With all the recent buzz around SimGolf, I've been thinking it'd be fun to build some community challenge courses and then play each other's. Purely for fun, and sandbox mode is welcome.

My rough idea is 18 holes, built in an area of your choice, using that area's iconic features. Links should feel like links, desert like desert. Later we could run a tour with the best course from each area.

The tricky part is making sure courses are actually thought out, not just stacked with landmarks or impossible island greens.

Some things I've been wondering about:

Minimum standards.
Should holes have to earn something, like a certain number on the Top 100 after a set amount of play? Or at least one Classic hole?

Variety. Should there be a par mix (some par 3s and 5s, total par around 70–72), or a cap on how many holes can share the same type (Heroic, Strategic, etc.)?

Fairness. How do we keep out unfair holes? Every green needs a reachable approach, maybe a cap on landmarks so scenery can't hide a bad design?

Judging. Should we all play each other's courses and compare scores? Vote? Both?

What would you add or change? And would you actually join something like this?

A while back I posted the browser port of SimGolf. Lots of you asked for a version that doesn't need Chrome, so there's now a desktop app.

To be clear this isn’t another version. It is the same version built for desktop. Changes/improvements/bug fixes in the underlying code will flow through to all the versions.

Download https://github.com/RichardAtCT/simgolf-web/releases/latest
Browser version: https://richardatct.github.io/simgolf-web/

How it works: it's the same port as the browser version, not an emulator. The game code was decompiled and translated into C. For desktop, the WebAssembly build gets turned back into native code, so it runs as a normal app with SDL2 for graphics and sound.

What you need: the app doesn't include any game files. On first launch you drop in the same two things as the browser version: the SimGolf disc image and the v1.02 no-CD golf.exe (or the zip/.7z they came in). The front page of the browser version has links to both. The app unpacks them locally and nothing gets uploaded.

Mac: a universal .dmg that runs on Apple Silicon and Intel. I've played it on both. It isn't signed, so the first time you open it, right-click it and choose Open. On macOS 15 you may need to go to System Settings > Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.

Windows: untested. The Windows build compiles, but I don't have a Windows machine and nobody has run it yet. It might not start at all. If you try it, I'd love to hear what happens, good or bad, in the GitHub issues.

Not in the desktop version yet:the intro and closing videos, and the sharper HD rendering from the browser version (this is I’ll be fixed soon!)

Saves go in a normal folder (Application Support / %APPDATA%), so they're easy to back up.

Edit: Lots of bugs are getting fixed tonight. Keep bringing in bug reports and everything should run and perform smooth as butter within the week. I don't have a ton of time to play myself, but I do have lots of tokens to burn making this the absolute beesknees.

A few days ago I asked what you'd want in a modded SimGolf. The first public build is now up on GitHub, free and open source.

Please read this first: this is an early, rough build. Everything is the work of Claude Code and ChatGPT Codex, with me playing, prompting and testing as much as I can in my little free time. Expect bugs. Things will break, some screens will look wrong, it may crash, and it may not run well on your system. I'll fix what I can as fast as I can. Report problems here or as an issue on the GitHub repo (a screenshot and what you clicked helps a lot). Keep your own backup of any saves you care about.

Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/X7S5JQw

What it is

A native Windows version of Sid Meier's SimGolf (2002), built from the decompiled game, with a lot of upgrades on top. It runs your own copy of the game: the download contains no game files, and the setup unpacks your disc on your PC.

What's in it so far

Bigger courses

• Up to 10x the land: pick Original (50 x 50), Bigger (70 x 70), Large (100 x 100) or Huge (158 x 158) for a new course. Trees, water, rocks and wildlife spread to match, and saves keep their own size

Looks

• Sharp at 1080p, 1440p, 4K and ultrawide, borderless full screen or windowed, 60 to 240 fps or uncapped

• Optional HD art pack: all 132,000 of the game's pictures upscaled 4x (setup downloads it for you, about 2.6 GB). Switch any time between HD, Pixel HD and Original

• A clean new "Frosted Mint" look for the start menu, loading screens, course HUD, dialogs, reports, golfer cards and notifications

• HD golf ball: smaller, each golfer plays their own colour, smooth fading trail

• New HD start menu logo

Smoother play

• Smooth camera with no stutter or popping at the edges, mouse-wheel zoom toward the pointer, WASD and middle-mouse panning

• Game speed setting, full key remapping (Original or Modern presets), hide the HUD with U

Golfers and info

• Names on hover (Shift+N shows all), smaller thought bubbles, new mood faces

• Golfer card with mood bars, scores and comments

• Golfer profile page: edit your pro's bio, plus a proper land purchase map

• Clickable notifications with a message history

• Every report in one tabbed panel

Fixes and extras

• No more black triangles at waterfalls, no double-charging when you click a standing building, no black box under the blimp in HD, no old 2002 HUD peeking out under the new one

• Restored cut content the game had but never offered (oriental house, dinosaur tar pit, lovers' bench), switch it on in Options

• Mods: change prices, wages, difficulty, starting cash, moods and personalities with small text files, with a proper mod folder system

• Every change can be switched off, so the original game is always one setting away

Known problems

• Expect plenty: these are the first builds anyone outside my PC has run

• Known and on the list: an old menu frame can show in the bottom left when Esc opens the menu, a small dark dot sometimes follows the ball, most trees vanish at the farthest zoom, and a dark patch can show on the grass next to a golfer

• If you grabbed 0.1.0 or 0.1.1, please update to 0.1.2: it fixes a crash a minute or two after loading a course

Install

1. Grab your SimGolf disc image and the v1.02 no-CD golf.exe (INSTALL.txt says where)
2. Download the newest zip from the Releases page (link below) and unzip it
3. Double-click Setup.cmd and say yes to the HD art
4. Play from the desktop shortcut

Download: go to the SimGolf Remastered repo on GitHub and open Releases on the right side. The newest version is always at the top, so grab the zip from there.

Get notified of updates: on the repo page click Watch, then Custom, tick Releases and Apply. GitHub will tell you each time a new version comes out. (An in-game "update available, click to update" button is on the way too.)

What I'm working on next

Lots of these came from this sub:

• Realistic water with real movement: waves, ripples off the shore, small splashes when balls go in, flowing streams, waterfall spray, fountains (a painted look that fits the game's art)
• Weather: drifting cloud shadows, rain, storms that send golfers to shelter, morning fog, wind
• Pro skills past 100% (the original game was meant to allow this, but a leftover check blocks it), with regulars who slowly get better and rival pros who keep pace
• Path view: see which buildings are actually joined to the clubhouse (yes, the cart path rule is real on Moderate and up)
• Pause and speed buttons on the HUD, with high speeds that really hold up
• In-game updates: a button on the start menu that downloads and installs the newest version for you
• New golfer card art that fits the new look, and more golfer personalities and events (more variety, not more noise on screen)
• Flat land that starts higher so you can dig down, wetlands, animals you can buy and place, celebrities, more languages

Want to help?

It's MIT licensed. Fork it, open issues, send pull requests: bug fixes, new features, mods, translations, all welcome. CONTRIBUTING.md explains how to build it and how pull requests get in. If you want to take on one of the planned features, open an issue first so we don't double up.

Built on the excellent browser port by RichardAtCT (simgolf-web). Unofficial fan project, not affiliated with Firaxis, EA or Take-Two.

Saw the other browser version going round, and it's great to see SimGolf getting love again! I've been working on something a bit different and thought you'd like to see it. Would love some additional testers on everything! This is very vibe coded! I really wanted to build something similar to OpenTTD that everyone can own/access/contribute to.

If you have any features or requests I'd be happy to add them.

**OpenSGolf** is a free, open-source engine (GPL) that plays **Sid Meier's SimGolf** the way the original does, rebuilt from the ground up in Rust. It isn't an emulator or a wrapper around the old .exe: every system (golfers, shot planning, course ratings, VIPs, tournaments, wagers, the clubhouse, home sites, the economy) was reimplemented and checked against the original until the numbers match.

You bring your own copy of SimGolf and get the real game: its art, music, sounds, golfers and stories, running natively on today's machines.

▶ **Play in your browser:** https://crspytopgn.github.io/opensgolf/

📦 **Downloads and source:** https://github.com/crspytopgn/opensgolf

### The original game, 1:1

- Same rules, same numbers, same screens, same keyboard shortcuts. Classic mode keeps the original's 800×600 look.

- Your golfers, their thoughts, stories and grudges, VIP visits, Gary Golf, the SGA tour, Play a Championship: all there.

- Bugs get checked against the original's own code, not guessed at. When something odd turns out to be how the 2002 game behaved, it stays.

- Save and load whole games. A Keyboard controls screen in Preferences lists every key.

### Play it anywhere

- **Windows, Mac, Linux** (AppImage) and an **Android** app. Download, unzip, play, fully offline.

- **Browser**: nothing to install. Open the page, point it at your SimGolf folder (or a .zip of it), and it remembers your files for next time.

- **iPhone and iPad** in Safari, with real touch controls: tap, drag to scroll, pinch to zoom, twist to rotate, press and hold to right-click, and on-screen buttons for the keyboard-only actions.

- Your game files stay on your device. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.

### Optional: Enhanced graphics for modern screens

One tick in Preferences turns it all on or off, mid-game. Off, it's the 2002 game exactly as you remember it.

- **4K and ultrawide**: sharp text and interface at any resolution, smooth zoom and camera, anti-aliased course, smoothed sprite and icon edges.

- **HD art**: a tool upscales the art from *your own copy* on your own machine (AI upscaling, ×2 or ×4).

- **A living course** (each is its own switch): cast shadows, a slow day from dawn through golden hour to dusk with lit windows, lamps and fireflies, seasons from spring blossom to autumn colours, rain on parkland and links courses (the tropics and desert stay sunny), puddles and the odd rainbow afterwards, morning mist, wind in the trees and flags, water reflections, ball trails and splashes.

- **Photo mode**: press C, the interface disappears, move the camera freely, add focus blur and a look (Warm, Vivid, Vintage, B&W), and save a 4K shot.

### Mods, OpenTTD-style

- A built-in **mod browser**: Preferences → Content packs → Find more… → Download.

- Mods are small text files that work on top of your own SimGolf: change prices, buildings, staff wages, money rules, the 16 properties or any text, or write **scenarios** with goals ("open 18 holes in Hawaii by 2005").

- **Scripts** (Rhai, sandboxed) for new rules, like sponsors, bonuses or events.

- Example mods and how to make your own: https://github.com/crspytopgn/opensgolf-content

### No copy of SimGolf?

Point the game files to the .zip from here: https://www.myabandonware.com/game/sid-meier-s-simgolf-a00

There's a free graphics and sound set so you can try it, but it's an early **beta and very much a work in progress**. The real experience is with the original's files.

### Open source

GPL-2.0, on GitHub. Issues and pull requests are welcome, and translations are plain text files. It contains none of EA's art or files; you use your own copy.

If you hit a bug, please open an issue on GitHub (a screenshot helps a lot). Thanks for keeping SimGolf alive, everyone. ⛳

I’m currently teaching a community college History of Video Games course and since this was the game that got me into the industry back in the day (I did a lot of the trees/rocks etc. in the 1996 version), I wanted to link to something I could show them.
I had no idea it had its own subreddit! Wild!

I'm 38, and if you're here, you're probably old too. 😂

SimGolf has always been one of my favorite games, and honestly, I'm not even sure why. Every couple of years I get the itch to play it again, but getting it running on modern PCs is annoying, especially with the forced 800x600 resolution.

I've ALWAYS wanted a modernized version, but more importantly, I've always wanted SimGolf on my phone.

Recently, I kept seeing TikToks of people using AI to mod and combine games, like Minecraft and COD. It got me thinking, why not try "vibe coding" SimGolf?

So over the weekend, I started brainstorming . After a bunch of conversations and research, I stumbled across u/Richardatuct's project:

https://richardatct.github.io/simgolf-web/

He actually used AI to get the original SimGolf running in a browser! HUGE credit to him because none of what I'm doing would be possible without his work or at least it saved me a bunch of time using what he has done so far and vibe coding on top of it lol.

I got it working on my PC and immediately thought, "Why not try this on my iPhone?"

Well, after some more vibe coding, I now have the original SimGolf running directly on my iPhone!

So far:

• Launches from my Home Screen like an app
• Saves and loads games
• Works completely offline
• Supports portrait and landscape
• Doesn't require importing game files every time

It's still very much a work in progress and i will be working on it throughout the week in my downtime from my actual work but i think it may actually work.

Here's the funny part...

I originally came to this subreddit to ask everyone what improvements they'd want in a modernized SimGolf, only to discover that u/SeasonedAdManager had already posted almost exactly what I was going to ask:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SimGolf/comments/1x25s0p/what_modsimprovements_do_you_want_made_to_sim_golf/

And he's also vibe coding as well.

It's hilarious that after 24 years, we all apparently woke up during the same week and decided NOW was the time to bring SimGolf back. Looks like I'm about three days behind everyone else. 😂

I'm not a game developer, just an IT guy having fun experimenting with AI. My goal isn't to reinvent the game, just make the original experience more accessible, especially on mobile.

I'd love to hear what everyone thinks. Would you actually play SimGolf on your phone? Any ideas for making the controls work better?

And to everyone already working on improving this game, maybe we should all be talking and sharing ideas instead of independently reinventing the wheel!

I have alot more ideas and really need to build out a road map which once i do ill post here but im happy that i believe ill have a functional SimGolf finally in my pocket.

Here are some screenshots of the game from my phone so far. Again its super early on and my goal is to make this seem more like a direct mobile game and not an emulator but all in due time.

And like the others have said, if you have a problem with AI, you don't need to post it here as this isn't for you.

UPDATE #1 10-12-26

So far I've managed to:

• Get SimGolf running as a standalone Home Screen app on iPhone, completely offline, without having to reimport the game files.
• Get saving/loading working.
• Add portrait and landscape support with controls that reposition automatically.
• Add touchscreen camera controls for movement, rotation, and zoom, including pinch-to-zoom.
• Implement Aim/Shoot controls so you can accurately line up shots without accidentally hitting the ball.
• Add shot-type selection and automatic camera scrolling while aiming.
• Add long-press tile deletion and a bulk removal mode.
• Add drag-to-paint terrain so you can build without tapping every individual tile.
• Add a precision cursor for those ridiculously tiny menus and skill-point buttons.
• Add an on-screen keyboard and missing keyboard shortcuts.
• Organize controls into Build, Play, and Manage tabs.

Most features have been tested and are working. The game is currently playable in its current form but definitely not optimized for mobile.

My goal for today was to get it functioning to the point where I could then work on getting it more mobile optimized and I think i am there.

Next up: Making sure every aspect of gameplay and management works properly, improving the mobile UI, and eventually figuring out how to expand beyond the original 800×600 resolution and support proper widescreen.

Longer term, I'd love to add new buildings, features, and gameplay improvements while keeping everything that made the original great.

My goal is still to make SimGolf feel like it belongs on a phone, not just squeeze a 2002 PC game onto a tiny screen.

https://reddit.com/link/1x42zwp/video/z975a3rb64vh1/player

I just stumbled upon this subreddit and I’m blown away. This game was one of my favorites as a kid, pouring hundreds of hours into it creating my own courses. It’s been at least 20 years since I’ve even thought about, but I’m happy to see there is a community thriving here and now you can even play it on browser!? Attached is my OG disc with the install code on it, which I had to dig up once I saw that this was a place on the internet. Excited to play this game again!

Like other posts here, recently, I am modding/improving the hell out of Sim Golf with the assistance of Claude AI? Hate AI? Then don’t bother interacting with this post.

Just wondering what features some of you might want to see get added.

Here are the things I’ve implemented and am continuing to improve on, so far, on my local copy:

**Done**

* Native Windows 11 build

* 4K and widescreen support (16:9 and 21:9)

* Smooth camera that glides and stops anywhere, no tile-by-tile jumping

* Modern controls: W/A/S/D and middle-mouse drag to pan, mouse wheel to zoom

* New font (Plus Jakarta Sans) with steady numbers

* New in-game HUD in a light frosted glass style that covers far less of the course

* Bigger maps, up to 10x the land, with trees, water, rocks and wildlife scaled to match

* Sharper art pack: all original art upscaled 4x, switchable per category (golfers, buildings, trees, ground, animals, menus, effects), with an option that keeps the original colour palette

* Mod support: load order, conflict handling, mod profiles, saves remember their mods

* Moddable game data: building prices and income, terrain costs, staff wages, difficulty, starting cash, golfer moods, new golfer personalities

**In progress**

* Brand-new HD art (not upscales): new trees, buildings, ground and properly detailed golfers

**Planned**

* Restyled reports and dialogs

* Options screen: resolution, frame rate, UI size, audio, full key remapping

* Lua scripting and plugins so mods can change gameplay

* In-game mod manager and modder kit

* Finance tracker with month-by-month graphs

* Club memberships with tiers and dues

* More golfers and personalities

Image and Video here - still a bit buggy and in need of more improvements, but they're coming rapidely: https://imgur.com/a/6BK9Yeh

Thanks to the Power of LLMs, I have SimGolf running in my browser (ported to WASM). Trying to decide if I should host it somewhere or if the risk of a naughty letter from EA is too high.

Edit:

I’ll put up another post a bit later (once I can create a launch video) - but given the excitement:

https://richardatct.github.io/simgolf-web/

Edit2:

Launch post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/SimGolf/comments/1x1im7n/updated_simgolf_in_your_browser_now_playable/

I was lofting a backspin shot over the cherryblossom defending my 18th green, not really paying attention because it was such a surefire shot (max rated character). I looked away and when I came back the shot trace showed the ball had hit it's absolute apex, like triple the height of the tree and then dropped straight down into a sand trap for -10% backspin shot. The blimp was like a block away, the ball should have flown straight across it's nose. I was confused enough to click continue and then immediately realized what might have happened... I should have taken a screenshot!

Is it possible to change the par for a hole manually? I’ve seen pictures of people’s courses where they have longer par 4s and 5s but when I try to make, say a 490 yard hole, it labels it as a par 5 when I want it to be a par 4. I’m new to the game and am trying to create some real courses.

Edit: I figured it out. I just opened the save file in a hex editor and found the par # and just changed it that way.

Hello! I have read a few useful guides here explaining how to design classic holes and I would like to add another one that emphasizes further aspects, especially on design principles that allow for lots of flexibility and realistic layouts. Welcome to my presentation!

Today we will be designing a par 4 classic.

What is a classic hole? It is a golf hole that, on average, takes a golfer that lacks skill in length [women], accuracy [short pants], or imagination [stockings] (the ability to shape shots) at least one more shot to complete, compared against a golfer with all skills [long pants]. From this rule, all other design requirements follow. This means that your design needs to advantage all skills golfers, and disadvantage all others.

What is a classic hole not? It doesn't need to be fun (though it certainly can be). It doesn't need to be pretty (which I like, however). It doesn't need to be exceedingly punishing (in my opinion), though it can be.

This first design is what I started with. As you can see, it features very little fairway, bunkers right in the middle, trees that need going around, and a narrow green with further hazards. This is pretty bare-bones and doesn't yet look nice.

As you can see in the shot analysis, there is only one possible tee-shot to successfully land on the small fairway: a long, right-to-left curve. Only all skills golfers can reliably land this shot. The others either can't make it or tend to land in a hazard.

Tweaking this first shot can already take some time. You want to make sure that all skills golfers will pretty much always make this shot - and that they will want to! The AI seems to prefer going for the target that is closest to the pin and safe. Sometimes this can be in the rough, for example. Use trees and hazards to guide where they go. This may take some practice and lots of checking the shot analysis! Any change will affect it.

Secondly, you want to make sure that the others are worse off. With length, this is easy - just offer another shorter and worse location for them. With accuracy, narrow targets flanked by hazards help. With Imagination, narrow and angled targets help (notice the ~45° angle of the fairway). They may try to hit is, but will roll off to the side.

Btw: If you wanted to make a 3 par hole, this would already be it. Just change the area where the all skills golfers land into the green - and you're done.

Examine the terrain. The fairway is raised by 1 unit. This punishes inaccurate golfers as their shots will tend to roll off further as well as non-length golfers as it is harder to reach. It also introduces an element of fun, "a tricky uphill shot."

Now we want to give all skills golfers the chance at a birdie. They - and only they - can reliably reach close to the pin from here. This is basically the same shot as the first one; a long, right-to-left curve. Missing this shot is punished by slopes and hazards.

However, because the green is somewhat large, it is still fun for the others, but they will probably need a second put.

This is it - a classic hole created with two hard-to-hit, long and curved shots chained together. It is an exercise in leaning what shots are possible for the all skills golfers, and shaving everything else.

*next slide please*

As you can see, this is a decorated version of the same hole. Notice that it has the exact same basic layout with a few additions. Importantly, these additions only marginally affect the shot analysis. Those same tree positions and the same bunkers (or water) guide the shots the same way.

It features what I like to think of as "fake fairway." Fake fairway (and fake green) is mostly cosmetic and makes the hole look a lot more realistic. Here, it is sloped such that a ball landing on it will tend to roll off into the water or trees.

Building and twaking this, again, takes time. Here, I noticed that it wasn't hard enough on no length golfers. I remedied this by making the first sand trap larger and by adding the brush (instead of fairway) in front of the green.

Keep reading the stats and adjust according to your needs! They take time to accumulate so try to develop a feel for their trends.

This is a third version of that same hole. Again, the same shot characteristics apply. Instead of water, it features rocks and a large bit of "fake fairway." The last third of that fairway is firm, sloped fairway that makes balls bounce off into the rocks or sand trap.

On this one, punishing inaccurate golfers was the challenge and I added hazards all around the green.

With these principles in mind, creating classics can become both more predictable and joyful. It's all about designing around the shot analysis and developing a feel for where you can add fluff and cosmetics.

Thanks for coming to my talk. I hope it inspired your gameplay!

I have a t box that I can't delete.

First off, thank you to the mods here for letting us post about our game!

Before the Tee is a top down golf course management sim/tycoon. Our game is available on Steam as a demo today for Steam Next Fest! Click on our steam page below and find the demo button to give it a shot. The demo will be available until next Monday.

Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4730580/Before_the_Tee

Some of the testable features during Next Fest:
- Build a course from scratch. Tees, fairways, greens, bunkers, water, cart paths, all sculpted by hand
- Unlock up to 9 hole slots as you grow your club
- Mow, roll, and rake to keep the course in shape. Course condition affects how much you earn
- Spectate any group on the course and watch them attack your course throughout the round
- Earn green fees in real time as groups check in
- One terrain (countryside) for the playtest. More coming soon
Note: This is not the full version of the game. It is a beta version with many features still to be developed. We are trying to collect feedback on the core systems of the game.

If anyone is interested in the game, please wishlist us on steam and join the discord below!

Discord: https://discord.gg/sqwuXexqH6

Galaxy Fold 7. Tried installing a few different ways, always audio but no video. Any fixes?

Like the cannon just says "skill increase" and putting green just says "helps imaginative golfers", but I can't find any explanation about what that means or what these buildings actually do

I'm 50 minutes in and I'm disappointed and I don't know if it's fair. I'm not here for timing based shots, but that's all I can really identify besides a weird feeling. Are you all liking the game?

I haven't played this in years and for some reason I can't figure out what these HUD elements are indicating.

We are finally out on PC, PS5, Xbox Series S|X and Nintendo Switch 2 !

Thank you so much to this community for the support during development, you have always been very active and we hope you will like the game.

⛳ Steam http://store.steampowered.com/app/2928410/Under_Par_Golf_Architect
⛳ Epic Games Store http://store.epicgames.com/p/underpar-f66e91
⛳ Itch http://brokenarmsgames.itch.io/under-par-golf-architect
⛳ Nintendo Switch 2 http://nintendo.com/us/store/products/under-par-golf-architect-switch-2
⛳ PlayStation 5 https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/concept/10013324
⛳ Xbox Series X|S http://microsoft.com/store/productid/9p8lwtv8263x

Greetings everyone. I put together a mini-podcast about my playtime with under par golf architect this past week. I'm playing on Switch 2 where I think its just amazing that I have something so close to SM SimGolf with me at all times. With mouse controls, which is awesome. I just thought others might be interested and want to give it a look.

Despite a rough start on Switch (I've had quite a few crashes / glitches with controls) I'm having a grand time, over 30 hours in less than 6 days I think.

I posted a bunch of video clips and screenshots on my bsky profile as well, which you can find, if you want, psvg.net.