Course Types Guide

Updated March 2026

PuttDaily offers several course types that cater to different skill levels and time commitments. Whether you have two minutes for a quick daily round or want to grind through a full ten-hole Gold course, there is something for every player. Each course type has its own generation rules, difficulty settings, and scoring expectations.

How Course Generation Works

Every course in PuttDaily is procedurally generated, meaning the layout is created by an algorithm rather than designed by hand. The algorithm uses a seed value derived from the current date, which ensures that every player around the world sees the exact same course on the same day. Daily courses use the calendar date as their seed, while weekly courses use the ISO week number. This shared-seed system is what makes PuttDaily a fair competition, because nobody gets an easier or harder version of the course.

The generation algorithm selects from twelve different course templates, each with its own layout philosophy. Some templates create long, narrow corridors; others build open fields with scattered hazards; and some construct multi-room layouts connected by tight passages. After selecting a template, the algorithm randomizes the placement of hazards, enemies, and obstacles within the constraints of that template, scaled to the appropriate difficulty level. The result is a course that feels hand-crafted but is actually unique to that specific date or week.

Daily Course

The daily course is a three-hole round that resets at midnight. It is the core experience of PuttDaily and the reason most players visit each day. Because it is only three holes long, a daily round typically takes between two and five minutes to complete, making it perfect for a quick break or morning routine.

The three holes progress in difficulty. The first hole tends to be straightforward, often with a calm layout and no enemies. The second hole introduces more hazards and may include light enemies. The third hole is the hardest, frequently featuring a boss encounter or a complex layout with multiple hazard types. This progression means the daily course tells a small story each day, starting easy and building toward a challenging finale.

Daily courses draw from all four difficulty tiers. Roughly 30 percent of holes are calm (no enemies, clean layout), 30 percent feature light enemies, 25 percent include a boss fight, and 15 percent are chaos-tier holes with multiple bosses and enemies. The specific distribution for any given day depends on the seed, so some days feel more relaxed while others are intense from the first hole.

Completing the daily course earns bonus XP on top of the per-hole XP you accumulate along the way. Your daily streak increments each consecutive day you finish the course, and maintaining a long streak is a point of pride for dedicated players. If you miss a day, the streak resets to zero.

Bronze Course

The Bronze course is a ten-hole weekly round designed for beginners and casual players. It resets every Monday, giving you a full week to play it at your pace. Bronze holes are the most forgiving in the game, with wider fairways, fewer hazards, and smaller course sizes that keep distances manageable.

The difficulty distribution for Bronze heavily favors calm holes. Out of ten holes, roughly four are calm with no enemies, three feature light enemies, two include a boss fight, and one may be a mixed-difficulty layout. This means the majority of a Bronze round is relaxed putting with the occasional enemy encounter to keep things interesting.

Bronze courses are an excellent place to practice fundamentals. The low-pressure environment lets you experiment with bank shots, booster chains, and enemy timing without the consequences of tighter courses. If you are new to PuttDaily, spending a few weeks grinding Bronze courses is the fastest way to build confidence and skill before moving to Silver.

Completing a Bronze course awards a generous XP bonus, and your best score is saved and displayed on the menu. Beating your personal best is a satisfying goal, and because the course stays the same all week, you can replay it multiple times to optimize your route and shave strokes off your total.

Silver Course

The Silver course is a ten-hole weekly round that represents a significant step up from Bronze. Courses are physically larger, hazards are more densely placed, and enemies appear on the majority of holes. Silver is where the game starts requiring genuine skill and course management rather than just casual putting.

The difficulty distribution for Silver is more balanced and demanding. Roughly two holes are calm, three feature light enemies, three include boss fights, and two are chaos-tier holes with multiple bosses and enemies. This means you will encounter enemies on eight out of ten holes, and at least two of those holes will throw everything at you simultaneously.

Water hazards become much more common on Silver courses, and they are often placed along the most tempting direct routes to the hole. This forces you to either play safe around the water (adding strokes but guaranteeing progress) or risk the shortcut (potentially saving a stroke but potentially losing two). Learning when to take risks and when to play conservative is the central skill challenge of Silver.

Checkpoints start appearing more frequently on Silver holes, particularly on larger layouts with multiple sections. Always activate checkpoints when you can, because the water hazards and enemies on Silver are punishing enough that a reset to the start of the hole can cost you three or four strokes.

Gold Course

The Gold course is the ultimate challenge in PuttDaily. Ten holes of expert-level mini golf with the tightest layouts, the most enemies, the densest hazard coverage, and the largest course sizes. Gold is designed for experienced players who have mastered the fundamentals and want to be tested at the highest level.

The difficulty distribution for Gold eliminates calm holes entirely. Roughly three holes feature light enemies, three include boss fights, and four are chaos-tier holes with multiple bosses and enemies. Every single hole on a Gold course has at least one enemy, and nearly half the holes throw multiple bosses at you simultaneously. There is no respite and no easy holes.

Gold course sizes are the largest in the game, with holes stretching up to 1000 pixels wide and 700 pixels tall. These expansive layouts mean longer distances between the ball and the hole, more room for enemies to patrol, and more surface area covered by water hazards. Reaching the hole in par on a Gold hole often requires perfect routing, precise power control, and flawless enemy timing.

Despite the difficulty, Gold courses are where the most skilled players earn the most XP and set their most impressive personal bests. The completion bonus for a Gold course is the highest in the game, and achieving a score at or under par on Gold is an accomplishment that very few players manage. If you can consistently par Gold courses, you have genuinely mastered PuttDaily.

Difficulty Tiers Explained

Each hole in every course is assigned one of four internal difficulty tiers that determines what kind of obstacles and enemies it contains. Understanding these tiers helps you anticipate what a hole will throw at you before you take your first shot.

Calm holes have no enemies and a clean, open layout. They focus purely on putting skill, hazard avoidance, and course reading. Calm holes are where you should aim for birdies, because the absence of enemies means nothing unpredictable can derail your shots.

Enemy holes include two to three light enemies (Wanderers, Grabbers, or Blockers) but no bosses. The course layout is moderately complex with a reasonable number of hazards. These holes test your ability to time shots around moving obstacles while maintaining good course management.

Boss holes feature one boss enemy (Guardian, Charger, or Tank) that blocks the hole until defeated, usually accompanied by one light enemy as a helper. The layout is designed to give you room to maneuver during the boss fight while keeping the approach to the hole interesting. Expect to spend three to five strokes on a boss hole: one or two for damage, one or two for positioning, and one for the final putt.

Chaos holes are the hardest tier, featuring two bosses (sometimes both blocking the hole) alongside two to three light enemies. The course layout tends to be complex with multiple hazard types and tight passages. Chaos holes are where careful planning matters most, because the sheer number of moving threats makes improvisation risky.

For detailed breakdowns of every enemy and boss type, visit our Enemies & Bosses Guide.

Course Templates

The generation algorithm draws from twelve distinct course templates, each creating a different style of hole. Dogleg holes bend around a central obstacle, forcing bank shots. Island Green holes surround the target with water, demanding precise approach shots. Fortress holes use corner bumpers and enclosed structures that require ricochet mastery. Gauntlet holes cycle through different hazard types in sequential rooms. Switchback holes zig-zag vertically, Canyon Run holes squeeze you through narrow corridors, and Pinball Field holes scatter obstacles for unpredictable multi-bounce shots.

Each template is adapted to the current difficulty tier. A calm Dogleg has wide passages and no enemies, while a chaos Dogleg has narrow corridors, water along the inner bend, and bosses guarding the turn. Learning to recognize which template you are playing helps you plan your approach before you even take your first shot.

Scoring and Par

Par is assigned to each hole based on its difficulty tier and layout complexity. Calm holes typically have a par of two or three, while boss and chaos holes may have a par of four or five. Your total score for a course is the sum of your strokes across all holes, and your performance is measured against the total par for the course.

Scoring under par earns significantly more XP than scoring at or above par. A hole-in-one awards the most bonus XP, followed by eagles, birdies, and pars. Bogeys and worse earn only base XP with no bonus. Over a ten-hole course, the XP difference between a consistent par player and a player who mixes birdies with bogeys can be substantial, so consistency is rewarded.

Community Levels

Beyond the generated courses, PuttDaily features a community gallery where players can publish levels they have built in the Level Editor. Community levels do not follow the same generation rules as official courses, because they are designed by human players who can place elements anywhere they want. This means community levels range from creative puzzles to brutal challenges to casual fun layouts.

Community levels are rated by other players, and the most popular levels rise to the top of the gallery. Playing community levels does not affect your daily streak or course best scores, but they do award XP, making them a good way to earn experience while exploring creative designs from other players.

Want to build your own levels? Check out our Level Editor Guide to get started.