UTour Golf

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

UTour Golf
Developer(s)	Gusto Games
Publisher(s)	Groove Games
Platform(s)	SkillGround
Release date	2007
Genre(s)	Golf, Sports
Mode(s)	Head to Head, SBG, Tournaments, Multiplayer

UTour Golf is an online golf game developed by Gusto Games and published by Groove Media Inc^[1]. The game has been released through SkillGround: an online, skill-gaming platform owned by Groove.

Players may compete in single and multiplayer games for free, or challenge others to cash games where the winner collects a cash prize. This is not considered gambling, as the outcome is based on skill. Despite this fact, the service is still restricted within 13 states of the United States^[2].

Free play is supported by advertising, displayed both before the game starts, and during play on billboards presented within the game ^[3]. Cash play has no advertisements outside of game play, and is supported by a rake placed on wagers.

Contents 1 Game Play 2 Rules 3 Contests 4 History 5 See Also 6 References

[edit] Game Play

Game play is based on a three click system. The user must click at certain times as a progress bar sweeps from left to right, then back from right to left ^[4] .

The first sweep controls the power; the closer to the right end of the shot bar, the more power the shot will have. The second sweep controls the accuracy; the closer to a center line near the left end, the more accurate the shot will be.

Game play is also affected by such issues as wind, weather, club type, pin and tee locations, and grass roughness. These affect accuracy, how far the ball will fly, and how far the ball will roll ^[5].

Players are also matched on the site by a ranking system. This system provides a numerical estimate of a player’s skill level. By viewing the skill level of an opponent, a player may decide to accept or refuse challenges. A handicap system is also available where strokes may be forfeited to an opponent to allow players of different skill levels to compete on a more even playing field.

The game also provides detailed statistics, though these are only available to the player, and are not publicly shared.

[edit] Rules

UTour offers different game modes based on traditional golf rules. Players may compete under the Stroke Play, Match Play, or Stableford Plus rule sets.

Mini-games based on driving ranges and putting challenges are also available.

[edit] Contests

UTour has offered a number of partner sponsored tournaments with prizes generally consisting of golf-related trips or golf equipment.

These include:

• A trip to the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational – Sponsored by Golf.com ^[6]
• A trip to Maui Hawaii – Sponsored by Sports Illustrated (SI.com) ^[7]
• A trip to Las Vegas – Sponsored by GolfLink.com ^[8]
• New golf clubs – Sponsored by Callaway Golf ^[9]

UTour also holds contests geared towards cash rewards for Players' Club members, an example of which is the 2008 Cup Classic

[edit] History

UTour Golf was released both through UTourGolf.com and SkillGround.com in August 2007. SkillGround had been previously released in the winter of 2006.

It was initially launched in a beta format, and has subsequently been upgraded. In November 2007, the following features were added ^[10] :

• Handicap – Players of varying skill levels could compete more fairly by forfeiting strokes.
• One Hole Option – Players could compete in single hole matches.
• Player Created Tournaments – Players could challenge their friends to closed tournaments.
• Driving Range Mini Game – A new game play mode modeling a driving range was available in single player and tournament game types.
• Increased Statistics – The statistics tracking feature was extended from cash players to both cash and free players.

[edit] See Also

• UTour Game Play Videos
• SkillGround Forums
• UTour Academy

[edit] References