | 110m |
| 4W | | 210m | 105m |
| 1I | | 195m | 97.5m |
| 3I | | 175m | 87.5m |
| 4I |  | 165m | 82.5m |
| 5I | | 155m | 77.5m |
| 6I | | 145m | 72.5m |
| 7I | | 130m | 65m |
| 8I | | 115m | 57.5m |
| 9I | | 100m | 50m |
| PW |  | 80m | 40m |
| SW | | 60m | 30m |
| PT |  | 30m | 15m |
* - Boosted to 280m if a "super shot" is achieved through perfect timing
Holes[edit]
Golf features 18 holes separated into nine labeled "OUT" and nine labeled "IN." Each hole features some green and some woods, and every hole except hole 11 features sand traps. Holes 2, 3, and 5 feature inland ponds; holes 7 and 16 feature rivers; and holes 6, 9, 13, 15, and 18 have water covering the majority of the map. The other holes do not have water. Once the player gets the ball close to the target (the actual "hole," marked by a flag) on each map, the section of the screen that previously showed a map of the entire course shows a zoomed-in map of the putting green.[13][14]
Outward nine[edit]
| Hole 1 | |
|---|---|
 | 390y |
| Par 4 | |
 | |
| Hole 2 | |
|---|---|
 | 395y |
| Par 4 | |
 | |
| Hole 3 | |
|---|---|
 | 215y |
| Par 3 | |
 | |
| Hole 4 | |
|---|---|
 | 388y |
| Par 4 | |
 | |
| Hole 5 | |
|---|---|
 | 491y |
| Par 5 | |
 | |
| Hole 6 | |
|---|---|
 | 398y |
| Par 4 | |
 | |
| Hole 7 | |
|---|---|
 | 408y |
| Par 4 | |
 | |
| Hole 8 | |
|---|---|
 | 494y |
| Par 5 | |
 | |
| Hole 9 | |
|---|---|
 | 247y |
| Par 3 | |
 | |
Inward nine[edit]
| Hole 10 | |
|---|---|
 | 395y |
| Par 4 | |
 | |
| Hole 11 | |
|---|---|
 | 220y |
| Par 3 | |
 | |
| Hole 12 | |
|---|---|
 | 410y |
| Par 4 | |
 | |
| Hole 13 | |
|---|---|
 | 542y |
| Par 5 | |
 | |
| Hole 14 | |
|---|---|
 | 174y |
| Par 3 | |
 | |
| Hole 15 | |
|---|---|
 | 343y |
| Par 4 | |
 | |
| Hole 16 | |
|---|---|
 | 400y |
| Par 4 | |
 | |
| Hole 17 | |
|---|---|
 | 466y |
| Par 4 | |
 | |
| Hole 18 | |
|---|---|
 | 513y |
| Par 5 | |
 | |
Staff[edit]
- Producer
- Masayuki Uemura
- Director / Course Designer
- Programmer / Game Designer / Course Designer
- Original Music
Gallery[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Golf.
References in later media[edit]
- In thesecond volume of the manga, Mario reminisces of his time inGolf.
- A microgame is based on this game.
- Nine of the holes inGolf reappear as the 9-hole course in this game.
- The characterOssan is identified as the golfer fromGolf.
- The same nine holes that appear inWii Sports reappear as the back nine of this game's course in the same order.
- Several challenges are based on this game.
- The first hole fromGolf reappears in the Golf game in this game.[15]
- The same nine holes that appeared inWii Sports andWii Sports Resort appear once again in this game, included in a post-release update that added golf.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ゴルフ[16] Gorufu | Golf |
Footnotes and references[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ^Was only playable until July 11, 2017.
References[edit]
- ^ゴルフ.Nintendo Japan (Japanese). Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^abMay 2015.The Ultimate Famicom Software Guide. Page 44. Retrieved January 11, 2026 from FC Game Land.
- ^Nintendo no Golf. Retrieved January 11, 2025 from Gaming-History.
- ^Master Game List.Nintendo of America. Archived April 21, 2003 from theoriginal via Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
- ^Nintendo of America (July 3, 2024).NES & Super NES - July 2024 Game Updates - Nintendo Switch Online.YouTube (American English). Retrieved July 3, 2024.
- ^Nintendo 公式チャンネル (July 4, 2024).ファミリーコンピュータ & スーパーファミコン & ゲームボーイ Nintendo Switch Online 追加タイトル [2024年7月4日].YouTube. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^@NintendoEurope (July 4, 2024)."Seven more classic #NES titles are now available for #NintendoSwitchOnline members! ☑️ Urban Champion ☑️ Golf ☑️ Donkey Kong Jr. Math ☑️ Mach Rider ☑️ The Mystery of Atlantis ☑️ Solar® Jetman ☑️ Cobra Triangle".X. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^@NintendoAUNZ (July 4, 2024)."7 classic games are now available to play for #NintendoSwitchOnline members! #NES: ☑️ Urban Champion ☑️ Golf ☑️ Donkey Kong Jr. Math ☑️ Mach Rider ☑️ The Mystery of Atlantis ☑️ SOLAR JETMAN ☑️ COBRA TRIANGLE".X. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^August 1991.Mario Mania.Nintendo of America (American English). Page 9.
- ^File:SMCE page 85.jpg
- ^The Grand Culmination of Famicom Cartridges.Nintendo of America (American English). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^abSatoru Iwata – 1999 Developer Interview originally featured in Used Games magazine.shmuplations. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^NES Maps.The Video Game Atlas. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^Old Classic Retro Gaming (July 18, 2016).NES Game: Golf (1984 Nintendo).YouTube. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^GameXplain (April 29, 2020).Clubhouse Games - MASSIVE Overview of All 51 Games (Wii Play Tanks, Bowling, Golf, & More!) (34:34).YouTube. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^Japanese logo
External links[edit]
 | The Cutting Room Floor has an article onGolf. |
 | Wikipedia has an article onGolf. |
