The best approach shot comes from the upper left fairway, which may require as much as a high-teed C3 drive out to the left side.  If you can get up there, go for it — here’s a 5-wood holeout. If you can’t make it to the upper left fairway, you can still drive long and right […]

  Downhill and fairly long — not the easiest of par 3s to be presented with as the third hole. Here’s a driver ace to a back pin. VIDEO DEMO

Here’s a 5-wood dunk to a back pin. VIDEO DEMO

  Just hit your drive down the left side of the fairway about level with the start of the rocky hill on the left to leave yourself a driver or 3-wood straight shot into the green.  Check out this driver dunk!  And here’s a 3-wood dunk to a left pin. VIDEO DEMO

  This par 3 can be tough — you’ll have to shoot through a narrow row of trees that extend all the way up to the green, and then you’ll hope to have a clear putt at the pin with the irregular shape of the green and often tough pin placements.  Bunkers will catch any […]

Elevated sand on the left, and suited traps on the right.  Here’s an ace to a front pin. VIDEO DEMO  

Three tee boxes here provide a variety of shots each round.  Here’s an ace from the back box. Here’s a 9-iron ace from the short front box. VIDEO DEMO

If not for the mound of rough guarding the green, this hole may be drivable in great conditions.  It could be beneficial if you have a great short game to blast it over the water down closer to the green, but most of us will be laying up short. Here’s an example hole-out. VIDEO DEMO

Long enough that the fairway sand shouldn’t come into play.  Here’s an example hole-out. VIDEO DEMO

This green can rarely be drivable given a great setup — this big A1 shot would have gotten there if not for a bush at the end!  This A1 did graze by the hole, leaving a short chip.  This A1 settled nicely on the green. And this big C3 drive did carry to the green!  Here’s […]

Here’s a 5-wood ace from the front-left box.  And this 3-hybrid also got some crazy bounce and spin to find the hole. From the back-left box, this 3-wood found a center pin.  And this 3-wood got an amazing bounce back out of the bunker to find the cup! From the front-right box, check out this […]

Most players have the best success driving this green by hitting a smooth driver straight through the gap in the trees at the green, where it should bounce up and settle. I have also had a lot of success lining up with the center of the green, using my 3W, pulling back slightly left, and […]

Course designer Jim Zielinski proves year in and year out that he knows how to close out a round.  When you step up to the 18th tee, you know that almost always an eagle is there for the taking, but almost always it’s really tough to get.  And if the risk/reward doesn’t pay off, a […]

Here is the official preview of the new 2014 Galapagos Islands course, and this article breaks down the course even further. This post contains tips, tricks, and information related to the 2014 Golden Tee course Turtle Island! Check out the hole-by-hole breakdowns and example hole-outs as I partner up with the Golden Tee community to give you […]

The easiest shortcut here is to a grassy hill just over the river — if you are on the left tee box, you can line up with the green and you’ll see it straight ahead.  Pull out your 3-wood (you’ll need the loft) and crank it straight ahead on top of this hill!  From here, […]

On this hole, you’ll usually be laying up in the circle fairway, although sometimes you can clear the river to the next fairway.  If you’re laying up in the circle, be careful, because it slopes down and can leak into the water if you hit it too far! With this elevated green, loft becomes important […]

This hole has several looks among 3 tee boxes, but you should always check out the small gap in the trees leading towards the pin.  Most of the time, you’ll have a look with anything from a low-iron to a 5-wood to a driver that has the proper trajectory to fit right in that gap!  […]

This par 4 with an island green is usually driveable but very tough!  There are 4 tee boxes, and sometimes you’re on the back of one and simply can’t get there with your driver.  If this is the case, you at least have a lot of fairway to work with so you can line up […]

On this par 3, you’ll be on any one of 5 different tee boxes, hitting into a well-guarded green.  If conditions are tough, just aim for the middle of the green and deal with your putt, rather than ending up in the water or sand! EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 1 EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 2

Yikes.  Golden Tee sometimes likes to punish you coming out of the clubhouse for the back 9, and this hole certainly fits that bill.  If you choose to hit a long drive, you’re almost certain to have a tree blocking your approach shot into the green. Instead, I sometimes like to lay up short into […]

Pin placement can make this shot difficult sometimes, as can the fact that you don’t know whether the green will have slope of up 7, down 7, or left 7, because of all the different tee boxes! Use the strategies you already know to attack this green based on the slope. Be warned on downhill […]

Here is a manageable eagle opportunity on a par 5.  You have to get long, but more importantly to the right, off the tee, and many times rotating left and hitting an A1 will be the shot for you to get far out to the right side of the fairway.  However, you can also really […]

Time for some fun!  This hole is great.  It’ll take some practice, but you should always be trying to punch a driver (or a very low-lofted iron) through the covered bridge onto the green!  The tee box is 60-70 yards long, but it’s always in line with the bridge.  You’ll have an offset look through […]

Here’s a tough, long par 3 that can set up over 300 yards!  It’s slightly downhill, and you’ll probably have to fly the sand, landing on the green and sticking it by the pin.  Make sure you leave yourself a clear putt at the flag because of the oddly shaped green! EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 1 EXAMPLE […]

There’s no point in trying to clear the lake here — just punch it down the fairway.  Be careful on your approach shot with the sandy moat in front — a low-lofted club may get stuck in there, so make sure you fly the green and stick it! EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

Nothing fancy on hole 1 — just get out at least to the top of the hill and try to line up the wind with the pin as best you can! EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

Handicap: 18th hardest hole Category: Easy Average Score: -0.97 / -1.00 Eagle+ 2% Birdie 93% Par 5% Bogey Double+ EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

This 3-wood caught tree and hill but still settled down and backspun into a left pin!  This 5-wood also used a nice bounce off the hill to find a front-left pin.  This 5-wood with no roll settled nicely into a back pin. And this driver curved around quite accurately, catching a back pin before tumbling […]

Here’s a great hole-out to a tough back-left pin.  And this deflection is amazingly lucky! Also, there’s a little ice gully to the right that can be fun to rattle around in — check out this amazing shot!  Here’s another shot that got some crazy bounces before finding the cup.  Here’s yet another wild one! […]

Take a high-teed 3-wood straight over the snow mound on the left, aiming to land in the sliver of fairway heading down.  If you’re on point, you’ll roll on down to safety for your approach.  Here’s a hole-out after a mammoth drive. If you do head right or try a cut shot that catches the […]