EA Sports PGA Tour uses laser-scanning helicopters and more to deliver the most realistic golf game yet

I’ve never set foot on the Augusta National Golf Course but after seeing some of Frostbite’s motorized technologies that will be on display shortly EA Sports PGA TourI wouldn’t be surprised to smell a whiff of freshly cut grass in my living room as I sit down and start gaming on Xbox Series X|S on March 24th.

That’s the incredible level of authenticity that the teams at EA Orlando and EA Madrid strive for PGA Tour. Not only do they aim to herald the return of an iconic video game sports franchise, one with true-to-life accuracy of ball physics and bat types, but they aim to bring home the majesty of the game and what it’s like to set foot on some of the den most renowned golf courses in the world.

To bring these to life the team was given exclusive access to these courses and sought the advice of some of the leading geologists to map each course using state of the art photogrammetry, GPS mapping technology using helicopters (with lasers!), airplanes and drones. They also conducted ground mapping and on-site photographs on each course to capture the smallest details. All of this makes for a great looking game.

It will start with some of the PGA Tour’s most iconic stops like the Island Green at TPC Sawgrass, the crazy 16th party hole in Scottsdale, Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill and every stage of the FedEx Cup. The development team refers to this as the “30 Bucket List Courses” in the game.

“We even traveled to New Zealand to create Tara Iti, number two on the court Golf Digest’s list of the best golf courses in the worldsays producer Ben Ramsour. “Also on our international list are Banff Springs in the Canadian Rockies and Evian Resort in France. Of course we have the trifecta of ultimate bucket list courses, like The Old Course at Saint Andrews, Pebble Beach Golf Links and the legendary Augusta National Golf Club.”

Stop and smell the flowers

At this point during our first look demo, we saw in-game footage showing the incredible level of detail possible on Xbox Series X|S, with a true-to-life shot of the founding circle in Augusta and the beautiful azalea flowers surrounding it this iconic course.

“Augusta’s team of botanists gave us access to their tree health software to ensure we placed each tree correctly and [piece of] Vegetation that a player will see in our game,” Ramsour mentions while continuing to show other detailed shots like ultra-realistic looking crowds using Frostbite’s swarm system and the lone cypress tree standing on the cliffs of Pebble Beach.

“Our use of photogrammetry was particularly useful in faithfully capturing every angle of rock formations and foliage. At The Country Club (which features in the movie The Greatest Game Ever Played), we used a low-flying helicopter to map the course,” Ramsour continues. “The helicopter was equipped with a laser to find gold mines and oil reserves; The LiDAR and photogrammetry data is 30x denser than publicly available data used by other games and simulators.”

All that visual fidelity isn’t just for show either. This data helps inform all other aspects of the game, which means more realistic terrain, slopes, ball behavior and surface dynamics, ensuring players can experience these legendary courses like never before.

Let’s go clubbing

EA Sports PGA Tour‘s Pure Strike system is powered by ShotLink, the real-time scoring system used by the PGA Tour, and TrackMan data that calculates ball flight measurements and swing analysis. This means players have all the tools they need to attack every hole on every course as realistically as the pros do – a whole new level of golf simulation never truly tackled before, thanks again the power of Frostbite on Xbox Series X |S.

“One of the most effective ways players interact with Pure Strike is through shot types,” explains gameplay designer Craig Penner. “We’re introducing 20 different shot types, so now every time you get close to the ball you not only choose your club, but also the type of shot you want to hit. Each shot type is unique per club and trajectory, so under the hood there are over 1300 unique physics profiles driving those shot types. We engineer them with ShotLink and TrackMan data so every shot produces ball speeds, launch angles, spin rates and shot dispersion you’d expect in real life…so players can attack every course and hole just like the pros, you watch TV.”

Speaking of pros, Ramsour was also thrilled to share some of the work that went into modeling the professional golfers you’ll see in the game.

“Our characters look absolutely stunning! We used technology used in Hollywood films to scan character heads and bodies; Our scan rig has more than 130 cameras that take pictures at the same time. We captured footage in multiple poses to see the unique way the muscles move on the players’ faces and bodies, allowing each athlete to move authentically as they do in real life when competing in the Frostbite animation engine. The pandemic made scanning difficult, but we were fortunate to be part of the PGA Tour bubble so we could scan our athletes.”

return of the king

In addition to everything we saw during our first look demoEA Sports PGA Tour also launches with several other robust features to make it a truly compelling package, one that also includes the LPGA Tour’s five major championships, an overhauled Create-A-Player feature, competitive multiplayer modes, and more – like it appears EA Sports PGA Tour is poised to reclaim its crown as one of the finest video game golf franchises.

EA Sports PGA Tour launches March 24, 2023 for Xbox Series X|S and will be available in two versions, Standard ($69.99) and Digital Deluxe Edition ($84.99). Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members with EA Play can save 10% on EA Sports PGA Tour from the Microsoft Store. You can learn more about it EA Sports PGA Tour here on their official site. Stay tuned to Xbox Wire here for the latest news and previews of your favorite Xbox and Windows games.

EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ Deluxe Edition

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$84.99

$76.49

Pre-order* EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ Deluxe Edition and receive: – EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ – 3-Day Early Access – Exclusive Early Access to Augusta National – THE PLAYERS Championship Gear – The Grand Slam Gear Bundle – Scotty Cameron Putter – 1500 Premium PGA TOUR POINTS – PGA TOUR XP Bundle – Augusta National Amen Corner Gear The exclusive home of the Majors, EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ offers Pure Strike for superior golf gameplay, powered by ShotLink, and unrivaled access to the most exclusive golf courses in the world. Home of the Majors EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ is the exclusive home of the Majors, including the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, US Open Championship and The Open Championship. Pure Strike powered by ShotLink Powered by official PGA TOUR ShotLink and TrackMan data, Pure Strike delivers unique golf swings with a fluid feel and realistic results on every shot. Pure Strike combines golfer-specific tendencies with unique course dynamics and revolutionized ball behavior for the first-class golfing experience. Your Career, Your Journey As your golf game improves, so does your journey to becoming a major champion. Create and customize a golfer, develop your skills with new shot types, gain deeper knowledge of the course as you play, and learn to attack every hole like a pro. The World’s Most Exclusive Golf Courses With 30 golf courses, including some of the most exclusive in the world, your tee shot designed in stunning quality with Frostbite™ so you can enjoy more of the fine details of golf than ever before. *Conditions and restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/pga-disclaimers for details.

EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$69.99

$62.99

Pre-order* EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ and receive: – EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ – THE PLAYERS Championship Gear – The Grand Slam Gear Bundle – Scotty Cameron Putter The exclusive home of the Majors, EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ offers Pure Strike for superior golf gameplay powered by ShotLink and unparalleled access to the world’s most exclusive golf courses. Home of the Majors EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ is the exclusive home of the Majors, including the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, US Open Championship and The Open Championship. Pure Strike powered by ShotLink Powered by official PGA TOUR ShotLink and TrackMan data, Pure Strike delivers unique golf swings with a fluid feel and realistic results on every shot. Pure Strike combines golfer-specific tendencies with unique course dynamics and revolutionized ball behavior for the first-class golfing experience. Your Career, Your Journey As your golf game improves, so does your journey to becoming a major champion. Create and customize a golfer, develop your skills with new shot types, gain deeper knowledge of the course as you play, and learn to attack every hole like a pro. The World’s Most Exclusive Golf Courses With 30 golf courses, including some of the most exclusive in the world, your tee shot designed in stunning quality with Frostbite™ so you can enjoy more of the fine details of golf than ever before. *Conditions and restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/pga-disclaimers for details.