Putting is arguably the most important aspect of golf. It comes naturally for some, but for others putting can be a real challenge, especially from different lengths.
PGA Tour 2K23 follows a similar formula like with previous games in the series by HB Studios going back to The Golf Club. It tries to follow a truly authentic approach focusing on feel and accuracy. Some will thrive with this style while others may struggle with it if they’re new to the game.
That said, there are a few easy ways to help improve your skills with the flat stick to hopefully get you rolling them like Tiger Woods, Ben Crenshaw, and Inbee Park in no time.
PGA Tour 2K23: Three Ways To Improve Your Putting On The Greens
Fit Your Putter
New for PGA Tour 2K23, you can now fit your clubs, just like with real golf. This means that clubs have an attribute system as well, which is also new for 2K23. For putting, there are two particular attributes called Putt Path and Putt Weight. Putt Path affects how easy it is to push or pull your putt to the right or left upon impact. So, the higher the rating, the lesser the chance you have of mishitting your putts.
Putt Weight simply judges your power on putts. It widens the window on power with your backswing and downswing. The higher the rating here, the easier it will be to get the ideal amount of strength on each putt. So when equipping different fittings for your putter, these attributes will receive a boost. Some fittings benefit Putt Path most while others boost Putt Weight more.
These fittings can be for either your putter head, shaft, grip, or one for each. You can unlock club fittings simply by playing the game, and you’ll get these as rewards on a regular basis. Once you have some, you can go into your Locker and then go to Fittings to equip them. They do cost currency to equip them, but they’re affordable and well worth it if you want to see improvements in your putting and other aspects of your game in PGA Tour 2K23.
The Greensman Archetype
Another new feature for PGA Tour 2K23 are Archetypes. This element will definitely be familiar to you if you’ve played MyCareer in NBA 2K in the past, or the WNBA career mode in recent games. There are five different archetypes that you can choose from in PGA Tour 2K23. The nice thing is that you can change these at any time and that’s something you unfortunately couldn’t do in NBA 2K.
These archetypes include Greensman, Powerhouse, Rythm, Sculptor, and Woodsman. As you might have guessed, we’re going to be talking about the Greensman one here. This archetype gives you a chunky boost in your Putt Weight and Putt Path attributes with an 81 and 76 rating respectively. Combine this with your shiny new fitted putter and the number will be even higher.
The catch here is that you’ll have the second-lowest Power rating among the five archetypes. But once again, fitting your clubs can crank that up a notch. But, if you aren’t concerned with your game off the tee, then that’s fine as some of the best golfers ever didn’t really need to rely on power (like the aforementioned Crenshaw and Park). Another catch though with this archetype is that it’s weak when it comes to recovery shots.
That said, being able to master the art of putting is extremely valuable in golf and that includes in PGA Tour 2K23.
Course Designer Practice
PGA Tour 2K23 does offer a training area where you can hit balls on the driving range, work on your short game, or you can head to the putting green and practice your work with the flat stick. Practicing here is nice, but there’s another great way to work on your putting and perfect your craft and that’s in the course designer.
Before the addition of a dedicated practice mode, PGA Tour 2K/The Golf Club had its course designer where you could not only make your dream golf course but you could freely play on it within the mode. You can still quickly reset shots until you perfect them during your practice session.
You’ll start with a randomly generated design and this is where you can take advantage of the practice. There’s also a nifty regenerator button that will instantly redesign your course in an instant, meaning that you’ll see different slopes on the greens that you can try to read as practice for when you hit the real rounds. And since you can generate up to 18 holes, this means that you’ll have 18 greens that you can instantly attack.
Bonus Mini-Tip
This is more of a mini tip but Skills, which is another new addition for PGA Tour 2K23, can also help your putting. However, these require hitting consecutive par and birdie putts to activate, so this is just something to keep in mind as you master your abilities on the greens.
