Golf With Your Friends Vs Everybody’s Golf

Golf games come in different shapes and forms. While you have your fundamental rules in place, different franchises often put their own, unique twists and ideas that allow for online players, for instance, with party-based themes, or wacky obstacles and power-ups to outsmart opponents. 

Depending on whether you’re looking to enjoy a quick spur with friends, over fresh ideas not otherwise common in most golf games, or want the core experience of golfing, free of any fluff or clutter, we’ve compiled all of these differences in our Golf With Your Friends Vs Everybody’s Golf article below.

What is Golf With Your Friends?

Golf With Your Friends is a video game series based on the real-life sport of golf. It comes from developer Blacklight Interactive and publisher Team17. You can access the game on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC platforms via Steam. With the first game amassing massive worldwide appeal, a sequel has been announced, scheduled to release in 2026 on next-gen platforms. 

What is Everybody’s Golf?

Everybody’s Golf, on the other hand, is a video game series, also based on golf. It was initially called Hot Shots Golf, and has gone through various developers, including Clap Hanz and Hyde, and publishers Sony and Bandai Namco. You’ve probably been a part of the global fanbase since the release of the first game in 1997. Since then, there have been at least 17 official games, with spin-offs, VR adaptations, and mobile games. 

Story

Golf With Your Friends doesn’t have a dedicated story campaign. Meanwhile, Everybody’s Golf has focused its story efforts on anime-like characters you unlock over time. From the first 1997 game, players challenge several characters to a game of golf. If you win, you unlock your rival, adding them to your roster. Over time, you level up your characters, using them in tournaments and making high-scoring shots. Across your campaign, you also unlock new golf courses.  

As you might expect, Everybody’s Golf has evolved and revamped its character modeling and golf course design. Everybody’s Golf 2 added crossover characters, while Everybody’s Golf 3 added real-life golfer John Daly. Onward, the series continued to improve its visuals, as well as adding more characters, including caddies and fan-favorites like Ratchet and Clank, and golf courses. 

You can see how far the series has come in the latest Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots (2025). In World Tour mode, which plays like a story mode, you unlock 30 unique golfers by completing challenges. Each character has their own story path, relayed through cutscenes. Some are surface-level. However, you’ll find others surprisingly engaging, thanks to some golfers having quirky and lovable personas.

The stories unravel in a visual novel-style, without any voice-overs. You do get one-liners, though, often repetitive, and frankly annoying to hear “Yay!” and “You got this, girly!” over and over. Still, graphics, from the character models to the golf courses, look vibrant and cheerful, and cement you in this delightful and fun world that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Gameplay

Here’s where the meat of Golf With Your Friends Vs Everybody’s Golf lies. Both games offer several game modes. Golf With Your Friends has a classic mini golf mode, as well as fun and wacky alterations on golf. You can dunk balls into a basketball net, for instance, or score them into a hockey goal. There are fun power-ups like spin and jump, as well as competitive races to the hole. Moreover, you can add custom game modes, tinkering around with the power-ups, collisions, jumps, and more as you like. 

Everybody’s Golf, on the other hand, features a miniature golf course, tournaments, stroke, and match play. These are your everyday, standard matches, competing to take the fewest total strokes over a full 18-hole course. In that sense, you can consider Everybody’s Golf’s a more grounded take on golfing. It’s standard golfing in its game modes, whether solo rounds or competing with friends. 

Controls

As for the controls, Golf With Your Friends uses an intuitive drag-and-release, while Everybody’s Golf uses a smooth three-click system. Both are straightforward. However, Everybody’s Golf tends to add more depth and strategy. The three-click system is used in most golf games because it’s easy to learn but hard to master.

Verdict: Golf With Your Friends Vs Everybody’s Golf

There isn’t much to speak of in regard to the story of Golf With Your Friends. There isn’t any story mode or campaign, which isn’t too surprising in the genre of golf video games. But it makes Everybody’s Golf’s efforts at crafting a World Tour vis-à-vis story mode all the more impressive. Sure, the writing is in need of more creative and captivating ideas. Most cutscenes fall flat on their face and easily have you skipping them. But some characters surprise you with their quirky and cheerful personalities. 

The gameplay, however, is where the true distinction between Golf With Your Friends and Everybody’s Golf’s lies. The former isn’t shy of adding all sorts of fun and chaotic ways to play solo or with friends. Meanwhile, the latter offers a more standard golf experience, whether 18-hole stroke play or a more intense match play. 

Control-wise, Everybody’s Golf sticks to what works. It refines and makes its three-click system realistic, feeling like playing actual golf. Golf With Your Friends, on the other hand, offers an arcade, casual-gaming experience. It uses an intuitive system that incorporates power-ups and makes it easy for you to dodge obstacles. The former caters to gamers looking to become experienced players in golf. It takes more accurate timing and precision to master the perfect shot. The latter, however, seems geared toward fun, with an emphasis on chaotic and entertaining play among friends. 

So, which is better? I’d argue Golf With Your Friends for a fun-filled game night with friends, where the rules can be altered in surprising ways. However, Everybody’s Golf remains an all-around golf experience, catering to both solo rounds and competitive play against online players. Plus, it has some endearing golf characters to boot.