Guides · Courses
Every course has a character.
Updated · by the 9Daily team, Berlin
Every 9Daily course gets a name, like Heron Bay · Dunes. The second part tells you what kind of course you are playing, and that changes the wind, the trees, the water and how far the ball rolls.
How do you know the course type in 9Daily?
The second part of a 9Daily course name gives the type. Before and during your round, Home shows a short line about the course on its photo. The type holds for all nine holes of the day, and it is the same for every golfer in the world.
| Type | Name ends in | What 9Daily tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Links | Links or Dunes | Open links. Wind, firm turf, pot bunkers. |
| Coast | Coast | The sea runs along the holes. Mind the wind. |
| Woods | Forest | Cut through the woods. Little wind. |
| Parkland | Park | Old avenues of trees. Out of bounds close by. |
| Lakes | Lakes | Water on almost every hole. |
| Heath | Heath or Highlands | Heather and gorse. Carry the heath off the tee. |
| Valley | Valley or Meadows | Wide and sheltered. A day to go low. |
| Classic | Old Course, New Course, North, South, East or West | A bit of everything. |
What does each course type change in 9Daily?
- Links
- No trees, firm turf so the ball rolls further, wide fairways and longer holes. Dunes line the rough, nests of small pot bunkers guard the landing areas, and some fairways have a strip of sand across them.
- Coast
- The sea runs along many holes, with a beach that plays like a bunker. Bigger bunkers, dunes and firm turf. The windiest type in 9Daily.
- Woods
- Holes cut through the trees: more trees in play, more and sharper doglegs, narrower fairways and smaller greens. Sheltered from the wind.
- Parkland
- Avenues of big old trees along the rough and more trees in play. Out of bounds is close by on many holes.
- Lakes
- Water on almost every hole, with fewer bunkers. The show hole is usually an island green.
- Heath
- Heather and gorse in the deep rough, only a thin band of rough beside the fairway, and on most longer holes a band of heath across the fairway to carry off the tee.
- Valley
- Wide and sheltered: wider fairways, slightly larger greens and the softest wind. A day to go low.
- Classic
- A bit of everything, with no strong character: the all-round 9Daily course.
How windy is each course type in 9Daily?
Home shows before your first shot whether the day is calm, breezy, windy or stormy. How often each happens depends on the course type. On links, coast and heath courses the wind also blows a little harder, in woods, parkland and valleys a little softer. More on playing it: how to play wind and doglegs.
| Type | Calm | Breezy | Windy | Stormy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Links | 6% | 40% | 40% | 14% |
| Coast | 4% | 30% | 46% | 20% |
| Woods | 35% | 50% | 13% | 2% |
| Parkland | 25% | 50% | 22% | 3% |
| Lakes | 12% | 48% | 32% | 8% |
| Heath | 8% | 42% | 38% | 12% |
| Valley | 35% | 50% | 13% | 2% |
| Classic | 12% | 48% | 32% | 8% |
What is the show hole in 9Daily?
Every 9Daily day has one show hole that fits the course type. The finale is always hole 9; the others fall somewhere between hole 2 and hole 8, and if no hole fits that day, the show hole becomes the finale.
- Island green
- Lakes: a par 3 to a green with water all around it.
- Carry over the bay
- Coast: a par 3 with water across the whole width between tee and green.
- Short par 4
- Links and valley: a short par 4 with pot bunkers around the green.
- Cape hole
- Woods and parkland: a par 4 that bends sharply around a lake on the inside of the corner.
- Finale
- Heath and classic: hole 9, with a stream (a burn) running across just in front of the green.
Why do some days in 9Daily play harder?
The 9Daily week has a rhythm: Mondays play gentler, Saturdays harder. On a harder day there are more trees in play, narrower fairways and more water, and the wind blows a little stronger. The rhythm changes how hard a day plays, not its course type.
Quick answers
Is the course type the same for every player in 9Daily?
Yes. Like the course itself, the type comes from the date, so every golfer in the world plays the same links or lakes course that day.
Can I choose a course type in 9Daily?
No, the day decides. To play more of one type, replay past days’ courses as practice; practice never counts.
Does the course type change the par?
No. Every 9Daily course is nine holes of par 3 to par 5, now and then a par 6 or 7. The type changes what is around the holes: wind, trees, water, bunkers and how the ball rolls. Links holes play a little longer, and the short par 4 show hole is clearly shorter.