This is the third or fourth golf simulation game I have played in the past 5+ years and so far it is my absolute favorite! I spent way too much time and money on the last one I played (I’m looking at you Golf Rival) and I have gotten to level/tier 4 already with this game in less than 2 days (maybe 2 hrs each day) with only purchasing the beginner bundles and 1 special. For those people saying that you don’t get much for the money, I beg to differ as GM3D does not charge as many coins/gems to upgrade clubs and only takes 1 special ball PER ROUND unless you go out of bounds or if you switch balls mid-round. GR would take 1 ball PER STROKE! There are only three things that the developers could do/add that would make this an almost perfect game:1-add a “mute chat” option. I am only on Level 4 but I have already had a cpl opponents that tried to text/emoji bomb me to distract my shot. Luckily the chat boxes on this game are not as distracting as other games, but still annoying.2-add a “Wind Ring Tutorial” which gives you and idea of how much to adjust your shot accordingly. I couldn’t find one in any of their existing training guides/tutorials.3-a couple more options for the avatars like hair and hat colors, but it is still fun with the choices available.I also read previous reviews about player data being erased if they close the app, but I linked my FaceBook account to my player profile and I haven’t had an issue with this at all.

The Good: Fun game. Easy to pick up and enjoy. Can get very good, very quickly. The Bad: This is one of those “pay entry fee/winner take all” types of games. This is fine, unless you lose 2-3 games in a row, then you go bankrupt and have to wait a day in order to pay maybe 3 strokes as you collect money. There is no free-play mode, where you can practice, only (fake) money stakes. Game begs you to use real money to purchase fake money. If you “Draw” in a competition you don’t get your money back. You then have to play a “closest to pin” competition. It should be if you “draw” you get your entry fee back, and play for an additional prize if you win. But then again, they want you to use your real money to purchase the fake money. If you’re running low on money, you can pay an entry fee to play in a lesser/cheaper course, but often times you’ll be matched up with someone who will be just as skilled as you, meaning there is no easy way to make money to build your bankroll up to the better courses. Everything is based on this money. It’s how you upgrade your clubs. It’s how you play a round. It’s everything. Once you reach a higher level, you won’t be able to win because your clubs aren’t as good as your competition. You won’t be able to upgrade the clubs because you have no money. You can’t earn money because you don’t have enough to play. You can’t earn money, so you can’t improve. Then you’re stuck. Then you delete the game.

You are constantly pitted against opponents that have clubs and putters that you don’t have. Like the Hercules for example. When they can get it on the putting green on the first shot and you can’t simply because they have a better club than you the game is over after the first shot so what is the point of playing. I want to be best because my opponent made better shots than me not because they have better clubs and are willing to dump a ton of real money in the game to get the clubs that can allow you to hit the ball 400yds. I use only the clubs that you get regardless of spending money just for downloading the game and when it comes down to skill level only I hold my own against anybody but when pitted against people who have the Hercules or Missle I have no chance because they can get it on the putting green in one shot. All I’m saying is make it about skill level not about the person who spends the most money and has the best clubs will win most of the games. Also let’s say I am a 150 for trophies and consistently my versus player has got 350 or higher. Give me someone who is 150 or close to it. Make it more fair.

I have loved playing this game and done well when the game lets a fair game be played without manipulating the game. The operators of the game absolutely do manipulate it to force, or attempt to force, the player to spend more money. If you don’t spend the money they want you to spend, they change wind speeds, make a perfect shot impossible, stop countless chips right on the lip inexplicably (way more often than coincidence), make certain you use more balls than necessary. The other big negative is the unfair distance many players get that are not available to everybody. It is not fun when your best shot on a certain hole cannot get you within a hundred yards of your opponent. I would love a truly realistic game. It is not realistic that a player can hit a drive 450 yards, or even 400, or even 375 in real life. If it is impossible in real life, it should be impossible in the game. The manipulation of the operators of the game have driven me away from a game I would truly love to continue playing.