Much like Eleven Table Tennis before it, Pro Putt by Top Golf on Oculus Quest offers an accessible, authentic and immersive take on a popular sport that’s hard to find too much fault with.
The description for Pro Putt mentions a curious combination of inspirations; Tiger Woods and Mario Golf. True they’re both based on the same sport, but also at the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to authenticity and accessibility. Tiger Woods can’t really keep up with Mario when it comes to accuracy, can he? (Note: this is a joke).
And yet, impressively, developer Golf Scope does indeed strike a balance between those two extremes. Pro Putt delivers much of the realism golf players will want (at least without feeling the weight of the putter in your hand), paired with optional extras to ease more casual players into the experience too.
You could, for example, stand at the start of the course, teleport up to the hole and survey the route, before squeezing the trigger to find yourself back by your ball. You can then practice your swing with an outline of the ball before readying up the proper shot. For the real golf experience, that’s all you could ask for, right? Aside from convincing physics, of course, which Pro Putt has down to a tee.
But, if you want to take things a step further, you can squeeze the grip button to get more detailed information, like the topography of the course and the direction you should make your swing in. You can even scale up to a god mode to plan your next move. The more seasoned among us might consider that cheating but, for someone like me, these are essential components to keeping the game accessible and engaging. Most importantly, they don’t automate any part of the experience; you’ll still be relying on your own skill level to get the job done. That makes it immensely rewarding to score a hole in one whether you’re using all of the game’s extra help or none of it.
Plus there are some other smart accessibility features. For example, when the end of your putter hits the ground, the handle will retract to keep it above the floor and avoid any awkward collision issues or need for constant calibration. Little touches like that make Pro Putt a really thoughtful experience.
I do wish there was a bit more of it, though. The game offers three courses with nine holes each. Though 27 levels might sound like plenty, you’ll see them through in no time and then there’s the chance to replay them on the Pro difficulty. A handful of extra practice and minigame modes are appreciated, but it’d be great to see more courses to take on in the future.
Multiplayer is also in, with support for private matches. It’s the best way to inject some longevity into the experience and meeting up with friends out on the course feels incredibly close to the real thing. That said, it is a little disappointing there isn’t a native pass-the-headset style of local multiplayer included here. You could technically just take turns replaying holes with friends, but the lack of a dedicated mode for switching over and keeping score feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.
If we’re nitpicking, I’ll also mention that the game’s fixed foveated rendering sticks out more than it does in a majority of Quest games because, well, you’re looking at the bottom edge of the screen much more. I’m sure more experienced players, too, would like the ability to skip the Amateur campaign mode and move right on to the Professional option.
Pro Putt By Topgolf Review Final Impressions
But that’s all these are, nitpicks. Pro Putt joins a growing list of VR titles that brilliantly capture the essence of a sport that inherently makes sense on the platform. It caters to both longtime golfers and casual fans with a wealth of options. A relatively small number of courses hold it back from full marks but, if you aren’t getting out on the green enough these days, Pro Putt offers a compelling alternative.
Final Score: 
4/5 Stars | Really Good
Pro Putter By Topgolf is now available on Oculus Quest. To find out how we arrived at this score, check out our review guidelines.
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via Mint VR