Fairway Game Strategy Guide

How to turn a good vocabulary into a good score.

Think in Yardages, Not Answers

The prompt is only half the puzzle. Before you type, look at the distance to the pin and the yardage guide under the prompt. The question is not "what is a vegetable?" but "what vegetable flies about 150 yards?"

Plan Each Hole Backwards

Par 3s (140–225 yards)

One uncommon or rare answer can reach the green. Aim for the middle of the distance band; the green is 40 yards deep, so you do not need perfection. Then putt with a common answer for a birdie.

Par 4s (320–445 yards)

A deep cut off the tee (about 300 yards) leaves 20 to 145 yards. From there a solid or uncommon answer finds the green. Three strokes is a birdie, four is par.

Par 5s (470–565 yards)

Two long shots can leave a short approach. If the second shot is awkward, lay up to a comfortable distance rather than risking the water.

Save the Obvious Answers

The single most common answer is the only guaranteed putt. If you use "dog" to move 40 yards down the fairway on "Name a mammal", you will need another common answer on the green. Lean on the second and third most common answers for short approach shots, and keep the very top of the list for the hole.

Hazards: When to Play Safe

Water costs a stroke and drops you 30 yards out. Bunkers only shorten your next shot. So on water holes, choose an answer you think is a little more common than ideal; on bunker holes, it is fine to be slightly aggressive.

Using the Shot Clock

Thirty seconds is plenty if you have a plan. Typing an answer that is not on our card costs only time, so if you are unsure, try your bold idea first and keep a safer answer ready.

Common Mistakes

  • Overhitting putts. On the green, a "pretty common" answer is not enough. Go with the first thing anyone would say.
  • Guessing obscure spellings. Plurals and small typos are fine, but invented words are not on the card.
  • Forgetting the bunker penalty. From sand you get 60% of the carry, so a 150-yard answer only goes 90.

Put it into practice in Unlimited, or play today's Fairway Daily Game course. Rules in full: how to play.