Mario Golf: the golf series by Camelot

SeriesMario GolfCamelot

Since 1999, the Mushroom Kingdom has taken over the greens. Entrusted to Camelot Software Planning, the Mario Golf series has accompanied nearly every Nintendo console, from the 1999 N64 entry to Super Rush on Switch, by way of Toadstool Tour on GameCube and Advance Tour on GBA. This guide also breaks down the adventure mode that turns golf into an RPG.

Since 1999, Mario Golf has been bringing the Mushroom Kingdom onto the greens. Created under the guidance of the studio Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo, the series has accompanied almost every console the brand has made, from the Nintendo 64 to the Switch, blending accessible golf, iconic characters and wildly inventive courses.

What makes it stand out? An RPG-style adventure mode on the handheld versions, where you create your own golfer and take them all the way to the top. Here is the complete guide to the saga, entry by entry, from the roster to the courses.

Contents

• Camelot, the quiet architect of Mario Golf
• The home console entries: from the N64 to the Switch
• Adventure mode: when Mario Golf becomes an RPG
• Mario Golf: World Tour, the move to online play
• Super Rush, the Speed Golf gamble (2021)
• Roster and courses: a cast that keeps growing
• Quick recap
• FAQ

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Camelot, the quiet architect of Mario Golf

Unlike the platformers handled in-house at Nintendo, Mario Golf is developed by Camelot Software Planning, a Japanese studio also responsible for the series Mario Tennis and the RPGs Golden Sun. That dual identity explains why Mario's golf games blend sports simulation with progression mechanics borrowed from role-playing games.

The saga traces an ancestor back to NES Open Tournament Golf (1991), where Mario and Luigi were already slipping into golfing gear on the NES. But it really is the first Mario Golf on Nintendo 64, released on 11 June 1999 (Japan), that laid the foundations of the modern "Mario Sports" line, alongside the Game Boy Color version launched two months later.

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The home console entries: from the N64 to the Switch

On home consoles, the series rests on three pillars:

• Mario Golf (Nintendo 64, 1999): six themed 18-hole courses and a three-step shot gauge that would become the studio's trademark. In a rare touch, human golfers invented by Camelot (Plum, Charlie, Sonny...) tee off alongside Mario and Peach.
• Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GameCube, 2003): eighteen characters, super-powered shots (Power Shots) and far more spectacular courses. Released on 28 July 2003 in North America and on 5 September 2003 in Japan.
• Mario Golf: Super Rush (Switch, 2021): the return to home consoles after eighteen years away, with motion controls and brand-new modes.

Every entry lavishes care on its settings: deserts populated by Shy Guys valleys haunted by Boos, greens laid out at the foot of Peach's Castle.

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Adventure mode: when Mario Golf becomes an RPG

The great originality of Mario Golf lies in its handheld versions, which graft a genuine role-playing-style adventure mode onto the golf:

• Mario Golf (Game Boy Color, 1999): you play as young golfers (Kid, Azalea, Joe, Sherry) climbing the ranks of the tour. Those characters could even be transferred to the Nintendo 64 version thanks to the Transfer Pak.
• Mario Golf: Advance Tour (Game Boy Advance, 2004): you pick Neil or Ella as your hero, train them at the Marion Club and spread your experience points across power, control and spin, all the way to level 99. The ultimate goal: to outplay the greatest golfer of all, Mario. Released on 22 April 2004 (Japan).

That progression system never went away: it comes back, modernised, in the Castle Club of World Tour and then in the Golf Adventure of Super Rush.

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Mario Golf: World Tour, the move to online play

Mario Golf: World Tour (Nintendo 3DS, 1 May 2014 in Japan) marks a turning point: it is the first entry playable online in the series, via the Nintendo Network, with regional and worldwide tournaments. The story mode Castle Club revisits the idea of a golf club you explore, from the locker room to the equipment shop.

The game brings together 21 characters, including Miis playable for the first time in the series and DLC additions such as Toadette, Rosalina and Gold Mario. It also offered downloadable courses reworking layouts from the N64 Mario Golf. The online service, however, shut down on 8 April 2024.

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Super Rush, the Speed Golf gamble (2021)

Released worldwide on 25 June 2021 on Switch, Mario Golf: Super Rush shakes up old habits with two frantic modes:

• Speed Golf: everyone tees off at the same time, then sprints to their ball while dodging obstacles; the best time wins, not just the best score.
• Battle Golf: a nine-hole arena where you have to sink your ball before your rivals do.

Every character has a special shot that wrecks the course (Luigi freezes the green, for instance), and the Joy-Con motion controls mimic a real swing. The Golf Adventure mode revives the RPG formula by levelling up your Mii from rookie to pro. After launch, free updates added characters (Koopa Troopa, Ninji, Toadette, Wiggler, Shy Guy), the New Donk City course and new game modes. The title had sold 2.48 million copies by the end of 2022 and was crowned "sports game of the year" at the 25th DICE Awards.

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Roster and courses: a cast that keeps growing

Entry after entry, the line-up has never stopped expanding. The core gathers the familiar faces — Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Wario, Waluigi, Donkey Kong, Bowser — joined by figures far rarer on the greens:

• Villains turned golfers: Bowser Jr., King Boo, Petey Piranha (in Toadstool Tour) or even King Bob-omb in Super Rush.
• Star guests: Rosalina, Pauline and Toad round out the Super Rush line-up.
• Original golfers: Camelot created its own humans (Plum, Charlie, Neil, Ella...), a real oddity in the Mario universe.

As for the courses, each game spins out themed layouts: tropical islands, Koopa castles, deserts and forests, often dotted with classic enemies turned into hazards.

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The main Mario Golf entries

Mario Golf	Nintendo 64, 1999 (Japan)
Mario Golf	Game Boy Color, 1999 (Japan)
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour	GameCube, 2003
Mario Golf: Advance Tour	Game Boy Advance, 2004 (Japan)
Mario Golf: World Tour	Nintendo 3DS, 2014
Mario Golf: Super Rush	Nintendo Switch, 2021

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FAQ

• Who develops the Mario Golf series?
  The games are developed by the Japanese studio Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. Camelot is also behind the Mario Tennis series and the Golden Sun RPGs, which explains the blend of golf and progression mechanics.
• Which is the first Mario Golf?
  The first Mario Golf came out on Nintendo 64 on 11 June 1999 (Japan), followed that same year by a Game Boy Color version. NES Open Tournament Golf (1991) is nevertheless regarded as its direct ancestor.
• Is there a story mode in Mario Golf?
  Yes. The handheld versions (Game Boy Color, then Advance Tour with Neil and Ella) offer an RPG mode where you level up your own golfer. It returns in the Castle Club of World Tour and the Golf Adventure of Super Rush.
• What is the difference between Mario Golf and Mario Tennis?
  Both series are developed by Camelot and share an arcade tone and an adventure mode. One is played on the golf course, the other on the tennis court. Super Rush adds brand-new running modes to golf, such as Speed Golf.
• What does Mario Golf: Super Rush bring to the Switch?
  Released in 2021, it introduces Speed Golf and Battle Golf, where you run to your ball, special shots unique to each character, motion controls and a Golf Adventure mode starring your Mii.

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