In Golf Resort Tycoon you have to develop a beautiful 5 Star 18 hole resort. Sound easy? Think again. You have to start by building a 9 hole golf course with par 3, par 4, and par 5 holes and build it up slowly while maintaining the course and keeping guests happy. You have limited funds and limited time to make your golf course profitable and fun. 

You begin with a small shack and a small amount of money. The amount of money you start with is determined by the level you play. You can choose from a forest, desert oasis, mountains, island, and autumn as the terrain for your course based on your amount of money. Watch out for the gophers. As soon as you start building your course gophers invade. Make sure you buy plenty of maintenance to upkeep your course and watch for the golfers emotions. If they aren't happy you won't succeed. Make sure you have plenty of restrooms and entertainment for your guests and don't raise your prices to high or they will leave. 

There are graphs and charts that can help guide you along the way but for the most part are useless. There is a tutorial that I recommend going over just to get an idea of the steps you should take to make it the best 5 Star Resort around. You can save your game and continue later and you can also run it in a "Instant Action" mode where you can play as long as you wish without time running out. Grab a drink and a snack before you sit down because once you start you won't want to stop. 

Install: Easy 
Golf Resort Tycoon does not support digital or analog joysticks and requires a Windows compatible mouse and keyboard. 

Gameplay: 9 
It is somewhat a slow paced game. It takes time to build your money to buy some of the expensive things that are needed to make a great resort. 

Graphics: 7 
The graphics could be much better on this. However, the ability to zoom in and out and rotate your course for a better view are great. Once inside one of your buildings you can peer out and look through light fog or thick fog and get a view of what the golfer's see and get an idea whether or not you need to beautify your course. 

Sound: 6 
The elevator style music in the background should be changed to something more exciting and fast paced. The sounds from the golfers and maintenance staff add a little to the game but not much. 

Difficulty: 8.5 
It is a challenge to get your course made before time and money run out but not difficult. There are challenges along the way such as the gophers but they are easy to overcome as well. 

Concept: 9 
Although it is much like the idea of the SimCity games, I like the idea of being able to build my own course. If you've ever dreamed of owning a course this will give you an idea of how much is involved. 

Multiplayer: 5 
This is a one player game only. 

Overall: 8 
Golf Tycoon Resort is challenging and addictive. If you aren't a die hard golfer you probably won't find this game enjoyable. The main thing this game is lacking is the ability to play the course you built.