An Ultimate Year: 2023 in Review
Updated: Jan 2
As we bid farewell to 2023 and begin a New Year full of new adventures and exciting golf, we wanted to take a stroll down memory lane and celebrate some of the highlights of our biggest and best year yet.
New Ways to Win
We're always looking for new ways to change the game, and 2023 was no exception. From creating new game features and Tournament formats, to revamping our existing fan favorites, 2023 saw all kinds of new challenges for our players. Here are just a few...
February: Players Choice Tournaments, which allows players like you to vote on the settings for an 18-hole weekend tournament!
March: Golf Grand Prix, a week-long Tournament mode guaranteed to get your engine revving with small brackets, fixed gear, and big rewards that will require you put the pedal to the metal!
April: Ultimate Division, a division that Pro and Tour Pro players can opt into, where the prizes, bracket sizes, and competition are all bigger!
May: Expanded Country Clubs from 25 players to 50 to let you grow your team bigger, better, and faster!
June: One & Done Tournaments, one-hole tournaments that run consecutively every half hour throughout the day.
July: All new Golf Royale formats, for the first time in a very long time!
August: Thunderdome, a single-bracket, limited-capacity, Tour Pro exclusive tournament format.
September: Ultimate Fantasy Challenge, a unique UG spin on Fantasy Football where players had to complete a mission AND enter a promo code corresponding to the NFL player they thought would have the best performance that week, all for the chance to win a spot in a bonus tournament the following week!
November: All New Golf Royale Schedule, which now features special Royale events DAILY!
We'd also be remiss if we didn't reminisce on the Great Wind Jitter Debate of 2023, which culminated in one of our most memorable Promo Code events ever: the Battle of the Breeze in June. As we enter 2024, the battle lingers on many Ultimate Golfers' minds... and surely will for years to come.
New Courses to Conquer
Time and time again, Ultimate Golf players tell us the reason they play the game is that it's not just a place where they can play a quick game of golf - they get to experience it. All that starts with our golf courses, which include some of the most scenic links in the real world... plus a few creative venues to keep things interesting. Five new courses joined Ultimate Golf in 2023:
January: Saadiyat Beach Golf Club - Abu Dhabi, UAE
April: Daihakone Country Club - Hakone, Japan
May: Randpark Bushwillow - Randpark, South Africa
August: Turnpike Valley - somewhere in northern New Jersey
October: Royal Norwich Golf Club - Norwich, England
New Foes to Face
We know the whole point of competition is to beat someone, and for victory to be the sweetest it can be, it can't just be anyone. Sports require... rivals. So this summer, we introduced a new team tournament format, and even we couldn't have imagined how much you would love it. It all started with the College Golf Series in July, which turned into the first of our monthly Clash of Rivals series. Five more tournaments followed:
August: Console Wars
September: Battle of the Bands
October: Horror Films
November: Showstoppers
December: Holiday Party
We also introduced a brand new way for you to take on individual challengers in the game, with the introduction of VIP Tournaments. In what quickly became a signature game mode in Ultimate Golf, we let you take on very special guests at any time, playing against their score for the chance to win some truly awesome—and often signature—rewards. We featured over 30 VIPs this year, including...
Seasonal: Santa, Big Birdie, Dracula
Play the Pro: Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth, Sam Snead, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Tiger Woods
Celebrities: Patrick Johnson, Cade York, Travis Miller, Osa Odighizuwa, Francis Biondi, Amanda Renner (x2!)
Developers: MC Jamie, Hyp Andrew, Hyp Brent, Hyp Mike
Players: Big Eazzzy, Webbo, Duff, Kornbred, Jeff and Mike, Banger, Jaco, Zach, Duffy the Vampire Slayer, Jared A., Carol, Snipey McSnipe (x2!)
Charity Challenge: Sir Ian Livingstone
And none of it would've happened without... YOU!!!
You played a lot of golf. Like, a lot of golf. To celebrate your achievements, here are some fun stats about our UG community this year.
Top 5 Cities
Sydney, Australia
Chicago, Illinois
Melbourne, Australia
Dallas, Texas
Charlotte, North Carolina
Top Golf Clubs
Battering Ram - over 857k shots taken
Outlaw - over 319k shots taken
Fusion - over 110k shots taken
Red Barchetta - over 107k shots taken
Highlander - over 70k shots taken
Top Premium Balls
Primetime - over 49k used
Spooky - over 28k used
Creepy - over 27k used
Pro DX - over 22k used
Low Rider - over 21k used
Most Played Game Mode
Head-to-Head (over 225 MILLION Entries!)
Most Popular Tournaments
Pretty Golf Machine - over 50k participants
Saadiyat Front Tee Frenzy - over 47k participants
Battle of Britain - over 46k participants
Front Tee Frenzy: Albatross Edition - over 46k participants
TL 16 Playoff Challenge - over 45k participants
Those aren't just our numbers—those are YOURS. And we know those numbers will be even bigger & better next year!
It's been an amazing year, Ultimate Golfers. Thank you so much for being part of our 2023, and for allowing us to be part of yours. We can't wait to enjoy many, many more together! As always... we'll see you on the course ⛳🏌️
Can someone explain to me why there is no "Start Practice" button while i am in a Tournament? I go to the Swap Pins tab and see that I have over 100 available, but I have no way to actually use them.
More awards. If anyone spends on the pay to play model there should be more free awards. There should be a way to practice without losing balls like a driving/short club range. Should be able to gift anything to another country club member, at least balls or cash (not coins. Coins are useless)
Tour 13 is a joke.....The game Ai only gives you %50 win percentage with higher losing %...... 1 Star rating for all games. They cheat and we know this. Enjoy the game. DONT SPEND $. You will never win. Just like Vegas!!!
I would still love to have the ability to just pick a course to play to improve my game on that course while improving my Course Mastery.
Played now for the last 3 weeks. Game mechanics are on par with PS3 PGA TOUR . Unfortunately, there is not as much diversity in shot or club selection. If you are on the fringe of a green it would be better to putt into range rather than chip. Also when in heavy rough under a tree is no choice to punch the ball , or a drop option. Finally why is every hole you use a special ball, would make more sense one ball per round or if you lose it. This adds more to the feel of the game, rather than being a pay to play game.