PGA Tour Golf III - Sega Genesis Gameplay

Three holes of golf in PGA Tour Golf III for the Sega Genesis. Actual console play. Not emulated. At its core, PGA Tour Golf III retains the same gameplay elements that made its two predecessors so successful. Visually, however, PGA Tour Golf III has made notable advancements. The course graphics have been reworked and they look more realistic, as do the player portraits. The new animation of the player's swing is very smooth and appears to have been rotoscoped from a live action model. The musical selections are new, but they retain the same fundamental style as those found in previous PGA titles. Surprisingly, however, the sound effects haven't changed. The number of playable courses has increased to an impressive eight! A few gameplay elements have also been tweaked in PGA Tour Golf III. For example, the wind seems to play a larger role now. It blows consistently stronger than in the first two games, and more often as a crosswind. On nearly every shot, the player must actively compensate for it. Putting too has been slightly altered. In the two previous PGA games, putting was more forgiving. If a putt was more or less on-line and moving at a reasonable speed, you could count on the hole to swallow it up. In PGA Tour Golf III, however, the putting has become a bit slippery. Putts that aren't dead on and dying at the hole often won't drop. Instead, they'll slingshot around and away from the hole. It's probably a more realistic representation, but those individuals used to the putting mechanics of the first two PGA games may find it frustrating. A notable improvement to the putting system is that the distance that the ball sits above or below the hole is also shown on the main game screen, not just the putting grid. PGA Tour Golf III is the zenith of 16-bit golf games. However, I can't help but feel that, overall, the first two PGA games struck a better balance between fun and frustration.