The virtual golf world continued its convergence with the real world with the recent announcement that online golf gaming environment World Golf Tour has partnered with the USGA to become the group’s exclusive platform provider for its virtual golf championships. World Golf Tour offers an online community with 12 virtual courses based on real locations (e.g. St. Andrews) and sponsored tournaments, all working toward delivering an “authentic golf experience”. It also provides a social experience by letting users play golf in parties of up to four and text chat with each other during their game.
The free-to-play, browser-based 3D game has attracted more than a million registered users and 500,000 monthly active players across 180 countries since its demo launched in 2007. World Golf Tour is monetized through banner ads, in-game ads, and micro-transactions (players can buy balls to play and will have to replace them when they’re lost in virtual water hazards).
“We are testing different game mechanics to see what works,” said WGT’s CEO Yuchiang Cheng, according to a report from VentureBeat. “For us, Facebook will be a way to build awareness. It’s a mistake to scrap the original destination site. There are companies out there who are jumping on the gold rush bandwagon. For us, it is a marketing channel.”
Alongside WGT’s financing reveal, the USGA, the national governing body of golf in the USA and Mexico, announced that it entered into “a long-term relationship” with the company. As part of their partnership, the USGA and WGT will co-host a Virtual USGA championship each year, in which players can compete in a tournament on the USGA’s site.
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