Key Points:

• Season 7 brings new Halloween-themed gear and Pro Pass with two tiers.
• Menus and game art get a design refresh, switching from Ryder Cup to original Masters theme.
• Noteworthy visual upgrade includes 3D grass interactions and quality of life enhancements.

The gaming world has been eagerly awaiting updates to EA SPORTS PGA TOUR, and the developers have now officially rolled out Season 7. Released today, October 24th, the update promises several exciting new features, visual improvements, and gameplay optimizations. Let’s delve into the particulars.

Season 7 and Halloween

Season 7 has arrived, featuring a new Pro Pass with two tiers. The free tier offers Scottie Scheffler’s Signature Wood Spec, while the premium tier provides Halloween-themed gear and apparel. Players can earn tokens to advance their Pro Pass by participating in live Quests and rounds in various modes like Online, Tournaments, and Career.

Design Refinements

Gone is the Ryder Cup-centric design, making way for the original Masters theme in menus, screens, and key art. Players will notice the visual refresh, which offers a more generic Masters aesthetic suitable for any season.

Online Playlists

This update addresses some limitations in the online gameplay experience. Ryder Cup formats have been removed from Private Match due to technical constraints, but the team aims to reintroduce them in a future update. The standard Foursomes and Match Play formats now feature a more comprehensive range of courses.

Visual Enhancements

The game now boasts a significant visual upgrade, most notably in how 3D grass reacts when in contact with the ball, club, or golfer, providing a more realistic experience.

Quality of Life Updates

This update is packed with numerous quality-of-life improvements. For instance, AI’s ability around the green has been honed, and several bugs related to AI partner selection in Career mode have been fixed. The update also addresses an issue in Challenges where players weren’t always awarded stars on their first attempt.

New Gameplay Specs

Two new gameplay specs have been introduced:

• Superior Impact: Boosts Power and Accuracy attributes.
• Superior Pathfinder: Increases Control and Recovery attributes.

Bug Fixes and Other Improvements

The patch brings an extensive list of fixes and improvements, tackling issues from online gameplay glitches to user interface refinements. Fixes are in place for lagging scorecards, visibility of tee and tee flying VFX, multiple online issues including matchmaking and timers, as well as various Career and Challenge bugs.

The Pro Pass now includes a “More Info” screen that explains its features and commonly asked questions. Even the in-game crowd behavior has been optimized, along with updates to outfits and gear, including brand new Ralph Lauren and Ryder Cup 1927 logos in the UI.

Stability and Performance

Finally, stability improvements are also part of this update to ensure a smoother gaming experience. Fixes have been made to prevent softlocks and other issues that could disrupt gameplay.

So, whether you’re a casual player or a PGA TOUR aficionado, this update aims to elevate your virtual golfing experience. Season 7 seems primed to offer a blend of fun, realism, and challenge for everyone.

Full list of EA SPORTS PGA TOUR Update 1.000.014

• New specs for Season 7:
  • Superior Impact: Significantly increases Power and Accuracy attributes.
  • Superior Pathfinder: Significantly increases Control and Recovery attributes.
• Gameplay:
  • Improved AI golfer’s ability to hit pitch and sand shots around the green.
  • Drive shot type is now available to use on shots closer to the hole so that it is available on short par 3’s for golfers who have not yet unlocked the Finesse shot type.
  • Fix for 2 putt read lines being shown if an unplayable lie is requested while the golfer is already on the green.
  • Fixed noticeable lagging that could occur when opening the scorecard screen during active gameplay. The issue was most apparent if the scorecard screen was opened while the ball was in motion.
• Online:
  • Fixed issue where divot could be seen flying before the ball was hit for remote golfers in online turn-based gameplay.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the online hole timer to continue running in the background for a golfer after they hit into a hazard.
  • The tee and tee flying VFX is now visible for remote golfers in online turn-based gameplay.
  • Fixed an issue where “Team Leaderboards” were not available. The fix was applied to servers on September 28th.
  • Fixed an issue where 2 balls would be visible on the tee if the previous golfer hit their ball out of bounds.
  • Fixed an issue where yardage in the hole info widget would sometimes be displayed in feet instead of yards.
  • Added the ability for the host to kick players during gameplay using the view golfers screen in Private Match.
  • Fix for “Not Enough Players” pop-up preventing matchmaking in online Foursomes or Four-Ball if a player entered and exited an online Foursomes or Four-Ball lobby immediately before.
  • Fix for an issue where if both players remain idle in online match play, the round can continue without either of them being kicked due to time violations.
  • Fixed an issue where if a player remains idle for multiple holes in online Four-Ball, they are now kicked immediately after their final timeout instead of waiting until the next hole-out occurred.
• Career:
  • Multiple fixes for how the AI playing partner is selected. The logic now ensures that the closest AI player in the leaderboard is selected and your player’s tee time is not affected by which AI playing partner was selected. This also fixed a rare issue where the in-game scorecard could show a different golfer’s name than the AI playing partner.
  • Fixed the “End of Career” pop-up so that the “Restart Career” option now functions correctly.
  • Fixed a bug where OWGR points were not updated if multiple events were skipped. This also fixed a related bug where the scoring average would show in an incorrect value at the end of the season.
• Challenges:
  • Fixed challenge stars sometimes not being received in the first attempt, but working after the player restarts the challenge.
  • Shot challenges now retain the player’s previously selected club and shot type instead of resetting it to the recommended values after every shot.
  • Rewards such as specs and cosmetics that have already been earned are now visible in the “preview rewards” screen.
  • Removed unplayable lie functionality from shot challenges.
• Pro Pass:
  • Rewards such as specs and cosmetics that have already been earned are now visible in the “preview rewards” screen.
  • Added “More Info” screen that explains Pro Pass features and commonly asked questions.
  • Additional improvements to support cleanly transitioning from one season to the next.
• Quests:
  • Updated par save stat to include birdies and eagles.
  • Updated the recovery shot stat to include shots from mud, dirt, path, and heavy rough.
• Courses:
  • [Augusta National] Fix for hole 15’s Sarazen Bridge cutscene being delayed until after the following shot if the player hits their approach over the green past the trees.
  • [Evian Resort] Fixed visible artifact in the stream near the bridge by the green at hole 16.
  • [Marco Simone] Fixed hole 16’s Wednesday pin. Was floating above the ground causing unexpected collisions to occur.
  • [Olympia Fields] Told crowd members who were walking in circles on hole 1 and 3 to return to their seats.
  • [Pebble Beach] Fix for crowd obstructing post shot reaction cutscenes on the hole 10 tee box.
  • [Torrey Pines] Crowd clipping through the structure behind the tee box on hole 18.
  • [Wolf Creek] Fixed a hole in 12th green which causes the ball to abruptly bobble and stop. Friendly reminder to repair your ball marks.
• Outfits & Gear:
  • Update Jack Nicklaus’s outfit and equipment in the Masters Honorary Starters cutscene.
  • Fixed some shirts not being visible when previewed in the store. Affected shirts were Nike Dri-FIT Tour Polo Black, Cactus, Eclipse, and Gold.
  • Reduced the size of logos and branding on Titleist balls.
  • Updated thumbnail image for TaylorMade 2023 Summer Commemorative Staff Bag.
• UI:
  • [Career] The golfer is now hidden when viewing Career settings.
  • [Gameplay] Fix for the widget shown during round intro cutscenes having inconsistent color theming in Ryder Cup formats.
  • [Equipment] Fix to ensure that clubs are always ordered from longest to shortest in the Yardage Breakdown widget.
  • [Equipment] Fix for Ball Trails disappearing too slowly after previewing them in the Equipment screen.
  • [Equipment] Fix for the “Equip to All” option still being functional for putters even though the button hint was removed.
  • [Main Menu] Updated camera angle to show golfer’s full body and their golf bag.
  • [Main Menu] Fix for the golfer continuing to wear the selected Ryder Cup uniform in the main menu after exiting a Ryder Cup Quick Play lobby when disconnected from servers.
  • [Main Menu] Added ability to disable the “View” link for dynamic messages that don’t require a link.
  • [Main Menu] Fix for non-functional “View” link for dynamic messages if the player disconnects from servers while loading into gameplay.
  • [Main Menu] Fix for the text on a skill points notification sometimes overlapping with the edge of the box.
  • [Online] The nameplates of any players who disconnect or quit a match are now immediately removed from the View Golfers screen.
  • [Online] The player is no longer able to change the camera angle in the scorecard screen, if the player is waiting for other players to finish a hole in online stroke play.
  • [Online] At the end of a stroke play round, the leaderboard widget is now hidden during the post-round cutscene.
  • [Online] The position shown for each player in their nameplates in online stroke play gameplay is now updated more frequently to ensure it is up to date.
  • [Online] Fix for sometimes showing a wedge image instead of a putter during online turn-based gameplay.
  • [Online] Fix for the golfer being displayed in the lobby as Scottie Scheffler instead of their created golfer if a player accepts an invite with the game closed.
  • [Outfits] Fix for flashing between previewed item and currently equipped item when scrolling quickly through inventory.
  • [Online] Fix for no tabs being visible in the lobby if the player accepts an invite in the rewards summary screen.
  • [Online] Fix for lobby tabs being shown in the main menu instead of the main menu tabs if a player accepts an invite while in a Tournament lobby and then exits to the main menu.
  • [Online] Fix for advancing to a lobby with incorrect settings if a player accepts an invite during the “Event Settings” pop-up in Career mode.
  • [Online] Fix for some of the round settings in online foursomes (Time of Day, Hole Location, Wind Speed, and Wind Direction) appearing to be editable even though they were non-functional and should have been grayed out.
  • [Pro Pass] Removed Pro Pass title from the top left of the Pro Pass screen.
  • [Pro Pass] Fixed progress not updating immediately if a player opens a pack and navigates from Rewards to Pro Pass tab.
  • [Quests] Quests widget in gameplay has been moved to the other side of the screen to improve its visibility and avoid overlapping with other UI elements.
  • [Quests] Timing for when the Quests widget in gameplay is shown and hidden has been updated.
  • [Rewards Summary] Fix for duplicate XP, stats, and Pro Pass Tokens being displayed if the player loses network connection while exiting a round.
  • [Settings] Renamed the “Controller” tab to “Controls”.
  • [Store] Ensure that the first item in each bundle is always displayed as the featured item.
  • [Store] Updated multiple item icons to be higher resolution.
  • [Store] Fix for the preview items button hint not being displayed after a bundle is purchased.
  • [Tournaments] Surfaced the tiebreaker stat in Tournament leaderboards.
  • [Tournaments] Updated column descriptions for tournament leaderboards.
• Branding:
  • Added Ralph Lauren logo to UI for store and outfit screen.
  • Added Ryder Cup 1927 logo to UI for store and outfit screen.
  • Updated PGA of America logo.
• Stability:
  • [Equipment] Fix for a softlock that could occur if a player accepts an invite while changing clubs in the Equipment screen.
  • [Identity] Fix for a softlock that could occur if a player disconnects and reconnects their controller and then selects a new Swing Style for their golfer.
  • [Main Menu] Fix for a softlock that could occur if a player disconnects from the network while attempting to link to Quests screen.
  • [Private Match] Fix for a softlock that could occur if an invitee was kicked from the session by the host while they were loading into the lobby.
  • [Private Match] Fix for a softlock that could occur if an invitee disconnects from the network while accepting an invite.
  • [Quick Play] Fix for a softlock that could occur if the player disconnects from the network while in the scorecard screen and selects “Continue Offline”.
  • [Store] In order to fix multiple issues and improve stability, the ability to equip a new item from a bundle immediately after purchasing it has been removed.
  • Additional crash and stability-related fixes.

** Pro Pass content requires gameplay to unlock. Requires EA SPORTS PGA Tour (sold separately) and all game updates to play.