Because of the sharp drop in elevation, this is one of the very few first holes where you can’t take your approach shot for granted.  Keep in mind that the wind will affect you approach shot about twice as much as on flat ground, and a side wind can really cut distance, so club up […]

Sick of these island greens yet?  Don’t worry — this is the last one!  Sunny Wood finishes with a drivable par 4, but if you miss the green, par will be tough to achieve. As with most of the drivable par 4s, you’ll have an offset look, so you’ll have to make sure you pull […]

There are three ways to get there in two.  First is the traditional route, following the fairway on around.  If you’re got a nice wind helping you out (blowing to the right), this may be your best chance of landing the green in two.  Get your drive out there as far as you can, and […]

Think it’s got to get easier?  Think again!  Here’s a really tough par 3 that can burn you in a bunch of ways.  Your attack plan depends on the wind, but you’ll always be shooting into a green that slopes 10 degrees towards the water in back.  If the wind is in your face, it’s […]

This hole is really tough.  You can rarely clear the lake to the fairway on the other side — you need a great wind and a big A1 with roll, and probably a skip, to pull it off. Instead, you’re probably going to be laying up in the fairway right in front of the sand.  […]

This par 5 offers multiple shortcut options!  If you’re back and left, you’ll notice a landing area just over the lake that’s about 200 yards from the hole.  The problem is that you won’t be able to take dead aim at this spot.  Instead, you’ll have to hit an A1 around some trees and over […]

From the back right tees, there’s a nice shortcut over the lake if you play a C3 shot!  It’s not always there and is tricky — you have to make sure you miss the tree right in front of you, and you have to make sure you’ve got enough power to clear the lake and […]

I’m not sure, but it looks like this hole has 1 tee box and 6 possible greens into which to shoot!  Almost all of these greens have water and sand surrounding them, so it makes for a tough little par 3!  Be careful with your low-lofted club here — you don’t want to end up […]

I always play my drive to the middle-left side of the fairway, about even with the middle of the pond on the left.  Even if you’re in the middle of the fairway, you’ll be fine, so just don’t get too aggressive with that water off the tee!  From this area, you’ll have anything from a […]

There are two ways to attack this hole, depending on where you’re at on the tee box and your level of comfort with each! If you’re on the right, your best shot is usually a C3 with backspin around the tree into the green.  It can also be a B3 shot if you’re far enough […]

You can be on any of 3 tee boxes here and will have some sand to negotiate, but it’s not bad.  Err towards the middle of the green if you’re in between clubs! EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

First, take a look at your teebox and wind, because you might consider driving this hole!  If you have the standard driver, and especially the red D2 balls that add distance with a straight 180 off the tee, you can pound a drive right at the green with either roll or backspin depending on the […]

Now here is a fun tee shot!  Take a close look at the log seemingly lying across the fairway.  You’ll notice there’s room underneath, and this is important because you’re going to be rolling your tee shot right under there!  Pick a low-lofted club that has the distance marker right on the log.  Now just […]

There are a lot of ways to attack this hole depending on the wind and pin placement.  A lower-lofted club works best, and you can even use the hill in front to your advantage, because the ball rolls pretty generously forward onto the green if you land on the back end of this hill.  Try […]

Take a look at your tee box and wind, and figure out whether or not you can safely hit a C3 that will stay in the fairway.  If so, you’ll have a pretty easy approach shot, like this one! If not, then try to lay back for a 5-wood into this green, because you’ll want […]

On this hole, I’ve been lining up with the green, rotating twice to the right, and playing a C2 shot with backspin through the gap in the rock — here’s a great example!  If you can really get the ball going right-to-left (via the C2), you have a better chance of holding the green with […]

From most tee box positions, you can carry either a 3-wood or a 5-wood over the top right at this green.  From the front left tee box, you should be able to take a 5-wood over the top, or maybe a 3-wood with a slight curve — here’s a hole-out from that box. From the […]

HOLE-OUT FROM THE BACK RIGHT BOX HOLE-OUT FROM BACK LEFT BOX

Some pros are driving this hole under certain conditions — I had never considered going for it!  So take a look next time before you tee off, because there’s really no harm in giving it a shot. EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT FROM THE FAIRWAY

Some pros are driving this hole with the right equipment and wind! EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

Bonnie Moor finishes with a really fun and creative par 4 that’s always drivable but sometimes really tough!  The ideal setup is one where you can float a 5-wood or 3-wood straight towards the green, over the final concrete wall, and backspin to hold the green.  You don’t always have the privilege of this shot […]

You can have a couple different tee boxes here, and you should think about your tee shot before just punching it out there.  Because the approach shot here is so tough (you have to shoot uphill and over tall grass into this green), you’re going to want as much loft as you can use.  In […]

Multiple tee boxes give you many different looks, but they’ll all be from a similar distance — anywhere from a driver to a 5-wood.  If you can avoid using a driver, you’ll want the extra loft here, since you have to carry water and an elevated cliff into this green. Notice where the pin is […]

The green on this par 3 has the most severe slope ever seen in Golden Tee — usually 12 degrees and sometimes even 13!  Tee boxes are spread all around this green, so you’ll see lots of looks into this crazy hard green.  My advice is to let the slope do the work for you […]

This par 4 will set you up anywhere along a very wide tee box and have you shoot into 1 of 2 different greens.  The difficulty depends on how much you have to hook around the hill on the way to the green.  If you’re in the middle of the tee box, you’ll have to […]

This par 4 is usually really tough to eagle.  If you’re tucked off to the right and close to the hill, don’t worry about trying to drive the green — you’ll just end up in the water.  Lay out in the fairway and take your shot at eagle. From anywhere else, you’ll have somewhere from […]

Here’s another hole where the tee shot is crucial, and it can be really easy to really tough depending on your tee box placement.  You have to get the ball at least to the middle of the neck of the fairway to have a shot at the green in two, and being in the fairway […]

This par 3 can sometimes set up really tough if the pin is in the front.  Why?  Because both tall grass and bunkers guard the front of the green, so it’ll be really difficult to get the ball close to the front of the green!  Use as much loft as you can here, and err […]

This par 4 is not tough to drive the green if you get the distance right.  You’ll have an offset look at the green, and it’s a long way downhill again, so you’ll have to pull back at the correct angle (if necessary to pull back) to put you on the green close to the […]

Depending on the wind and tee box, you’ll be doing one of three things off the tee.  Most often, I like to rotate to the right 2 or 3 times and play a big C3 with roll out to the second fairway.  This way, you’re taking advantage of the slope and direction of the fairway.  […]