Review – Flick Golf HD
If you’re looking for an ultra-realistic golf game for the iPad then you might want to stop reading now. As it says on one of the loading screens of Flick Golf HD, “this is golf reinvented”. If you like the sound of a faster paced golf game that involves flicking and (sometimes) frantic swiping read on…
In Flick Golf you literally flick the golf ball into the air using your finger. But unlike many of the more traditional golf games, you can then control the trajectory of the ball as it flies through the air by quickly swiping in any direction. So even if it looks like your ball is going nowhere near the hole you can still easily recover. In fact, as you get bonus points for shots that curve and/or have top and backspin, it sometimes makes sense to aim away from the hole to gain maximum points. On some courses you also need to factor in the wind speeds which can vary from light breezes, to full on gales!
One of the other things that sets Flick Golf apart from more traditional golf games is that although you get extra points for getting the ball in the hole, it doesn’t always matter if you don’t. Each hole is surrounded by 4 circles, and the closer you get to the hole, the more points are awarded. You get one shot at each hole, so if your ball lands outside of the circles you won’t score any points at all.
When you play for the first time I recommend starting with the world tour rather than Quickshot mode. This is because Quickshot requires you to score 20,000 points against the clock in order to advance to the next level, and I suspect most people will struggle to get enough points the first few times they play. By comparison the World Tour mode has a much gentler learning curve that will allow you to refine your skills at your own pace.
There are four different courses in the World Tour mode, these are fictional courses set in the USA, Bahamas, Scotland & Japan. Each one has a bronze, silver and gold level. Although I found the World Tour challenging at first, I managed to complete all it within a couple of days of buying the app. So in the future it would be good to see an update with more difficult courses added.
The graphics in the game are quite nice, each course is rendered in 3D and has a slightly different look and feel – so for example the Japan course features cherry blossom trees and bridges, while the Bahamas has sandy beaches and palm trees.
The best thing about Flick Golf is undoubtedly the control method, there’s something satisfying about being able to make the ball change course in the air, and with practice you should be able to get multiple hole-in-ones.
The only reservations I have about the game are that it sometimes feels a little repetitive, and as mentioned previously I’d like to see some more difficult courses added. Aside from that I’d be happy to recommend it.
Although this review was based on the iPad version of the game I should point out that there is also a version available to purchase for the iPhone, though as it’s not a universal app you will have to buy it twice if you want it on both devices.
At the time of writing this review Flick Golf HD is available for the bargain price of £0.59 in the UK and $0.99 in the USA, though it looks like this is a special price timed to coincide with the recent Masters tournament.
