How to play dailygolf

Every day there’s a new three-hole course: a par 3, a par 4 and a par 5, par 12 in all. Everyone in the world plays the same holes, and a round takes a few minutes on a phone, tablet or computer.

Your daily round

Press Tee off on the title screen to start. The three holes come in a different order each day, and each one has its own name, layout and wind. A new course starts at midnight Eastern time (New York), and the title screen counts down to it in your own time zone.

Your round is saved after every shot. You can close the tab halfway through and carry on later, as long as you finish before the next course starts. When the ball drops on the third green you get your total, a scorecard with every shot, and a result you can share.

Swinging

The swing is two moves, made with one finger or the mouse.

1. Pull back. Press anywhere on the course and drag down. The power meter on the left fills as you go, and its top tick is a full swing (100%). You can keep pulling to 112%, but past 100% you overswing. The ball then hooks, cuts or slices, and you never know which. It usually comes up short as well, and the further past, the worse.
2. Flick up. Push straight up past the point where you first pressed. The ball goes the moment you cross it. If your finger drifts left or right on the way up, the ball curves into a hook or a slice. Long clubs curve the most, the driver and 3 wood above all.

To call off a swing, let go before you get back to where you started. On a keyboard, hold Space to take the club back and let go to hit.

Aiming

Each shot starts aimed at the flag, or down the fairway when the green is out of reach. To aim somewhere else:

• ← → turn the aim. Hold Shift for small moves.
• The ◀ and ▶ buttons in the bottom corner do the same on a touch screen.
• Tap any spot on the course, or on the minimap in the top right, to aim straight at it.
• Press V or the map button to look over the whole hole before you play.

The starting aim doesn’t allow for wind or slopes. That part is up to you.

Choosing a club

You carry eleven clubs and a putter, from the driver (250 yards) down to the sand wedge (88 yards). Change clubs with ↑ ↓ or the ‹ › arrows on the club box at the bottom of the screen. The white ring on the course shows where a full swing with that club would land on a calm day, and the club box gives its carry from the lie you’re on. The strategy guide lists every club’s distance.

Off the tee you start with the driver, or a 7 iron on a par 3. After that the game hands you the club you last hit, and the putter whenever you’re on the green.

Reading the numbers

• Under the landing ring: the carry in yards, how far above (▲) or below (▼) you the ball would land, and the wind.
• Top right: the wind speed in miles per hour, with an arrow showing which way it blows.
• The readout: the distance to the pin, and a “Plays” figure that adds the climb to the green or takes off the drop.
• The flag on the power meter: the power that would get the club in your hand to the pin.
• The lie box: what the ball is sitting on and how much of a normal shot you’ll get out of it.

Putting

The dashed line shows where you’re aiming. It runs dead straight, so you have to play the break yourself. A grid of arrows covers the green and drifts downhill. The arrows move faster and turn warmer in color where the green is steeper. To hide them, press S or the Slope arrows switch under the putt read.

The putter’s range is set for each putt, taking in the slope and any fringe or rough between you and the hole. That way the flag on the power meter always marks the stroke that reaches the cup, and the club box tells you how far the putt plays in feet.

Trouble and penalties

• Water costs a stroke. You play on from a drop beside where the ball went in.
• Out of bounds costs a stroke, and you hit again from the same spot.
• Rough, deep rough and bunkers take distance off your next shot. The guide has the exact figures.
• Boulders, stone walls, barns and windmill sails knock the ball around. Cart paths are hard, so the ball bounds along them.
• Nobody gets stuck on a hole. Once you reach par + 5 (8 on a par 3, 9 on a par 4, 10 on a par 5) you pick up and that’s your score for the hole.

The mulligan

Everyone gets one mulligan per daily course. After a shot you don’t like, tap Mulligan beside the scorebug before you swing again. The ball goes back to where you hit it from, with the same club and aim, and neither the stroke nor any penalty counts. Your scorecard and your shared result show where you used it. Unlimited courses give you as many as you want.

Unlimited

Unlimited on the title screen gives you a new random course whenever you like, as many as you want, with no limit on mulligans. It also lets you start games with friends and turns off ads everywhere in dailygolf. It’s a one-time purchase of $5, with no account. Unlimited rounds don’t count toward your daily stats, your streak or the leaderboard. They keep stats of their own, behind a switch on the Stats screen.

Playing with friends

Play with friends on the title screen puts up to 10 people on the same course at once, each on their own phone or computer and at their own pace. Type the name you want the others to see, then start a game or join one with its five-character code. The host gets an Invite button that shares a link to the game, and chooses between a new course and today’s. Everyone’s ball is out on the course in their own color, and a leaderboard updates as you play.

Anyone can join a game for free. Starting one is part of Unlimited. Games with friends never touch your daily round, your streak or the leaderboard, even when you play today’s course.

Scores

Each hole is scored against its par, the number of strokes a good player is expected to take. The scorecard marks good holes with circles and bad ones with squares.

Your course total is shown against par 12: E for even, −1 for one under, +2 for two over, and so on.

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