Free Online Golf Games are the digitized and virtual versions of the very popular and very ancient physical club and ball style game (called Golf) that can be played on the world wide web via the internet enabling you to play on your screen rather than on a real green.
The other defining feature of free online golf games is of course that they can be played for free (access to the game is devoid of any charges or costs) which helps open up such games to a much wider audience; first by removing that which prevents most people from partaking in 'luxury' recreational and entertainment activities - having a prohibitive cost associated with it. Secondly by virtue of the inter-connectivity presented by the internet & world wide web enabling those in less developed countries to access games that they previously would not have been able to.
As a result we can conclude that free online golf games, and other free on-line gaming genres, have globally democratized this field of sports related entertainment, subsequently improving global access to, and participation in, what originally was a game purely for westerners or, at the very least, those on western level incomes. An 'off the shelf' computer game such as a golf game could retail at anywhere between $15 & $50, a months (or even a years) wages in some parts of the world subsequently preventing 80% of the worlds population from being able to afford to play. The digital fairways of the virtual world are now open to anyone and everyone who has access to an internet connected computer.
Free on-line golf games come in varying forms, some replicate the 'arcade' style versions of the game that you may have come across on early home computers which are played 'on the fly' for a quick bit of nostalgic arcade golf fun. Others employ the latest technologies to replicate, as far as is possible, the real physical game of golf presenting very accurate simulations of the challenges encountered on a real golf course. Such as variable wind speed and direction combined with the ballistic variables of different types of golf clubs and the all important 'lie of the land' like the gradients of the putting green.
The employment of technologies such as Adobe Flash (previously Macromedia and Shockwave Flash) have enabled Flash golf games to be considered by many digital golfers the market leaders in free online golf games, certainly from the point of view of graphics but also game play - accurately simulating the usual golfing features such as bunkers and water hazards.
The almost photographically real graphics capabilities of Flash has also empowered developers to very accurately replicate well known golf courses (for example St Andrews in Scotland, home of the Open and claim to being the first known Golf course in the world) from its surrounding scenery to the accurate representation of the 'lie' and gradients of the putting greens, a truly exceptional achievement that must have taken a lot of time consuming and very hard work to get right.
If your a golfing enthusiast wanting to play a round right now but its bad weather, or its the evening, or your clubs have been abducted by Aliens, or your getting on a bit and can not quite go the distance any more, or your simply not a member of (or have access) to a golf course then be rest assured that there is a quality game of golf to be had right now that need not cost you a penny or a dime in the form of free online golf games.
