On the title screen choose a course, the number of players (1–4) and their names, and whether to play the full 18, the front nine or the back nine. Press Tee off. If a round was interrupted, Resume round appears instead.
Click on the view (or press Space) three times to swing. ← → aim by one degree (Shift for five); A or Aim at pin resets the aim; clicking the overhead map aims at that spot. ↑ ↓ change club, or click a club in the sidebar. Touch works the same way: tap the view to swing.
On the tee, players go in the order entered. After that, whoever is farthest from the hole plays next, as on a real course. A player picks up after twelve strokes on a hole.
The ball moves only when it is struck. Carry depends on the club, the lie and how much power you set; the ball then rolls according to the ground it lands on — a long way on the green and fairway, hardly at all in rough, not at all in sand. Wind (the dial at the top right, shown relative to your view) pushes the ball while it is in the air. A low shot flying into trees drops there.
Every swing is a stroke. A ball that finishes in water or out of bounds costs one penalty stroke and is dropped back on the last dry ground along its flight. Scores are named against par: birdie, par, bogey and so on. The scorecard shows every hole and the running total to par.
The player with the lowest total after the last hole wins the round.
There is no defeat state; a higher total than the other players loses the round, and a hole is abandoned at twelve strokes.
The round is saved automatically after every shot. Press Menu to leave and Resume round on the title screen to continue. Starting a new round replaces the saved one. Courses you make in the editor are saved to a library in your browser; export them as JSON to keep a copy or share them.
Draw terrain as ellipses (drag) or polygons (click points, Enter or double-click to close). Later features paint over earlier ones; use Raise and Lower to reorder. Place the tee and the pin — the pin must sit on a green. Validate lists anything that would stop the course being played; Play this course tries it straight away.