It will probably show an error when it tries to connect but boot up into the game anyway.

You should be able to play all the courses on that machine offline.

It depends. If I.T. hasn't deactivated the machine on their side yet, the machine may come up with a green light and be ready to rock.

I heard a story once from a guy who bought a commercial machine from a large operator once because the computer blew a power supply. The Operator had already swapped the machine into the location, and the broken machine had been sitting for several months. The guy brought the machine home, fixed it, and hooked it up to the internet. The machine came up green lighted, and stayed that way for the remainder of the year

Or, the machine may come up with an activation error, and your machine will effecctively be "bricked" until you call I.T. and get it de-registered.

Just depends - it's a crapshoot.

Heads up, new pins and tee box positions are out for the 2020 courses! The change in pins was cool but nothing too major. However, the change in tee boxes really changes things up and makes a good number of holes play completely different. I can now see how many holes are designed with an alternate tee box in mind. I was a bit annoyed to have to pay $100 per year as an online fee but getting these types of changes, the stat tracking, contest online play, etc makes it worth it in my opinion. The worst thing about getting a GT is that I probably drink more beer now due to always wanting one while I play lol.

Some very minor details about GT 2021 are also starting to come out.

https://livewire.itsgames.com/news/15508-golden-tee-2021-logo-course-reveal

Its nice to change things up half way through this years courses.

If you notice- there is no course 'layout'- like a typical golf course has. So they could technically design new tee boxes anywhere 360 degrees around some of the par 3's. Didn't the new tee boxes change par on a few holes? I cant remember as I was pretty buzzed when I spun a few the other night.....lol

Thinking about buying the 2020 home edition. Do you need to have an Ethernet cable hooked up directly to the console? I heard a rumor that the 2020 editions where going to have the Ethernet built into them from the factory. My PC is close but not close enough to run a Ethernet cable. Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

A 2020 cabinet will come with a Wifi adapter (only difference hardware wise between a 2019) or you can run an ethernet cord to the PC. I have a long run from my GT to the router and decided to user a power line ethernet adapter below. I bought a used one (well comes with two) of the item below on Ebay for $40. You take one adapter and plug it into a nearby outlet and run an ethernet cable from it to your GT cabinet. The other adapter you plug in to an outlet near your router and run a network cable from it to the router.

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-PowerLINE-1200-Gigabit-PL1200-100PAS/dp/B00S6DBGJM/ref=sr_1_1

Great information, thanks. Just to clarify: Even on a 2020 edition, I will need two adapters? Thanks again for your time.

Any idea when they will release the 2021 model of GT? Do they actually wait for 2021 or is months earlier like card dealerships?

A 2020 cabinet should come with a wifi adapter so you can always give that a shot first. If the wifi signal is too weak in that part of the house you could try the powerline ethernet adapters (just make sure it comes with two).

Usually around August, September is the update time for operators, home versions I'm not sure.

This will be my first year buying an update for my home edition game. Does each yearly update come with a new security chip and thumb drive? I've always wondered if IT creates a unique security chip or hard codes something on the thumb drive so it matches up to a specific cabinet ID.

Yeah, I updated mine to 2018 from 2014 when I got it. They shipped a chip, USB stick and instructions iirc.

Update ships to operators of bar machines usually in October- HE owners get the update about a month later....assuming theres not a delay due to the shut down this year.....

IT ships a thumb drive only. I believe its linked to your Cabinet ID #.

Ok, well they sent me a chip. But I was converting it from pro to home as well, so that could have been part of that.

Yes- when converting from bar to HE it requires a new security chip so you cant play the 'bar' online money tourneys.

When you upgrade to a new year (I am currently on 2018 HE and plan to upgrade to 2021 HE when it is available later this year), can you sell the old version (my 2018 HE). I assume that without a new CID, you would not be able to sell the old version?

Is the online subscription really worth it? How often do you owners find yourself firing the thing up and seeking out online tournaments to play in? OR do you typically play alone or with other friends and family in person?

I've been playing GT since it came out in the 90's...….I (used to before Rona) play a couple live games at the bar each week. So I enjoy playing online Live play (in the bracket with the non prize play bar players) to get the challenging tee boxes. So I basically play live online every time I play. BUT I'm really into GT and have by competitive bar friends over to play a lot. They do run some online HE tournaments (usually $1 to enter). And the past few years (not in 2019) they ran a home owners 'Ultimate Cycle' where if you played ALL old courses once (including current year) you would get a discount on your renewal AND they drew 5 owners that got a free update (I won one of these last year). So it all depends if the $100/year is worth it to you....

We have been playing all the time for 6 weeks now, and we do not plan to go online.

Have a 2020 HE, and plan to upgrade in 3-4 years.

I couldn't imagine GT without it as the online subscription also including stats tracking, online contests, and player profiles. I think the online subscription also enables courses updates which includes new tee boxes and pin positions. The 2020 courses just got new tee box and pin positions and many of the courses now play completely different.

Anyone have a Big Buck Hunter HD they might want to trade for a 2018 Golden Tee

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Looks like you have a serious spider problem. It has been a long time since I seen webs like that.

I was wondering if that might get some feedback. We actually don’t really have spiders at this altitude. Had Halloween party and did some decorating but I liked the look so it all stayed up.

Starting to learn new techniques on taking risk to reduce my score. Playing around with high tee and going over buildings, rock formations, etc. to limit strokes needed. Finding out I can do things I did not think were possible, also going the distance even when it shows on club selection that you will come up short. Got to try more risky maneuvers if I am ever going to get even close to 32 under.

That's how to lower your score-its always risk vs reward! Discovering that you can often go over, through or around obstacles will save you strokes!

Anyone have one of these for sale? Considering taking the plunge on a GT instead of another pin. Am I crazy??

You are NOT crazy, I am getting the 2021 model in the fall. Of course for me the decision did get tougher after seeing the new Hot Wheels pin.

I have a mint barely used one for sale at $3000 could wait till fall and easily upgrade to the 2021 courses.

I'm on the hunt for a few Nighthawk boxes as well as a Golden Tee (#14) CID - PM me if you have anything.

Has anyone here played or bought a Golden Tee Go? Or seen any reviews of it? I'm thinking of upgrading from my Complete to the Go and am looking for some opinions.
I know there is no online play but right now my friends and I play local all the time so that is not a huge loss for me.
Thanks!

I’ll start by saying it’s way too expensive.

But, it runs full GT 2020 offline and powerputt well.

If I had to run their gimped version of 2019 with a bunch of missing courses it’s a no brainer to pass.

I've got one. Aside from a custom ATX power supply and some new design features on the I/O board and CID, it's a full system under the hood.

I'm going to be modifying mine to play all 5 games from IT, including Golden Tee Home Edition 2020 online via WiFi dongle inside the game. Should be a sweet setup when I'm done.

Think it's going to be as simple as some kind of board swap or more than that?

I'm kind of interested if it can be converted to a Home edition, but the current setup of offline only is a bit of a turnoff.

What are the 5 games? I know of GT, PP, SSB and Target Toss...what’s the 5th one?

Target toss is 2 games - Bags and Lawn Darts

Serious question: What’s so great about online vs offline?

We had a rental house last week with a GT2016 in it and played a bunch. First time I ever played a whole game of GT. It was offline only, so you had to enter initials after the first hole of each game to track scores and whatnot, but it wasn’t a big deal. It seems like all online gets you is a profile with a bit more detail and the ability to save your outfit and custom clubs/balls — AND the ability to pay more money for a whole lot of things (tournaments, alternate clothes, etc).

I have had my 2020 for just over 3 months now and I never plan to go online.

In 3-4 years I do plan to buy a new chip to get more courses.

Yeah, like you noted -- the lifetime stats, custom clubs/balls, different golfer fashion options are the big one. You also have the ability to set up private contests called Invitationals between yourself and other players. I like that because I have friends who play on the other side of the country, and we'd have a standing game or two going every week. That's nice. There are also promotions like mentioned prior.

If you don't care about that stuff, and you just want to play the dang game, you don't need the online at all. Same game for the most part.

Online vs offline- To each their own.

I play some in the bar vs my friends too, so I like being able to get the same 'looks' at home to dial in my shots in online play. The invites are nice also. You can also play all the 'freaky friday' and all the course mix-up events that are offered in the bar-although you have to pay the IT rake of $.50/game.

Online play allows you to win money too.

I’m sure in my case it would just be spend money. I’d never take GT that seriously. Heh.

In regards to stat tracking / player profiles I couldn't imagine the game without it. Prior to every game I can see high score related stats for that course. It's fun to try and beat my previous scores. There's also "free" (have to have online play enabled) online contests that while not live show your scores against others around the world which adds a fun competitive element to the game. I also like the ability to see my player profile stats and world ranking on the GT phone app.

Is 4100 shipped NIB for a home 2020 unit with tv stand and marquee a good deal?

Yes.

That's a good deal, because of the TV stand. Without the stand it's normal pricing.

I'm looking for some used card readers, if anyone has any. Thanks!

Got 18 under on Jamaica Bay-my best score yet!