Of the golf games I've been marathoning, this is the one with the most comprehensive integration of read features into the classic 3-click golfing mechanics. With how much information you get of your distance and lay, it makes you feel in control of every single shot you make, and all of your mistakes are eventually correctable. Purely on gameplay, it's amazing.

What I don't like about it is the way the content is structured - there's just way too much that has to be unlocked or bought from the shop. I'm not the kind of person who can get invested into tournaments in sports games, so I basically played 10 or so rounds across some different modes and called it a day. I've heard the later games get more stringent about this, but they also seem to integrate RPG growth into the mix, so maybe it will be a better mesh for me.

Also, the character designs in the localized Hot Shots version are terrible. They use that awful 2000's americanized look that I can only describe as 'Chib-ugly', and most are just blatant racial caricatures. Props to the caddy 'Hubert', the human personification of the nerd emoji.