How to Play Fairway Daily Game
Everything about the rules in one place: prompts, yardage, greens, putting, hazards and scoring.
The Basics
A round is five holes. Each hole has a par (3, 4 or 5) and a length in yards. Every shot shows a new category prompt, and you answer with one word or name. Your answer is your club: the rarer it is, the further the ball flies. Get the ball in the hole in as few strokes as you can.
From Answer to Yards
Every prompt has an answer table. Each accepted answer carries an estimated share of players who would give it, and the game turns that share into a carry distance:
| Answer type | Carry | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 40–60 yds | The first thing most people would say. The only kind of answer that drops a putt. |
| Solid | 60–130 yds | A popular answer, but not the very top of the list. Good for short approach shots. |
| Uncommon | 130–210 yds | A valid answer a fair number of people would think of. |
| Rare | 210–270 yds | A real answer that few people give. |
| Deep cut | 270–300 yds | Correct, but almost nobody says it. Your driver. |
The most common answer to any prompt always carries 40 yards. Each answer's distance grows with how much rarer it is than that top answer, topping out at 300 yards. How we built the tables is explained on the about page.
Matching your answer
Capitals, accents, punctuation and plurals are ignored, so "Brussels sprouts" and "brussels sprout" are the same answer. A leading "the" is dropped. Small typos are accepted when they point clearly to one answer on the card. An answer that is not on our card costs no stroke, but the shot clock keeps running. You cannot reuse an answer you already played to the same prompt in a round.
The Green and Putting
When the ball finishes within 20 yards of the pin it is on the green. If it finishes within 4 yards, it drops in immediately: a chip-in, or an ace on a par 3. On the green you putt with an answer. A common answer (60 yards or less) always holes the putt. A rarer answer rolls past the cup by about one yard for every 10 yards it would have carried beyond 60. Roll more than 20 yards and you are off the green.
Hazards and Penalties
Water
Water holes have a lake behind the green. A shot that flies more than 30 yards past the pin finds the water: one penalty stroke, and the ball is dropped 30 yards from the pin.
Bunkers
Bunker holes have sand 25 to 50 yards short of the pin. From the bunker your next shot carries 60% of its normal distance, so you need a rarer answer to get out and onto the green.
Rough
Flying past the pin on a hole without water leaves the ball in the rough behind the green. No penalty: just play back toward the pin.
Shot Clock
Each shot has a 30-second clock that starts when the prompt appears. If it runs out, the stroke counts and the ball does not move. You can switch the clock off before you start a round; the rules are otherwise the same.
Scoring
Every swing is a stroke, and a water penalty adds one more. Each hole is capped at double par; reach it and the ball is picked up. Your round score is your total strokes against the course par. The scorecard uses 🦅 for an eagle or better, 🐦 birdie, 🟩 par, 🟨 bogey, 🟧 double bogey and 🟥 worse.
Daily and Unlimited
The daily course resets at 00:00 UTC and is the same for everyone. Your progress is saved, so you can close the tab and resume. Unlimited gives you endless random courses for practice. Ready? Play today's course.