Before I seriously watched golf on the television, I played Tiger Woods PGA Tour on the Nintendo Wii. Hitting a long drive or an approach shot tight to the pin in the video game made me want to do it in real life as well. Playing famous courses such as the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island on the Wii made me want to play them in real life, too.
Ultimately, video games helped spark my love of golf and an interest in watching the PGA Tour. That’s not a coincidence.
“When you think about young fans, their fan loyalty is determined at such a young age,” said Anne Detlefsen, senior director of content programming at the PGA Tour. “Those fans are not necessarily watching our broadcasts yet so we have to go where they are.”
According to National Golf Foundation research, golf has become much younger over the past several years. In 2024, the NGF reported that the number of youth golfers aged 6-19 was up 48 percent since 2019 and golfers aged 18-34 were up 11 percent.
In a very traditional sport, the changing demographics present the PGA Tour with an opportunity: use video games to attract a younger audience and bring more people to the game.
“When you think about young fans, their fan loyalty is determined at such a young age. Those fans are not necessarily watching our broadcasts yet so we have to go where they are.”
Anne Detlefsen, PGA Tour SenioR director of content programming
Tom Cerabino, the senior director of business development at the PGA Tour, has two daughters who are 9 and 10. While they’ve never swung a club themselves, they both play Ultimate Golf Simulator on Roblox.
“My two daughters, who love playing any type of game on Roblox, love that game,” Cerabino said. “It’s their pathway really into playing the game of golf.”
When it comes to video games, Cerabino said the PGA Tour is always looking to collaborate with the best-in-class publishers and developers that are delivering great games to reach people of all ages. By having a large and diverse portfolio of games, the PGA Tour can reach a wider audience.
“What is the partner going to offer that is new and innovative and is going to expose our brand to these different platforms,” Cerabino said. “How is this partner really going to amplify or complement our existing portfolio?
Video game publisher 2K offers a sports simulation game available on consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox. People aged 34 and under are the key demographic, as out of the millions of people who play the game, 70 percent are aged 13-34. But Bryce Yang, senior director of franchise and partnerships strategy at 2K, said the game is for everyone regardless of their skill level in either golf or video games.
“This game and this franchise lean into innovation, consumer engagement, and focusing on the future of golf [for] the younger generations and also the current generations,” Yang said.
Roblox offers a different kind of gaming experience with its PGA Tour Ultimate Golf Simulator. In it, players try to score holes-in-one to unlock new levels, eventually going all the way to space.
The game launched in early March, and last week it surpassed 1 million unique players, Cerabino said. Even more so than 2K, Roblox is aimed at a younger audience, as about 65 percent of users on the platform are under 18.
Detlefsen has three sons who are 19, 17 and 9. While the older two play 2K, her youngest plays Roblox.
“My kids think I’m cool now when I come home and I have a game they can beta test,” Detlefsen said.
Other games in the PGA Tour’s portfolio include GOLF+, a virtual reality game on the Meta Quest, where players can play on iconic courses such as St. Andrews and Pinehurst No. 2.
There’s also PGA Tour Golf Shootout, a mobile game where players can play real PGA Tour courses.
Video game developers and publishers derive several benefits from partnering with the PGA Tour, such as using real courses in their games and activating on site at tournaments.
For example, 2K had on-site activations at East Lake Golf Club during the Tour Championship. Fans were offered the opportunity to play the game, in which there was a closest-to-the-pin challenge set at East Lake.
The PGA Tour will continue to look for ways to expand its video game portfolio to reach an even wider audience, Cerabino said. In particular, the tour wants to reach new markets and explore games on new consoles.
“I think there’s a tremendous opportunity internationally to develop games across these platforms tailored to the different international territories,” Cerabino said. “[We also] don’t have a current partner offering a Nintendo Switch 2 game which just came out recently. So I’m excited about the range of opportunities that are still out there.”
Everett Munez