When the first Golf Club game stepped onto the scene it was a very refreshing experience for multiple reasons. The main reason was it’s unparalleled realism to the sport of golf compared to the other golfing games that have been released on the market. Much like golfing in real life, you don’t just step into Golf Club for the first time and golf a -10 on your first attempt. You aren’t going to swing for the fences and hit 370 yards on your opening drive either. Being a good golfer takes tremendous practice and patience, and so does becoming great at Golf Club. Being a big fan of the first game, I immediately jumped at the chance to get some hands-on time with Golf Club 2, and was really pleased to see several subtle improvements, as well as some major additions to the overall game.

When speaking with one of the developers for Golf Club 2, Anthony Kyne, he really emphasized one of the major focuses for the sequel was to make the swings and golfer’s all around movement more realistic. Using lots of motion capture technology to create these more realistic swings certainly paid off, as you can tell immediately after taking your first swing. One of the major updates to the swing mechanics in Golf Club 2 is the new Tempo control. Golfers will now receive feedback on the tempo of their backswing and downswing, which can be an excellent tool for correcting your hook or slice. There are also new swing types that have been introduced: Standard, Player, and Tour. The Player and Tour types offer an extra boost in yardage and power, but also require far more precise swings or your shot will end up in the bush or the nearby pond.

With all these new swing features and mechanics it sounds like you’re going to need a lot of practice right? Golf Club 2 has you covered with the all-new driving range feature. On the driving range you can practice your shots with all clubs and irons off the tee, or if you’re short game needs the most work you can zoom out into a bird’s eye view of the range and drop your ball at the putting green or chipping area. You can also add a driving range to your custom courses as well.

The course creator was a wildly popular feature in the first Golf Club, and in the sequel there will be plenty more props, tools, and crowds. One of the major features that was lacking in the original Golf Club was the character customization, which has now been completely overhauled. As you can see from the preview video below, players can now completely configure how they want their golfer to look, right down to the freckle.

With all these new features The Golf Club 2 is sounding pretty solid, right? Well, there’s one more major update to talk about, and that’s the Golf Societies. Golf is a very social sport, and in Golf Club 2 you can also be a social butterfly by joining a golf society. You can participate in tournaments, seasons, or just hangout at the clubhouse with other online players. If you’re the more competitive type you can challenge other players and use each online society as a stepping stone until your are amongst the elite Golf Club 2 community. Also added is an all-new career mode, where players can progress and earn money, and also buy into more prestigious clubhouses to face tougher competition.

With all these additions The Golf Club 2 is shaping up to be quite the improvement on what was already an excellent golf simulation. Golf Club fans will have to wait until early 2017 to get their hands on the game for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC, but at least it will arrive just in time for golf’s offseason.