First Bounce

Golf in 3D, played from behind the ball, on two nine-hole courses of real length, each par 36: a parkland of maples, pines and birches with a lake and creeks, and a seaside course with palms, white sand, lagoons and the sea down the side of six holes. Play all nine, or the first three.

Touch anywhere and pull back. A ring on the ground shows where the ball would first come down in still air, and it moves as you pull: the pull sets how far, not how hard. Once the pull is armed, a needle sweeps a strip across the screen, clear of your finger. Let go with it inside the middle band and the strike is pure; let go early and the ball starts left, late and it starts right.

NOTHING RANDOM TOUCHES THE BALL

The wind is drawn before the tee shot, and every moment of every flight on the hole reads that one wind, so the same swing makes the same shot. The ring already allows for the lie (from the rough a club carries 85%, from sand 60%), and it shows the first bounce and nothing after it.

THE BAG AND THE GREEN

A full bag of fourteen clubs, from a driver that carries 205 m to the putter. The game picks the club for the distance, and the club in the bottom corner opens the bag if you want another. After every full shot it says how far the ball carried and how far it went in all.

On the green the flagstick comes out, arrows show the slope, and the putter's ring shows how far the putt would roll on flat ground. The ball and the hole are the Rules' sizes, and the hole takes a ball by its geometry, so a fast putt can lip out. Water costs one stroke, and a hole ends at double par.

UP TO FOUR ON ONE SCREEN

Up to four take turns: whoever is farthest from the hole plays, and the lowest score on a hole tees off first on the next. A friend can join while hole 1 is played, and names are a tap away. Each course keeps its own best on your device.

HOW TO PLAY

Touch anywhere, pull back, and let go with the needle in the middle; move sideways while pulling to aim. A short sideways drag aims without swinging. Tap the club, bottom left, for another. Before the first swing, the chips on hole 1 pick the holes and the course, and + Player 2 brings in a friend. The menu, beside the sound, restarts the hole or the round and switches course.

With a mouse, press anywhere, pull back and let go, as with a finger. Or, once you have clicked the game, Left and Right aim, Up and Down set the pull, and holding Space or Enter and letting go swings; Escape while holding cancels. C changes club, M turns the sound on and off, + brings in another player, and Escape opens and closes the menu.

More free games from Launchway, playable in your browser:

https://launchwaygames.com