Comparison

GL Golf vs Golf Dreams

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

GL Golf

Experience realistic 3D golf with simple graphics and a physics system. Play solo or with up to four players across numerous holes, featuring various environmental challenges and game modes. Enjoy online tournaments, customizable golfers, and constant free updates.

Highlights
  • Realistic 3D golf simulation
  • Multiplayer support (up to 4 players)
  • Realistic physics system
  • Numerous holes and courses
  • Online tournaments
  • Customizable golfers
  • Driving range and practice modes
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

GL Golf is a 3D sports game for the casual gamer. With a realistic physics system and great simple graphics, you and up to four players can golf all 720 holes (some available through in-app purchase) for countless hours. Everything in a real game of golf is included, such as water hazards, sand traps, trees, bushes, wind, four seasons, different time of days to play, and a driving range. Other great features include both an internet and individual high score list, game saving, great music, iTunes controls, 3 difficulty modes, mulligans, the ability to choose your set of clubs, match/stroke play, online tournaments, customizable male and female golfers, and much more. GL Golf is constantly being updated with free new features. Four new courses are released every year, available for in-app purchase. *New Game Center Multiplayer Support* - Play against your friends or a random opponent on any of your favorite courses. Golfers alternate every three hole until a winner is crowed after all 18 holes are finished. If you like GL Golf, make sure to check out Nuclear Nova’s other games, all available for the Mac/iPhone/iPad/iPod.
 • Nova Golf, the successor to GL Golf, is a much more detailed golf simulator with more modern graphics
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 • Fractal 3D and ASCII Art are our first non-game apps Play now on your iPhone, iPod, and iPad! "This is a solid game and should definitely be on every duffer's app download list." -tuaw.com "In the end, GL Golf is an incredibly deep game, serving up six courses and tons of options, it never gets old" -iPhoneGamingNetwork.com "Of all the golf games and simulations I’ve played so far for the iPhone, there’s one that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. GL Golf." -intomobile.com "I must say, this app is a very fun app. I am kind of addicted." -iPhoneMatters.com "The game play is solid. To swing the club just double tap on the screen; when the power meter reaches to a spot you want, just single tap and the club will swing, hitting the ball. You can change the type of club you have by dragging your finger up/down the screen, thereby changing the range. The game does pause itself when you tap the home button, so if you get a call while playing, you won't lose your game. " -Tuaw.com

About

Golf Dreams

Experience realistic 3D golf with true physics and innovative controls. Build your career, win prizes, and compete in tournaments or quick mini-golf matches. Challenge friends or rivals in head-to-head PvP.

Highlights
  • Realistic 3D golf simulation
  • Career mode with tournaments
  • Win and upgrade golf clubs
  • Challenging golf courses
  • Shape your shots (draw/fade)
  • PvP multiplayer matches
  • Realistic ball tracer and stats
Features
Read full description

Golf Dreams is a free golf simulation game using real physics and groundbreaking controls making it one of the most true golf games out there! * Tournaments - start your career from scratch and work your way to glory. Solo golf gameplay as it should be. * Golf clubs - win prizes in tournaments and get new clubs and upgrade them to get yourself in perfect shape and sink even more birdies. * Weekly League * Awesome golf courses inspired by real world examples from the best courses around the globe. Tee off for a relaxing round with birds chirping in the background. * Shape your shots with draw and fade golfshot. Swing, chip, flop, punch, putt and drive your way to success around the fairway and greens. Stay away from the rough, bunkers and water hazards and make your way to the top of the tour. * Mini golf tournaments and multiplayer matches with 6 holes to play. Quick game play. * PvP multiplayer. Play golf head-to-head against friends or a random rival. No waiting time. Play your golf round directly and your opponent can play their round when it suits them. * Realistic golf ball tracer and tracker with in-depth stats how you strike the golf ball. Enjoy a nice round of single player golf or challenge someone for a golf battle in one of the best golf games for free. +++ Recent Reviews +++ "Beautiful game! Very well thought out and quick to play. I have been looking for a good golf game that has a fun solo mode and this is it!" / Bradley W. "What a great bunch of engineering. The stroke is cool. The clubs play true. As does the wind. Only sad part is nobody seems to know it exists. If you play golf in real life you'll enjoy this expressly for the controls and purity of play..." / Drew D. "Best golf game out there! It's the only not to be pay to win trash. No micro transaction, just courses to buy. No chests to unblock. Also more realistic, you can choose the clubs and you don't magically know where it will land, and you also don't play a stupid timing game to play. Just feels like golf. Kudos on making this game." / Tiago S. "Lots of fun and as challenging to play as actual golf. I'm enjoying the simplicity and colors of the polygon graphics..." / Richard D. "Brilliant game, probably the closest game to a simulation. No pay to win aspects and really bright future for mobile golf games" / Daniel D. +++ Get in touch +++ Discord: https://discord.gg/3NHxcTdT5B Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/golfdreamsofficial

Screenshots

GL Golf4 screens
Golf Dreams4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Golf Dreams at Free against GL Golf's $4.99. Golf Dreams also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 months). GL Golf's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Golf Dreams is free to download; GL Golf costs $4.99 up front. GL Golf sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Golf Dreams sells 21 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Golf Dreams holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Golf Dreams has 31K ratings behind it against 106, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 63% and 62% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GL Golf ships an update every 3 months, Golf Dreams every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
GL Golf versus Golf Dreams: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGL GolfGolf Dreams
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (106 ratings)4.8 (31K ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.6% of reviews — better62.4% of reviews
Number of ratings10631K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#144#34 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size153 MB445 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNuclear Nova SoftwareGolf Dreams AB

Customer experience

GL Golf

All ratings105 ratings
Positive74.3%
Neutral10.5%
Negative15.2%
Written reviews179 reviews
Positive62.6%
Neutral14.0%
Negative23.5%

Golf Dreams

All ratings30,768 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews995 reviews
Positive62.4%
Neutral10.7%
Negative26.9%

User reviews

GL Golf

From 106 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⛳️ Enjoyable golf gameplay
  • 🕰 Addictive time-killer
  • 🎨 Charming low-def graphics
  • 👍 Challenging but fun

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs after updates
  • 🌄 Limited course selection
  • 🎨 Outdated graphics
  • 🎮 Frustrating putting mechanics

Golf Dreams

From 31K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Awesome game
  • 👍 Best golf game on the app store
  • 👍 Smooth and satisfying golf swing
  • 👍 Realistic physics and ball flight
  • 👍 Great visuals and audio

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent wind and swing mechanics
  • 🐛 Inaccurate putting grid
  • 🐛 Overpowered AI opponents
  • 🐛 Slow progression and club unlocks
  • 🐛 Frequent updates causing issues

Bugs and requests

GL Golf

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Swing button not functioning
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Courses not loading properly
  • Incompatibility with newer devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More course options
  • Improved graphics and visuals
  • Better putting system
  • Online leaderboards and multiplayer

Golf Dreams

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Progress loss after updates
  • Inability to add friends
  • Putting issues causing unexpected ball behavior
  • Inconsistent tournament scoring and rewards

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more courses and game modes
  • Improve club progression and unlocks
  • Implement real-time multiplayer
  • Add more customization options
  • Improve putting mechanics and controls
Show 1 more
  • Provide better feedback on player progress

In-app purchases

11 purchases

GL Golf

One-time11
  • GL Golf Lob Wedge$0.99
  • GL Golf Mulligan Pack$0.99
  • GL Golf Tour Clubs$1.99
Show 8 more
  • GL Golf Square Grooves$1.99
  • GL Golf Driver 330$2.99
  • GL Golf Course Pack 1$2.99
  • GL Golf Course Pack 2$2.99
  • GL Golf Course Pack 3$2.99
  • GL Golf Course Pack 4$2.99
  • GL Golf Course Pack 5$2.99
  • GL Golf Course Pack 6$2.99
21 purchases

Golf Dreams

Subscriptions1
  • Pro Pass Monthly$3.991 Month
One-time20
  • Course: Sunset Valley$0.99
  • Course: Canyon Course$0.99
  • Weekly League Entry$0.99
Show 17 more
  • Silver chest$0.99
  • Pack of tickets$1.49
  • Bag of tickets$1.99
  • Course: Highland Bay$1.99
  • Course: Woody Pines$1.99
  • Gold chest$1.99
  • Pack of Gold Markers$1.99
  • Major Chest$2.99
  • Dream Pass Plus$4.49
  • Pack of Major Passes$4.99
  • Pile of tickets$5.49
  • Pile of Major Passes$7.99
  • Tickets Unlimited (Small)$8.99
  • Box of tickets$9.99
  • Premium Lifetime$9.99
  • Pile of gold markers$9.99
  • Tickets Unlimited (Large)$19.99

Questions

Is GL Golf free?
GL Golf costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Golf Dreams free?
Golf Dreams is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, GL Golf or Golf Dreams?
Golf Dreams is rated higher. GL Golf averages 4.0 out of 5 from 106 ratings, while Golf Dreams averages 4.8 from 31K ratings.
Do GL Golf or Golf Dreams have ads?
Golf Dreams shows ads; GL Golf does not.
Which is updated more often, GL Golf or Golf Dreams?
GL Golf ships an update every 3 months, and Golf Dreams every 6 days. Most recently, GL Golf was updated on October 29, 2026 and Golf Dreams on October 31, 2026.
Which is more popular, GL Golf or Golf Dreams?
GL Golf currently peaks at #144 in the App Store charts, and Golf Dreams at #34. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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