Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf

Probably the most famous thing about Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf is the title. Fighting Golf? Was that meant to trick someone into buying this game thinking that it was the sequel to the Atari 7800 classic Ninja Golf? Now that game was fighting golf.

Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf is definitely one of the better golf games on the NES. In fact I would go so far as to say that it is the second-best golf game on the system, behind the untouchable NES Open Tournament Golf.

The game uses the standard three-click system to execute a golf shot. The first click starts the shot, the second sets the power, and the third determines hook/slice. Unfortunately, the swing meter in this game moves too fast, making accuracy more challenging than it needs to be. That being said, with practice I was able to get my timing down, and anyone who has played just about any golf game on an 8 or 16-bit system should be able to adjust to this game without too much trouble.

As is seemingly the case with most golf games of the era no reference to club distance is displayed on-screen, so you have to either memorize them or look them up in the manual. As I have mentioned in other reviews, this adds to the realism but can detract from the fun.

Four players are available to choose from – Pretty Amy, Big Jumbo, Super Mex, and Miracle Chosuke. “Super Mex” is one of Trevino’s nicknames, and I suppose that it sounds better next to the names of the other players than “Lee Trevino” would, but then why wasn’t it called Super Mex’s Fighting Golf? Each character has two attributes that differentiate them – power and control. Amy has the best control but worst power, and Big Jumbo has the best power but the worst control. The other two players fall somewhere in between.

Stroke and match play are both available, and up to 4 people can play together. The game features two courses – USA and Japan, with the latter being somewhat more difficult. The player models look very good as do the graphics as a whole (for a golf game), and the background music is pleasant and unintrusive.

Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf may have a silly name, but underneath lies a solid golf game.

Buy Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf on GameGavel or Amazon.