PGA TOUR 2K23 EVERYTHING WE KNOW SO FAR

Article Updated: September 22, 2022 at 9:28 PM

Release Date, Cover Athlete, Editions, and Bonus Content

Would you rather watch/listen than read? Then checkout the video version at this link: Full Everything we know so far video on Gamer Ability YouTube – Keep in mind this article version has all the up-to-date information!

1. Tiger Woods returns to the virtual golf world as the cover athlete and a playable character in PGA TOUR 2K23!
2. Available platforms: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One
   • Although PGA 2k21 did launch on both the Nintendo Switch and Stadia platforms, PGA TOUR 2K23 will not be launching on the Switch or Stadia Platforms.
   • The PC version is going to be the same as the next gen version as well. Likely to have better performance, graphics, textures and so forth.
3. Release Date: October 11, 2022 for Deluxe edition and Tiger Edition owners and October 14, 2022 for Standard edition owners
   • Preorder bonus for all editions is the Michael Jordan Bonus Pack:
     • Includes Michael Jordan as a playable character and 4 Common tier golf ball sleeves
   • Three versions available for purchase and prices:
     • Standard Edition: $59.99 for Xbox one/PS4/PC and $69.99 for PS5/XBOX SERIES X/S
       • Includes the Michael Jordan Bonus Pack if the game is preordered. For those that do not preorder, you can still purchase the Michael Jordan pack as DLC.

• Deluxe Edition: $99.99
  • Includes the following:
    • 3 days early access starting October 11, 2022
    • Deluxe Bonus Pack
      • 1300 VC
      • 1 Hockey Stick Putter
      • 1 Gold Baseball Cap
      • 1 Gold Golf Glove
      • 3 Rare Ball Sleeves
    • Golden Club Pack
      • 1 Golden Driver
      • 1 Golden Putter
      • 4 Uncommon Golf Ball Sleeves
    • Michael Jordan Bonus Pack

1. Tiger Edition: $119.99
   • Includes the following:
     • 3 days early access starting October 11, 2022
     • Tiger Woods Edition Bonus Content:
       • 1 Tiger Woods TaylorMade Club Set
       • 1 Tiger Woods T-Shirt
       • 3 Epic Golf Ball Sleeves
     • Tiger Woods Signature Sunday Pack:
       • 1 Red Polo Shirt
       • 1 Pair of Black Pants
       • 1 Black Hat
       • 1 Tiger Woods Golf Shoes
       • 1 Tiger Woods Golf Belt
       • Tiger Bridgestone Branded Golf Balls
     • Deluxe Bonus Pack
     • Golden Club Pack
     • Michael Jordan Bonus Pack

All Confirmed Features and Gameplay Changes Known so far in PGA TOUR 2K23:

To preface this, I have compiled all the information I could from Trailers, news articles, game previews, preview videos, official information from 2k’s website, official 2k articles; and I gained a lot of information from the 2K Nextmakers when they provided video breakdowns and thoughts on twitter of the specifics on PGA TOUR 2K23 after they played the game at a special event and after they played the preview build (All the links to their videos can be found at the end of this article. Be sure to subscribe and follow each of those great content creators!). Keep in mind the game is still a work in progress and features could be added or removed between now and launch.

I will be updating this article overtime as we get more information on PGA TOUR 2K23 (Accurate as of September 22, 2022)

1. Playable Pros are finally available in PGA 2K23 including both PGA and LPGA Pros and other special guests.
   • Confirmed Pros as of August 25, 2022
     • PGA: Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler
     • LPGA: Lexi Thompson, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson
     • Special Characters: Michael Jordan
   • That is all the pros I know at this time, but in a 2k newsroom article they stated the game will be launching with more than 14 playable PGA and LPGA characters.
   • 2k stated in the same newsroom article that additional pros and courses will be added as free post-launch DLC and be available to all players
2. PGA TOUR 2K23 will have 20 official licensed courses at launch:
   • Confirmed courses as of August 30, 2022:
     • South Course of Wilmington Country Club, The Renaissance Club, St. George’s Golf and Country Club, TPC Sawgrass, TPS Scottsdale, East Lake Golf Club, The Copperhead Course (Innisbrook), Riviera Country Club, Bay Hill Golf Club & Lodge (Arnold Palmer Course), TPC Louisiana, TPC Deere Run, TPC San Antonio, Atlantic Beach Country Club, Detroit Golf Club, Quail Hollow Club, TPC Summerlin, TPC Twin Cities, TPC River Highlands, TPC Southwind, TPC Boston with more coming as post launch updates free for all players.
     • Confirmed free post launch DLC courses: Pebble Beach Golf Club, Spyglass Hill, and Torrey Pines North and South Courses!
3. PGA TOUR 2K23 will not feature cross platform play
   • Cross platform play is one of the communities highest requested feature, but unfortunately there will be no cross platform play available in PGA TOUR 2K23.
4. PGA TOUR 2K23 will feature cross generation play capabilities.
   • Cross generation play has been confirmed as a feature in the game. This includes PS4 players being able to play with PS5, and Xbox one with Xbox series consoles.
5. The popular Topgolf driving range game will be in PGA TOUR 2K23 as a new game mode
   • The very popular real life driving range experience is coming to PGA 2K23. Players will compete for the highest score in a glorified driving range game mode.
   • Players will be able to play Top Golf solo or with their friends online.
6. The career mode is returning in PGA TOUR 2K23 with new skills, archetypes and attributes.
   • Gamers will finally be able to customize their MyPlayer and improve their skills in the new career mode.  Your MyPlayer now has new skills, archetypes, and attributes (more about this later in this article).
   • 2k has posted about the career mode in their first clubhouse report and this is how they described the career mode “Begin your professional career in PGA TOUR 2K23’s MyCAREER mode as a member of the Korn Ferry TOUR and graduate to the unmatched competitive setting of the PGA TOUR. With each tournament, you’ll be put to the test against the best talent on the planet, competing for FedExCup points and a shot at first place in the standings. Using your MyPLAYER creation, write your legacy by hitting clutch shots and become one of the game’s legendary players. Combat the elements and your peers as you strive to etch your name on numerous trophies, culminating in a shot at the prestigious THE PLAYERS Championship.” https://pgatour.2k.com/2k23/clubhouse-report/feature-enhancements/
   • It has been reported that tournaments will no longer end in a tie in career mode! Yes, there will be playoff holes and scenarios in the new career mode. Operation Sports covered this in their preview: https://www.operationsports.com/pga-tour-2k23-preview-tiger-goes-next-gen/
   • It has been confirmed by the 2K Nextmakers that players will be able to customize some of the career tournaments by swapping courses with limitations. Players will not be able to choose just any course to replace a career mode tournament course, however they will have to choose another official course from a select list of courses. It has been reported that HB Studios plans to add more courses to this list overtime.
   • Nextmakers have posted career mode videos on YouTube and we have more information on the mode. This mode is not the full revamp of the career mode many gamers were hoping for, however it does look like there are many improvements and quality of life changes throughout the mode, including:
     • Players will still be able to choose their starting point as in 2K21: Q-School, Korn Ferry Tour, or PGA TOUR.
     • Commentators include Luke Elvy, Rich Beem, Henni Koyack, and John McCarthy
       • There are a number of new commentary lines and even includes the announcers telling stories about Tiger Woods throughout the career mode!
     • Sponsors have been revamped and each sponsor has much more gear, cosmetics, and clubs to unlock when compared to 2K21. Each sponsor has their own sponsor rank system which as you level up each tier you unlock more stuff! Sponsors can also drop a player at certain times in the career mode if a player starts performing poorly, and sign back when you start playing better.
     • You can select a caddy character preset, and your caddy will be out with you on the course with many new caddy and player interactions in cutscenes.
     • The Rivalry system has been revamped. You and your rival will now be compared after each round in a point system comparing your rounds in stableford and match play format. Players will work there way to beat each rival working there way to face off against Tiger Woods.
     • Tournaments will no longer end in a tie in career mode! Yes, there will be playoff holes and scenarios in the new career mode.
   • It is not yet known on whether you are required to be online to play the career mode. In PGA 2K21 you were not able to play the career mode while offline. I hope that offline players will be able to play career mode this year, but we do not know this information yet.
7. Players will be able to use and progress their MyPlayer attributes, skills, and more in both career mode and other modes.
8. Each pro in the game has their own set of attributes, skills, clubs and archetypes
9. There are 8 primary attributes per pro and MyPlayer in PGA TOUR 2K23
   • Power: How far the athlete can hit the golf ball
   • Timing: This was known as forgiveness in 2k21. The higher this stat is the easier it will be for the player to hit perfect downswing tempo
   • Swing Path: This was known as swing plane in 2k21.  The higher the stat the easier it is to swing in a straight swing plane. It basically makes the swing path perfect region bigger.
   • Transition: This was known as Distance control in 2k21. The higher the stat the easier it is to hit the perfect power spot when transitioning from backswing to downswing.  It basically makes the perfect region for distance/power control bigger.
   • Shaping: Refers to shaping the golf ball: Spin, loft, draw, fade. As this skill is increased the amount of spin and draw/fade that can be generated is increased.
   • Lie Range: This is a new stat in PGA 2K23. So, every lie in the game has a lie percentage stating what percentage of a full swing the ball will travel when struck in that lie. Usually, it is a very broad range such as 69% to 80%.  In 2k23, a higher lie range attribute makes this range narrower to help the golfer make more precise calculations. For example, instead of showing 69%-80% it would show a narrower range of 72% to 76% perhaps.
   • Putt Path: This is the same as swing plane above, however only for putts.
   • Putt Weight: This is the same as transition above, however only for putts.

10. The game will have 5 primary archetypes for players to choose from. These dictate the golfers’ base primary attributes distribution.
    • Here are the 5 Primary Archetypes:
      • Greensman: Described in game as: “a greensman is a specialist with a putter in hand. However, so much time spent on the greens means less time spent reading lies and shaping shots.”
        • Strength: Putting
        • Weakness: Recovery Shots
      • Powerhouse: Described in game as “A Powerhouse prides themselves on destroying the ball with every swing. However, all that power can be difficulty to control, which can result in being further off target more frequently.”
        • Strength: Carry Distance
        • Weakness: Swing Difficulty
      • Rhythm: Described in game as “A Rhythm golfer may not be able to achieve jaw dropping distances, but because they put swing quality above all else they tend to find their target with regularity.”
        • Strength: Swing Difficulty
        • Weakness: Carry Distance
      • Sculptor: Described in game as “A scluptor is a ball flight artist, bending and spinning their shots with disregard for swing quality both on and off the green.”
        • Strength: Shot Shaping
        • Weakness: Distance Control
      • Woodsman: Described in game as “A Woodsman is a well balanced survivalist off the green, however their skills with a putter leave something to be desired.”
        • Strength: Recovery Shots
        • Weakness: Putting
11. MyPlayer’s will have a total of 42 specific skills/perks to unlock and upgrade from level 1 to level 3.  There are 7 skills for each club category including driver, woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, and putter; and they are all unique for each club type.
    • There are three different skill/perk categories in PGA 2K23. In 2K’s Clubhouse report article on MyPlayers, they described the different skill categories as followed:
      • Assist Skills – Activated when you’re struggling to hit quality shots and deactivated when ball striking isn’t an issue.
      • Zone Skills – When you’re in the zone, these skills will be activated. On the flip side, they’ll be deactivated if your focus is lacking
      • Passive Skills – Unlike Assist and Zone Skills, Passive Skills don’t have an activation or deactivation function; however, they’re only active for specific scenarios. Each club has one passive skill, which is unlocked at the final tier.
    • Players will not be able to unlock/activate all 42 skills. As you play and level of your MyPlayer, you will unlock skill points. The max number of skill points you can earn is 50, and you can also use in-game currency to respec your skills at anytime. This will keep players from having fully maxed out MyPlayers in online and help with balancing. It also gives players the opportunity to create and use different skill builds per tournaments and round!
    • Here is an example of skill in the game. One of the skills shown in the gameplay trailer was Beach Bum for Irons.  This skill stated that Splash shots receive a timing boost from the bunker, and level 1, level 2, and level 3 of the skill had different activation and deactivation criteria for each round. Level 1 requires poor swing timing 4 x for activation during a round and then having good swing timing 1x will deactivate the skill.  However, Level 3 requires poor swing timing 3x for activation during a round and the having perfect swing timing 2x in a row will deactivate the skill. 
    • As we get more specifics on the skills, I will make a deep dive into each skill and provide more information.

12. Players will not be able to max out their stats to level 99 or 100 and there is a hard cap for all MyPlayers for balancing purposes with each loadout having strengths and weaknesses.
    • Operation sports stated in their PGA 2k23 game preview that there did not seem to be any pay to win aspects of paying real money to maximize your character in their preview build. Here is their full preview: https://www.operationsports.com/pga-tour-2k23-preview-tiger-goes-next-gen/
13. The course designer is returning with more features in PGA TOUR 2K23, however specifics on changes to the course designer have not been shown yet or talked about yet.
    • I will update this as we find out more about the designer changes in 2k23.
14. Online societies are returning in PGA 2K23.
    • Players will be able to run online seasons in Online Societies with both normal tournaments and major tournaments.
    • No specifics have been provided on new features in societies, customization options, or on the number of societies you can join.
15. Local and online multiplayer will still be available in the game, including the divot derby speed golf mode
    • No new multiplayer modes have been announced yet other than Topgolf, but I expect stroke play, match play, alternate shot, scramble, and divot derby to all be returning modes.  There has also been no mention of an online ranked mode.
    • 2K Nextmaker SupremeBinkz confirmed on twitter that online matchmaking is still locked to the pro difficulty settings and there are no options in matchmaking for higher or lower difficulty options.
16. Many different Brands of apparel, clubs, golf balls, and equipment are featured in PGA 2K23
    • Known apparel brands so far as of August 25, 2022: Callaway Golf, FootJoy, Malbon Golf, Nike Golf, PUMA, Titleist, TravisMathew, Sketchers, Adidas, 100 Thieves,
    • Known clubs and equipment brands so far as of August 25, 2022: Bridgestone Golf, Callaway Golf, COBRA, Mizuno, Odyssey Golf, Scotty Cameron, TaylorMade, Titleist, Wilson, Nike, Bridgestone
17. Clubs are now even more customizable with club specific heads, shafts, and grips can be applied to each club
    • Clubs have been completely revamped in PGA TOUR 2K23. The different club brands dictate the look of the club and also what club types are available in the bag. However, the club brands no longer dictate the stats of the clubs. Club stats are now fully customizable for each club in the bag including the putter.
    • Players can completely customize each club with specific heads, shafts, and grips. Each head, shaft or grip also provides different boost and losses to attributes.  The club parts come in different color/rarity categories, such as common (grey), uncommon (green), rare (blue), Epic (purple), and legendary (orange/yellow).  There is a fitting cost of in game currency for applying a new part to your club, and is more expensive depending on the rarity.
    • Club parts can only be earned by playing the game, and cannot be purchased with real money! Players can earn them through the career mode or by drops after every single round you play!
    • Gamers will also be able to combine and exchange club parts for more rare club parts.
18. Golf balls are now available as equipment in 2k23, and a variety of brands will be included
    • Players can equip different golf balls they earn or purchase in game as a cosmetic skin for each round in their golf bag menu. However, the golf ball cosmetics is not the only thing that can be customized in game.
    • Golf Ball Sleeves have been added to the game this year, which similar to the club parts, they each have strengths and weakness and come in a variety of rarities.
    • Golf Ball Sleeves stats include: Spin, Flight, Bounce, and Roll.
    • Each Ball sleeve only lasts one round and can be replaced or replenished (using in game currency) prior to each round. You cannot change your ball sleeve during a round.
    • Unlike Club Parts (club parts can only be unlocked by playing the game), Golf Ball Sleeves can both be earned in game and also purchased with in game currency/microtransactions.
      • I know this brings up a red flag for many gamers as a possible pay-to-win mechanic, however from what I have seen even the highly boosted golf balls come with some huge weaknesses.
        • For example: 2K Nextmaker Respawn Sports showed a legendary Magnet LV1 Golf ball sleeve pack in his MyPlayer Video Overview. This ball gave a +46 boost to spin, and +19 boost to flight, but it also comes with a -60 decrease to bounce and -5 decrease to roll. So with every strength and boost comes a decrease/weakness somewhere.
        • Respawn Sports did a deep dive into all the different MyPlayer categories and shows all the club parts and golf ball sleeves Be sure to check out his video if you want to see an in-depth dive on all the MyPlayer aspects, it is such a great video deep dive!
      • Also players will never run out of golf ball sleeves, because they will always have access to the default golf ball sleeves. Default golf ball sleeve starts are as followed:
        • Spin – 35; Flight – 35; Bounce – 65; Roll – 65
19. Virtual Golfers earn rewards after each and every round in the game including in game currency, new club parts, new ball sleeves, cosmetics, and more!
20. A new 3-Click control method has been added in addition to the typical analog stick swing method
    • The 2k’s first clubhouse report they described the new 3-click control method as follows: “the 3-Click swing requires you to hold and release the A/X button (depending on your platform of choice) for power, and tap it twice to line up your swing path and club face angle. It’s as simple as one, two, three.” https://pgatour.2k.com/2k23/clubhouse-report/feature-enhancements/
    • Most of the 2K Nextmakers that tried out this new control method stated that is was actually fun and very challenging at the same time. TheApexhound (a 2K Nextmaker) explained that the analog controls were way easier for him and that the 3-click control method was actually really difficult. 
    • It has been confirmed that Society Owners can set the swing input to either 3-Click swing only, analog swing only, or Open to any input methods.
    • Most of the 2K Nextmakers loved the way the game played on the 3-Click control method when they played the preview build, and all seemed to have great things to say about the new input type. I am really looking forward to trying it out myself!
21. The Splash shot can only be used while in bunkers!
    • This was a highly requested gameplay change from the community and this will make short game much more realistic
22. The punch shot has returned in PGA TOUR 2K23!
    • This was another highly requested feature to return to the game, because the other games in the series besides PGA 2K21 has the punch shot type.
23. Chipping and short game has been revamped.
    • Almost all of the 2k Netmakers that have played the game early have stated that chipping and short game has been revamped and GIRs are way more important. 
    • For example, it was stated by b101 (a 2k nextmaker) that the LW chip carried 25 yards with a full swing in 2k23, while in 2k21 this same shot carried 7 yards. 
    • Most of the PGA 2k21 community thought chipping and short game was too easy and these changes to make short chips harder and splash shots only being available in bunkers will be a welcome change to most of the community.
    • These changes will make GIRs very important and also cause virtual golfers to putt more from the green fringe and when on fairways around the green which is seen a lot in real life golf.
24. Multiple 2K Nextmakers have stated that green speeds have been revamped and are more realistic.
    • After watching all of the Nextmakers gameplay videos of PGA 2K23, I noticed that ball rolling, bounces, and spin looked so much more realistic especially on the greens. Balls will rarely ever stop on big slopes in 2K23, and putting downhill is going to be a big adjustment for gamers.
25. All the different LPGA and PGA Pros have different attributes, skills, archetypes and clubs unique to each pro.
26. All pros have their unique swings represented in PGA TOUR 2K23
    • It is not yet known if all the pros had their swings scanned in the game or if they just used videos/photos to recreate the swings.
27. All MyPlayer male body type characters have the same swing and all female body type characters have the same swing. There is no MyPlayer swing custimization in 2K23.
28. A new power meter following the golfers swing replaces the old power meter from PGA TOUR 2K23. See in picture below!

28. The game will have a clubhouse pass in three different tiers to unlock more cosmetics, clubs, etc.
    • The three tiers include: Free, Premium ($9.99/season), Premium +($19.99/season)
    • It is not yet known what the difference between each tier entails.

There is still a whole lot of information we need to learn to fill in all the gaps, but it is great to have all this information already available! Hope this was helpful for everyone! Big thank you to all the 2K Nextmakers for providing excellent video breakdowns, game previews, twitter post/responses, and streams of their thoughts after playing PGA TOUR 2K23.  Checkout their videos here and subscribe and follow these great creators:

Respawn Sports: Respawn Sports – YouTube

Seamount4Life: Seamount4Life – YouTube

xGDOG: xGD0G – YouTube

B101 Design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99wyJazb5cs

Crazycanuck1985: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8QY3J6S4pg

TheApexHound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1FtWrKHtxM

VctryLnSprts: VctryLnSprts – YouTube

SupremeBinkz

KillahBeaz132

This is not the full list of all the 2K Nextmakers, as there are many of them so be sure to watch and support all of them over on YouTube!

I will be updating this article and writing more pieces on this game as we get more information!

Let me know what you all are looking forward to or if you have any questions or more information to provide in a comment below!

Checkout full video breakdowns of all things PGA TOUR 2K23 and more at the Gamer Ability YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/gamerability