Comparison

GL Golf Lite vs Golf Rival

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

Head to head
About

GL Golf Lite

Experience realistic 3D golf with simple graphics and physics. Play solo or with up to four players across 720 holes, featuring various environmental challenges and game modes. Enjoy online tournaments, customizable golfers, and regular free updates with new courses available for purchase.

Highlights
  • Realistic 3D golf physics
  • Up to four player modes
  • 720 holes across multiple courses
  • Online tournaments
  • Customizable golfers
  • Driving range and practice modes
  • Game Center multiplayer support
Features
Read full description

GL Golf Lite 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 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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 • Rocket Golf gives golf a new twist with its unique 2D side scrolling gameplay
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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 Rival

Compete in real-time multiplayer golf battles, showcasing your skills on over 300 courses. Collect powerful clubs and balls to outwit opponents and climb leaderboards. Enjoy various game modes, from 1v1 duels to tournaments, and improve your golf game with every match.

Highlights
  • Real-time multiplayer PvP golf
  • Over 300 courses and 20+ themes
  • Collect golf clubs and balls
  • Tournament mode
  • Play with friends
  • Unlock new challenges and rewards
Read full description

The golf course is calling! Tee-off and become the ultimate golf champion in Golf Rival! Golf Rival is a free-to-play real time PVP golf game where real golf skills need infinite creativity. Show off your golf genius like never before! Collect powerful golf clubs and balls and play across 600+ courses in more than 21+ themes! Satisfy your golf dreams of hitting incredible shots, dueling your rivals, climbing the leaderboards and becoming a true golf master. Let's go for the perfect swing, a hole-in-one and prove you're a golf pro! We’re adding a new layer of depth in Golf Rival! With focus on golf clubs players already love, and a new fun world to prove them in! With Course Conditions in play, every hole feels unique. Wind zones and gravity shifts force you to read the course fresh, every single time. And Club Mods help in countering whatever the golf course throws at you. Players dust off clubs they already own, slot in new mod upgrades, and tune their golf clubs to personalized strategies. This exciting free golf game has many modes to play and master. From 1v1 golf shootout duels, to golf championship Tournaments against a global community of golfers, to playing golf with rivals and friends. In Golf Rival, scoring a birdie is only the start of the competitive fun! Outwit rivals with powerful golf balls and clubs, because no two online golf matches are ever the same. Grab your clubs, and enjoy the golfing fun, whether you're a golfing newbie or an ultimate sports game expert! PLAY EXCITING GOLF GAMES -Unlock incredible golf challenges and conquer them by winning real time golf clashes and shootouts -Master your golf swing with precision and creativity and watch your skills grow -Compete in both 9-hole and 18-hole golf championship Tournaments every exciting season -Multiplayer golf mode and daily challenges await - play golf now every single day! -Beautiful 3D golf courses across different themes and difficulties always deliver an ultimate golf challenge GROW YOUR GOLF SKILLS -Golf Rival is unlike any free golf game you've tried - a true golfing simulator with creative and fantastical clubs and balls -Win real golf duels to unlock amazing rewards for your golf bag and take your golf pro skills to the next level -With every real time golf clash, you'll sharpen your genius swing and pull off incredible golf shots! INFINITE GOLF FUN -Every Golf Rival season is fun and fresh, with new courses, golf balls and rewards all the time! -Skill games like Kingdom, Ace Open and Brink events put a unique spin on classic golf - putting, chipping and more -Add your friends and see who has the golf genius to become the #1 golfer! -Connect with players from the Golf Rival community on Facebook and join the conversation Join golf fans around the world and download Golf Rival now to start your journey to becoming an ultimate golf champion! Golf Rival is available in 13 languages. Join the Golf Rival community on Facebook! Golf Rival is FREE to download and includes optional in-game purchases (including random items). If you wish to disable in-game purchases, please turn off the in-app purchases in your phone or tablet’s Settings. Terms of service: https://www.take2games.com/legal/en-US/

Screenshots

GL Golf Lite4 screens
Golf Rival4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Golf Rival at 4.5 against GL Golf Lite's 3.9. Golf Rival also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (155K vs 85). GL Golf Lite's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (61% vs 38%). On price, 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

Both are free to download. GL Golf Lite sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Golf Rival sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Golf Rival holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Golf Rival has 155K ratings behind it against 85, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 61% of GL Golf Lite's written reviews are positive against 38% of Golf Rival's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GL Golf Lite ships an update every 3 months, Golf Rival every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on August 26, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
GL Golf Lite versus Golf Rival: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGL Golf LiteGolf Rival
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (85 ratings)4.5 (155K ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.9% of reviews — better37.8% of reviews
Number of ratings85155K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#11 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB363 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNuclear Nova SoftwareZynga Inc.

Customer experience

GL Golf Lite

All ratings85 ratings
Positive68.2%
Neutral14.1%
Negative17.6%
Written reviews243 reviews
Positive60.9%
Neutral13.6%
Negative25.5%

Golf Rival

All ratings154,583 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral5.1%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews2,415 reviews
Positive37.8%
Neutral12.3%
Negative49.9%

User reviews

GL Golf Lite

From 85 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Realistic golf simulation
  • 🚀 Quick gameplay
  • 💡 Variety of shot options (fade, draw, backspin)
  • 🕹️ Easy-to-use controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and glitches
  • 💸 Expensive full version
  • 🔍 Obstructed view due to ads
  • 🔧 Lack of updates and bug fixes

Golf Rival

From 155K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fun and addictive game
  • 👍 No ads
  • 💡 Variety of game modes
  • 👍 Progression without paying

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Unfair matchmaking against higher-level players
  • 💰 Pay-to-win mechanics
  • 🐛 Inconsistent wind and ball physics
  • 🔒 Difficulty upgrading preferred clubs
  • 🔒 Putting is too easy

Bugs and requests

GL Golf Lite

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Scores not properly recorded on leaderboards
  • Swing meter and wind direction obscured by ads
  • Inconsistent ball physics and putting
  • Crashes on newer devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More holes and courses
  • Character customization
  • Online leaderboards and multiplayer
  • Improved graphics and visuals

Golf Rival

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent disconnections and sync issues
  • Glitches with shot trajectories
  • Disappearing in-app purchases

Requested features

5 requests
  • More diverse course selection
  • Fairer matchmaking system
  • Ability to replay unlocked levels
  • Improved club upgrade system
  • More challenging putting

In-app purchases

3 purchases

GL Golf Lite

One-time3
  • Club Upgrades$0.99
  • Remove Ads$0.99
  • Club Pack$1.99
10 purchases

Golf Rival

One-time10
  • PIGGY_BANK$2.99
  • Save Streak$2.99
  • BIG PILE OF DIAMONDS$4.99
Show 7 more
  • Arena Big Deal$4.99
  • CHALLENGE PASS$4.99
  • FULL BAG OF DIAMONDS$9.99
  • Arena Super Deal$9.99
  • CLUB OFFER 1$9.99
  • FULL CHEST OF DIAMONDS$19.99
  • Arena Amazing Deal$19.99

Questions

Is GL Golf Lite free?
GL Golf Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Golf Rival free?
Golf Rival is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, GL Golf Lite or Golf Rival?
Golf Rival is rated higher. GL Golf Lite averages 3.9 out of 5 from 85 ratings, while Golf Rival averages 4.5 from 155K ratings.
Do GL Golf Lite or Golf Rival have ads?
Golf Rival shows ads; GL Golf Lite does not.
Which is updated more often, GL Golf Lite or Golf Rival?
GL Golf Lite ships an update every 3 months, and Golf Rival every 9 days. Most recently, GL Golf Lite was updated on August 26, 2026 and Golf Rival on September 25, 2026.

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