Grand Savannah — Hole #17: Par 3
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Death has a new face in Golden Tee 2009, and it comes in the form of a dinky little par 3 on Grand Savannah’s 17th hole. This is already being called the toughest hole ever created, and with good reason — most people can’t escape without a bogey or much, much worse. It’s the ultimate round-killer.
So how do you attack this hole then? Let’s talk through each of the possible setups:
1) Wind at your back — congratulations! You have a legit chance at birdie, especially if the pin is on the right (which is rare). A strong wind blows a lofty club quite a ways, so pick a club and a shot that would normally end up short in the water and watch it carry up onto the green. It’s still crucial to LAND on the green, but with a tailwind, it should hold, giving you a birdie putt! Don’t use spin.
2) Side wind — awfully difficult, but you have a chance. A wedge should still hold the green here, so it’s just a matter of nailing the distance. Remember that a side wind cuts distance quite a bit for loft clubs, so take a shot that would normally hit the hill in the back, and you might be okay!
3) Wind in your face — here’s the round killer. There aren’t many options. If you hit a wedge, a few things might happen, and they are all bad. First, you could go over the hill, leaving you an impossible chip over the hill where the wind will push it right in the water. Secondly, you end up on the side somewhere and still have to deal with a chip where the wind and slope push the ball into the water. Third, and most likely, you’ll land short of the top of the hill, where the ball will immediately be sucked into the water.
So what do you do in case 3? Normally, you stroke limit. But since you have nothing to lose, you try to learn a new shot. Take something like a 5-iron and try this — pull it back about halfway, and shoot forward about half-strength with backspin. The idea is to land on the front of the green and pray that the ball holds. I have not accomplished this yet, but I’ll let you know when I do. This shot is so tough because you have to carry water AND not be long because of the hill in the back, which will shoot the ball back down the hill.
However, if you want to protect a good round, play for par using these steps. First, club way up and aim for the grass/dirt behind the green on the right side. Landing it here is step one. Step two is making a small chip with backspin that lands on or just before this fat part of the green, where it will roll down a ways but not all the way to the water. Step three is making your big-breaking putt! Even if you two-putt for bogey here, you can bet you’ve done better than most guys playing the hole in this condition, and that should hold your rank in the competition!
Of all holes, this is probably the one where people would like to see YouTube holeouts the most. But, because of the distance requirements in order to save a holeout on YouTube, no hole-in-ones on this hole will ever qualify! Still, our pal Skipper took a video of his hole-in-one on this hole to help us out — the quality is lacking, but it’s the best we’ve got for now — thanks Skipper!
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a Golden Tee addict from Chicago, IL, thirsty for tips and tricks!
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Golden Tee Fan
This is the easiest hole of all time. I am the man. I rule. You all dont even know how great I am at this game. You really think I designed this hole without putting the JIMZQUIRK.EXE in? PWNED!
For case #3, I agree…I have used a 6 iron with no roll or backspin and have holed out on more than one occation.
If you’re averaging better than bogey on this hole, you’re doing good.
JIM is full of ****! Easiest hole my ***!
I forwarded this thread to the REAL Jim Z. and the following was his response.
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Watch any PGA tournament and you will see professional golfers playing for the safest spots on the green. These safer areas are often far from the hole. Why do they do this? Because there is much to be gained by minimizing risk. In Golden Tee we have very few par 3’s which actually make good players think twice about shooting for the hole. These strategic choices are essential to make each Golden Tee game fun rather than rote and mindless. Because it’s so easy to pinpoint shots in Golden Tee, par 3’s can often become robotic for good players…. Get it close \ thumb it home…no risk-decisions or thinking. When players stop thinking, they stop having fun. I know it’s also not very fun to stroke out and ruin a round. The trick here is not to make risky decisions. Savannah 17 is a dangerous hole, playing it the same way you play other par 3’s will cause a world of hurt. Landing the left side of Savannah 17 can be done, but even for a good player it has to be a perfect shot, if the wind is blowing in, I don’t recommended trying it at all.
Here are a my suggestions for beginners to avoid stroke limits:
1. Always aim for the deep right side of the green, even if you hit too far, it’s better to be dry than short and in the water.
3. If you’re off the green don’t even think about going for the pin. Chip it on to the top of the right side, let it roll down, and putt for par.
4. Don’t thumb fast putts at the hole, If you miss you’ll be in the water for sure. Hit it slower up the slope, that way if you miss, you’re not in the water..
If you do these 4 things you’ll rarely if ever get a stroke limit.
He left out #2, cause that’s all it is. POOP!
This hole is the worst designed hole ever! “let’s make a par 3 that you can’t possible hit in for par!” Bro, challenging holes are cool and all but this is a gimmick. There’s no fun here at all.
BTW – If I played it safe, I wouldn’t have holed it out! Lucky, yes but its either that or stroke limit.
I would take your advice and hit it to the right side and put for birdie but the green breaks WAY more than it should. I shouldn’t have to put a left 9º as if it were a left 27º and still break short.
well now you can you tube ANY shot so aces here can be you tubed, but is there even any spot within 150 yards of the cup on this hole that is in bounds?