EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ Career Mode Deep Dive

March 21, 2023

From gameplay to courses we’ve taken you through some of what EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR™ will offer at launch, and now, read on to learn all about Career Mode, our most in-depth career mode in the EA SPORTS PGA TOUR series yet. Read on to learn more about Career Mode and watch the deep dive below.

From becoming a major champion to earning a grand slam title, to even winning the FedExCup and more, you’ll be able to experience what it is like to compete each week in golf’s biggest events with Career Mode.

Career Mode Journey Overview from Amateur to the Masters

You’ll start your journey by customizing your golfer’s appearance with a variety of visual customizations, equipment options, and swing styles to choose from. You can control your golfer’s swing style by selecting their swing animation, swing tempo, preferred shot shape, and ball trajectory throughout your career. You’ll also be able to customize your club head, shaft, grips, and more so you’ll perform just like you want to on the course. And to make sure you’re looking your best when you’re on the course, you’ll be able to equip yourself with accessories and clothing from a variety of iconic and new-age golf brands.

Career Mode Journey Overview from Amateur to the Masters

After you’ve perfected your look on-course, you’ll be able to control where you want to start your career - as an amateur in one of the top amateur events, on the Korn Ferry Tour, or the PGA TOUR. As an amateur you’ll be able to play in the U.S. Amateur Championship, Augusta National Women’s Amateur, The Amateur Championship, Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, and Latin American Amateur Championship, culminating in Q-school where you’ll compete for a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour. After you’ve conquered the amateur championships you’ll have the opportunity to earn an invitation to the Masters and U.S. Open.

After the Korn Ferry Tour, or if you choose to skip straight to it, you’ll launch into the PGA TOUR where you will get to compete each week on golf’s biggest stages including the major championships, where you can chase your green jacket, a Grand Slam Title, race for the FedExCup, and more.

In-game image of a player lifting the Claret Jug trophy, given to the winner of The Open Championship.

Throughout the season, each tournament has field sizes and entry requirements and that mirror its real life counterpart. So if you want to compete in golf’s biggest events, you’ll need to earn your spot just like the pros do.

During Career Mode gameplay, you can use the “AI Pairings” setting to play shot-for-shot against an AI PGA TOUR pro, or turn it off to speed up the round and concentrate solely on your game.

The AI performance is based on official ShotLink data, so pros play each course and particular hole just like they would in real life.

Skill Progression and Shot Types

EA SPORTS PGA TOUR Career Mode uses an RPG style of progression where you’ll be able to build your golfer’s skill set over time as you put in playing hours. You can earn XP and skill points in the categories of power, driving, approach, short game and putting where you’ll be able to unlock new shot types and upgrade them from bronze to silver to gold and more.

With upgraded shot types you’ll have more strategic options on the course so you can succeed at more difficult courses.

You’ll be able to see your upgrades in your home base, The Season Hub where you’ll be able to view the entire calendar of events and track your career progression and other milestones through the “Career Mastery” tab.

In your Season Hub you’ll also be able to see your completed and available quests - sets of challenges categorized under either a course or a tournament. Completed quests will contribute to developing your skills and unlocking new shot types.

In-game menu screenshot of the Season Hub displaying upcoming tournaments and a player wearing a black cap, black shirt and white trousers.

By completing different challenges you’ll also be able to earn ball and club specs which offer customizable performance characteristics across the areas of power, accuracy, control, and recovery. You can create a loadout that you prefer and then equip that club and ball spec into your bag.

You can also purchase PGA TOUR club specs from the store to equip clubs just like your favorite pros do.

Attributes

Your golfer will have a variety of attributes that you’ll be able to influence by completing quests. They are detailed below. Utilizing skill points for each of the five skill categories not only unlocks new shot types, but also allows you to upgrade your golfer's attributes

Power
- Power influences your swing speed which determines the distance all of your shot go.
Accuracy
- With higher accuracy comes a shot dispersion area and a smaller mishit window size. Your swing execution will also be more accurate.
Control
- With higher control attributes, your shot will have more natural spin and you’ll be able to shape your shot more as well as add more spin while your shot is in the air. The higher your control the more accurately you’ll be able to influence these parts of your play.
Recovery
- Recovery decreases the impact of penalties applied when in bad lies such as rough and sand. This includes:
  - Carry distance penalty
  - The size of the range shown in the carry distance penalty window
  - Natural spin penalty
  - Shot shaping penalty
  - Spin control penalty
  - Mishit tolerance window penalty
  - Penalty for off-plane swings and mishits

So experience the authentic storytelling waiting for you in Career Mode and more in EA SPORTS PGA TOUR! And as always, we continue to take community feedback into account when making improvements and changes to EA SPORTS PGA TOUR.