For a quick hit of golfing fun, Golf Clash is the right kind of game to play. It offers some easy to dive into 1 vs 1 action, along with a shot system that’s easy to learn but not exactly …
For a quick hit of golfing fun, Golf Clash is the right kind of game to play. It offers some easy to dive into 1 vs 1 action, along with a shot system that’s easy to learn but not exactly easy to master every time. On the other hand, its use of in-app purchases is pervasive and over the top, leading to you feeling like the only way you can succeed is through paying up to unlock extra bonuses. It soon leads to a disjointed experience.
The core idea behind Golf Clash is a decent one. You quickly dive into a match against another real player (or possibly a bot). Taking it in turns, you make your shots, aiming to get the ball in the hole before your opponent. Taking a shot is a matter of lining up the shot, pulling the ball back, and then tapping just as a reticule lines up. It requires you to time things well but it’s achievable for players of most abilities. When it comes to putting the ball in, it’s a softer approach but still roughly the same.
It’s the kind of process that really does take seconds to learn. That’s fortunate as Golf Clash doesn’t offer a practice mode, so you’re going to have to learn as you go along. Early on, you only have a beginner’s course available to you that, fortunately, doesn’t cost any money to partake in. Progress further and the courses cost in-game money, but they also enable you to win more money. Money really does make the world go around in Golf Clash.
You see, each step of the way, you’re encouraged to earn money and spend money. You have to use money to enter matches and tournaments, but you also have to use the same money to upgrade your clubs. As you progress, you can unlock chests that provide the means in which to upgrade your clubs and balls. Those clubs and balls dictate your chances while playing. The better clubs you have, the better your swing and power are. Soon enough, if you end up against an opponent with a particularly great set of clubs, you’ll soon be annihilated.
That makes Golf Clash quite unfair after a time. Upgrades come via a ticket based system kind of like how you see in Clash Royale and other games of this ilk. Randomly assigned, you’re going to want to spend a lot on acquiring more if you want to stand any chance of winning.
Throw in the fact that matchmaking doesn’t focus on your ability levels, instead potentially matching you with someone far superior, and things turn unfair fast. There’s also the matter that later tours cost a ton of in-game money to partake in, meaning if you lose, you lose a substantial investment.
It’s all a little too unfair, which is a shame for a game that, at heart, is pretty fun. While it was never going to rival ‘proper’ golf games, Golf Clash is a great little blast for arcade sports fans until you realize how unfairly balanced it is. Then it becomes a game that’s a brief distraction, but one that you really can’t get behind. All too soon, you’re going to be vanquished by people with a lot more money than you. And that’s just no fun at all.
