Nintendo Switch modders have discovered that the classic "Golf" sports simulation game, which was released in 1984 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console, was tucked away inside the system code of the Nintendo Switch.

The discovery was made by a modder with the codename yellowS8, who posted screenshots of the game on the website SwitchBrew. The site is a wiki page dedicated to Switch homebrew projects.

The modder claimed that a NES emulator with the name "flog" has been installed on retail Switch systems since the version 1.0.0 of the console's firmware. The emulator, whose name is "golf" spelled backward, ran the game "Golf" which supports one or two player game modes. The modder said the game could be run only via unofficial methods.

What is even more interesting is that aside from the traditional d-pad buttons on the Switch's Joy-Con controllers, the game also supports motion controls while holding the Z button on the Joy-Con. This means that using the Joy-Con, gamers would be able to play the classic game the same way that Wii users play golf in the Wii Sports video game via the Wiimote.

New ROMS have been included in prior modern Nintendo consoles as part of the Virtual Console. However, no other NES ROMS have received support for motion controls even with the Virtual Console for the Wii U.

The Virtual Console has been present in other Nintendo consoles, like the Wii, Wii U, and the 3DS. The platform allows modern consoles to run titles that were created for older consoles like, the NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, the various Gameboy iterations, and Nintendo DS. However, Nintendo has not announced any specific details about the Virtual Console for the Switch.

With Nintendo's well-known appreciation and celebration of its rich gaming history dating back to the early days of the video game era, it is not surprising that a classic game like "Golf" would find its way to the company's most modern gaming console.