PGA Tour 2K23: Beginner Tips Guide (2024)

Tiger Woods has once again revived the world of virtual golf with PGA Tour 2K23, the latest installment to the universally acclaimed sports saga. Like before, players are invited to swing for stardom as an up-and-coming pro golfer over a series of dynamic courses, tournaments, and global events in its ever-evolving MyCareer mode.

Luckily, PGA Tour 2K23 has a litter of in-depth tutorials and starter challenges to help you take your first steps out on the green. Learning to master the sport, though, is another story, and one that involves a fair amount of trial and error backhand swings, putts, and tee-offs. But where do you begin in a world like PGA, and how exactly do you build up a certain repertoire that puts you on par with the poster children of the sport?

Updated November 21, 2023, by Sean Murray: These PGA 2K23 Tips are sure to get your golfing career off to a great start. We've tweaked this guide's formatting slightly and also given it more links to other helpful PGA 2K23 topics.

You Don't Need To Be An Expert To Golf

PGA Tour 2K23 does a remarkable job at accommodating both newcomers to the series and seasoned veterans who've followed it since its 1990 debut. Because of this, it's fair to say that you don't need to be an expert with all the answers to hit the grass running.

Of course, previousexperienceisamajorplus in a series like PGA Tour, especially if you're looking to challenge others in its online multiplayer mode. That said, you can learn all there is to learn without having an existing wealth of knowledge already stowed away under your belt.

Learn The Clubs

It's no secret that a lot of newcomers to the series fail to make their shots because of the clubs they choose to bring to the course. Make no mistake that missing a shot can boil down to a number of factors, but selecting the wrong club is a definite no-no in PGA Tour, and can consequently cause you to struggle to make par.

Therefore, before you hit the green, be sure to experiment with each of the varied clubs until you've grasped the basics.

PGA Tour 2K23 offers a generous selection of clubs, all of which come loaded with their own purpose. The good news here is that your caddie will determine which club you need whenever you're about to tee off.

That said, just because the caddie hands you a club doesn't mean you should always follow up with it. The more you learn about the clubs and their capabilities, the more you can test your caddie's knowledge out on the green by switching up the defaults.

Customize Your Clubs In The Locker

Your default clubs will only take you so far in a game like PGA Tour 2K23, which is precisely why you should build up enough coins to shop for upgrades. These upgrades come in the form of Fittings, which can be applied to any of your clubs in the Locker section.

It goes without saying that adding just one of these Fittings to a club can boost your game when out on the green. Each Fitting has a number of attributes, including shot power, timing, swing path, and shaping.

Grind XP And Coins

To make it anywhere in MyCareer, you're going to need a lot of top-shelf cosmetics. Unfortunately, cosmetics come at a price, and unless you've stashed away a whole treasury of coins, you won't be able to equip them to help triple your A game.

Therefore, you're going to want to grind XP and coins, which can be done by competing in global events and challenges.

Of course, taking part in any round will help you gain a foothold on the ladder, but to truly make an impact, you're going to want to win events and challenges. Like in PGA Tour 2K22, the higher the difficulty setting, the more XP you will acquire on completion.

Allocate Skill Points To The Essential Clubs

As you shovel your way through MyCareer, you will earn XP from beating events, which can be used to unlock a variety of perks for each of your acquired clubs. However, if you dump XP into skill trees for clubs that aren't used all that much, then you're only shooting yourself in the foot.

When it comes to building up your skill trees, you will want to focus on the driver, irons, wedge, and putter. As these are the clubs you'll be using the majority of the time, it's best to cram as much XP into developing their attributes and leveling up the tiers.

Tweak The Settings

It may seem obvious at this point, but changing your settings to suit your personal preferences can definitely help you out in the long run. Although it is recommended that you play on a higher difficulty to maximize your chances of netting more XP, it doesn't mean you should never settle for something a little less threatening as and when needed.

If you navigate to the MyCareer Presets, you will find three adjustable sliders: Opponent Difficulty, Conditions Difficulty, and Rounds Per Event. If you're still learning the basics and aren't quite ready to dive into the deep end, then you can change the top two sliders to Very Easy, which will give you more leeway when playing rounds.

Experiment With The Archetypes

PGA Tour 2K23 lets you choose from five different archetypes, all of which come preloaded with their own abilities and perks. You can alter your character to accommodate any of these archetypes for free in MyCareer, and doing so can help you get a feel for each respective skill tree.

Before diving into any global event, you should aim to experiment with each of the five available archetypes, which are Powerhouse, Greensman, Rhythm, Sculptor, and Woodsman.

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