Editing Golf (series)

{{italic title|''Golf'' (series)}}
{{distinguish|Mario Golf (series)}}
{{series infobox
|image=[[File:Golf GB logo.png|280px]]
|first=''[[Golf]]'' ([[List of games by date#1984|1984]])
|latest=''[[Mobile Golf]]'' ([[List of games by date#2001|2001]])
|number=8
|franchise=''[[Super Mario (franchise)|Super Mario]]''
}}

The '''''Golf''''' series is a series of games by [[Nintendo]] based upon the {{wp|golf|sport of the same name}}. The player golfs through 18 holes in a course by using various clubs, taking stock of wind and grass type while avoiding hazards such as water and sand traps. The courses are generally based on real-world countries and regions, though the courses and holes themselves are fictional. Due to [[Mario]]'s role as Nintendo's primary mascot, he is used as a player character in almost every game in the series, eventually leading to the ''[[Mario Golf (series)|Mario Golf]]'' series that focuses on him and his world rather than realistic holes.
{{br}}
==List of games==
{| align=center width=100% class="wikitable"
|-
!width=15% style="background-color: #d9d9d9;font-size:125%;text-align:left" colspan="2"|Title 
|-
!width=15% style="background-color: #e0e0e0;"|Cover, original release, and system
!width=85% style="background-color: #e0e0e0;"|Synopsis 
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size:125%;text-align:left"|''[[Golf]]''
|-
|[[File:Golf Boxart.png|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{release|Japan|May 1, 1984}} [[Family Computer|FC]]/[[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]]</span> 
|Nintendo's original golf game, programmed by [[Satoru Iwata]], is a simple game of 18 holes. Along with its original releases as a launch title on the [[Family Computer]] and [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], it has been ported numerous times, including the [[Family Computer Disk System|Famicom Disk System]], numerous Japanese personal computers, and the [[Nintendo PlayChoice-10]]. The character in it resembles a more realistic portrayal of Mario, wearing white and blue as Player 1 and red and black as Player 2, though he is sometimes identified as Mario and other times as a generic character nicknamed "Ossan." Unlike in most later games in the series, the holes lack any distinction between rough grass and fairway, while trees solely act as out-of-bounds areas.
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size:125%;text-align:left"|''[[Golf|Stroke & Match Golf]]''
|-
|[[File:VS. Golf Pinball Japanese flyer front.jpg|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{release|Japan|August 1984}} [[VS. System]]</span> 
|''Stroke & Match Golf'' or ''VS. Golf'' is a variation of the original game on the [[VS. System]] series of arcade machines. It was released alongside ''[[Pinball (game)|VS. Pinball]]''. Three versions were released, all with a randomly picked selection of 18 holes from a larger sample, which differs between each release. The sole Japanese version and one of the two overseas versions feature Mario with the same sprites as the original game, but the other overseas version features a female golfer instead. Since the game is an arcade game, a credit system is implemented, but how it works varies by region.
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size:125%;text-align:left"|''[[Golf: Japan Course]]''
|-
||[[File:Famicom-Golf-Japan-Course-cover.png|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{release|Japan|February 21, 1987}}[[Family Computer Disk System|FDS]]</span>
|This Japan-only game is a simple update to the 1984 original, albeit with new holes, different types of grasses added, and trees acting as solid obstacles. Mario is now in his normal proportions and outfit, while a palette swap [[Luigi]] is available for the second player. There is also a palette-swapped computer opponent that wears black and brown.

''Japan Course'' was involved in a major contest. After finishing all the holes, players had an option of saving their score. If the score was good, the score could be recorded into a special blue disk that came with the game and sent via Disk Fax to Nintendo in Kyoto. 5,000 runners-up received the Professional Course golden Disk Card, which is much harder than the original. The top 100 scorers received a plaque with their names on it, as well as a Champions' Course golden Disk Card with their name and rank programmed onto the title screen, and an even more difficult set of holes.
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size:125%;text-align:left"|''[[Golf: U.S. Course]]''
|-
|[[File:Fds famicomgolfuscourse jp.jpg|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{release|Japan|June 14, 1987}}[[Family Computer Disk System|FDS]]</span>
|''U.S. Course'' was released months later and is also a Japan-exclusive game. It is more open, and a bird's-eye view of the holes is not available during gameplay, making it a bit more challenging. In this game, Mario wears a blue shirt and red-and-white striped overalls. Luigi is not mentioned in the game or the instruction manual, but the second player is a green palette swap, while Player 3 is blue and Player 4 is orange. There is also a hidden female playable character that can be unlocked.

The game also had a contest similar to ''Japan Course'' in which the main prize was a trophy and a golden ''Punch-Out!!'' [[Family Computer|Famicom]] cartridge. An unannounced prize was the golden disk ''Golf: Prize Card'', which contained the harder Special Course. It was given out during the same contest but likely as part of a lottery to a thousand players whose submissions included a hole-in-one.
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size:125%;text-align:left"|''[[Golf]]'' (Game Boy)
|-
|[[File:Golf GB US.jpg|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{release|Japan|November 28, 1989}} [[Game Boy]]</span> 
|Despite sharing a title with the original game, the Game Boy ''Golf'' has 36 holes spread across a Japan Course and a U.S.A. Course, similar to the previous separate Disk System games, which it is also otherwise more similar to. Unlike in the previous games, there is no "back view" of Mario, instead showing a heavily zoomed-in version of the bird's-eye map. Multiplayer requires two Game Boys and a link cable.
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size:125%;text-align:left"|''[[NES Open Tournament Golf]]''
|-
|[[File:NESOTG cover NA.jpg|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{release|Japan|September 20, 1991}} [[Family Computer|FC]]/[[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]]</span>
||This game was released in both America and Japan, featuring [[Mario]], [[Luigi]], [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]], and [[Princess Daisy]], and acts as the beginning of the ''[[Mario Golf (series)|Mario Golf]]'' subseries. Various other humans appear as well, including [[Steve (NES Open Tournament Golf)|Steve]] (beginner), [[Mark (NES Open Tournament Golf)|Mark]] (amateur), [[Tony (NES Open Tournament Golf)|Tony]] (semi-professional), and [[Billy]] (professional). In the original Japanese version, ''Mario Open Golf'', there is no tournament mode and there are fewer NPC golfers but far more holes than in the American version; the soundtrack also differs between releases.

A version of the American release with the tournament and clubhouse modes removed was made for the [[Nintendo PlayChoice-10]] in America, called ''Mario's Open Golf''.
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size:125%;text-align:left"|''{{wp|Golf (1995 video game)|Golf*}}''
|-
|[[File:Golf VB box art US.jpg|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{release|Japan|August 11, 1995}} [[Virtual Boy]]</span> 
|This game was initially developed by {{wp|T&E Soft}} and released in Japan as the unrelated ''T&E Virtual Golf'', though it was localized as simply ''Golf*'' or as ''Nintendo Golf'', giving it a connection to the earlier games. It features a generic human golfer (implicitly named "Duff" by the default name registry) in place of Mario and, due to the Virtual Boy's capabilities, has a course of 18 fully 3D holes with hills and slopes at the Papillion Golf & Country Club. Due to the different development history, it has several gameplay differences from the other games, though some of its mechanics are used in ''[[Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)|Mario Golf]]'' for the [[Nintendo 64]].
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size:125%;text-align:left"|''[[Mobile Golf]]''
|-
|[[File:MobileGolfBoxart.gif|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{release|Japan|May 11, 2001}} [[Game Boy Color]]</span>
||This Japan-only game is a spinoff of ''[[Mario Golf (Game Boy Color)|Mario Golf]]'' for the [[Game Boy Color]] and is very similar to its predecessor. Its main innovation was multiplayer games within a mobile phone network via a special adapter. Unlike in its predecessor, the holes are based on real locations, like in the earlier ''Golf'' games.
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Golf VB box art JP.jpg|''T&E Virtual Golf'' box art (front)
Golf VB box back JP.jpg|''T&E Virtual Golf'' box art (back)
Golf VB box back US.jpg|''Golf*'' box art (back)
Golf VB hole map art.jpg|''T&E Virtual Golf''/''Golf*'' hole map art
Golf VB title screen.png|''Golf*'' title screen
</gallery>

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Jap=ゴルフ
|JapR=Gorufu
|JapM=Golf
}}

{{Super Mario games}}
[[Category:Game series]]
[[Category:Sports games]]