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Archives for the ‘2010 – Golden Tee LIVE 2011’ Category

Grizzly Flats — Hole #8: Par 5

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Handicap: 13th hardest hole
Category: Easy
Average Score: -1.55 / -2.00

Eagle+ 64%
Birdie 26%
Par 9%
Bogey 1%
Double+

Hit a high-teed driver over the trees to cut the corner of the fairway quite a bit. Make sure you don’t miss left in the trees that protect the left side of the fairway, because your ball can roll down in there and cause trouble! Here’s a hole-out from the fairway.

Another option is to go around the right side to the dirt. This can be a good option if you’re to the front right of the tee box, and it works even better if you have a lofted club for your approach to get over the sand — here’s a nice hole-out with a 9-wood.

You can also reach the fairway going around the right side if you have a right tee box, but make sure you play enough cut so you don’t end up with a tough lie down below.


Grizzly Flats — Hole #9: Par 4

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Handicap: 8th hardest hole
Category: Risk/Reward
Average Score: -1.16 / -2.00

Eagle+ 40%
Birdie 37%
Par 24%
Bogey
Double+

Your position in the tee box is really what controls the type of shot you use here. If you’re off to the left, you could have a pretty straight shot right at the green.

If you’re more towards the right side, you’ve got a couple options. Over the top is probably the easier option, and a high tee is also an option to help. You can also take a 3-Wood around the side, which is a bit trickier.  Here’s an incredible dunk shot right through the trees!

Finally, here’s an unbelievable shot around the left side!

Reward outweighs risk here, so go for it! Being long in the back bunker isn’t awful and should still give you an easy birdie.


Grizzly Flats — Hole #10: Par 4

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Handicap: 10th hardest hole
Category: Moderate
Average Score: -0.64 / -1.00

Eagle+ 1%
Birdie 73%
Par 19%
Bogey 6%
Double+ 2%

Stay safe off the tee — 5-wood / 5-wood can certainly get the job done! This is not the hole to be aggressive off the tee, yet many players are dropping strokes here. Here’s a hole-out from behind the creek.

If you can safely get your drive closer, then that’s certainly fine too — here’s a hole-out after a longer drive.


Grizzly Flats — Hole #11: Par 5

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Handicap: 15th hardest hole
Category: Easy
Average Score: -1.70 / -2.00

Eagle+ 74%
Birdie 22%
Par 5%
Bogey
Double+

Cut as much corner as you can here, because it may be too long to reach in two if you’re careless with your drive! A high tee comes in very handy here and can help you clear straight over the water in some cases. Even if you can’t clear the water, get it out straight and as close to the water as you can. Also, I often like to line up with the hill on the right and play a C2-type shot with roll to cut distance while safely avoiding the lake.

Here’s a hole-out from behind the water and there are better opportunities to eagle from in front of the water as well.


Grizzly Flats — Hole #12: Par 3

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Handicap: 2nd hardest hole
Category: Difficult
Average Score: -0.24 / -1.00

Eagle+
Birdie 54%
Par 26%
Bogey 13%
Double+ 7%

Ah, the “donut hole”. Pin placement determines the difficulty here. This is the 2nd toughest hole on the course, so par is not bad here. There are also some tough drop zones if you do get wet!

Here’s an example hole-out to an easy left pin.

This hole gets tough when the pin is on the right or closer to the hole in the middle, and your accuracy will really be tested if you’re pin hunting! Here’s a hole-out to a tough right pin.

Also, the bridge doesn’t produce a very high hop if you land on it — here’s a shot using that bridge and still getting backspin!

There’s actually some mud between the bridge and the green, ha.


Grizzly Flats — Hole #13: Par 4

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Handicap: 11th hardest hole
Category: Moderate
Average Score: -1.10 / -2.00

Eagle+ 41%
Birdie 42%
Par 11%
Bogey 3%
Double+ 4%

A narrow, awkward green will make this a tough eagle and really test your accuracy. With a favorable pin, you can go right at it.

This hole has already seen many amazing deflections. Here’s a perfect bounce off the back bunker, here’s another amazing deflection there, and here’s an even more amazing double-banker off the side!

Birdie is not a guarantee here as you can see — you can find yourself in some awful lies in the deep bunkers. Don’t compound mistakes if you find trouble here — get it out and recover!


Grizzly Flats — Hole #14: Par 4

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Handicap: 9th hardest hole
Category: Moderate
Average Score: -0.61 / -1.00 

Eagle+
Birdie 64%
Par 33%
Bogey 3%
Double+

Only a select few will ever have a chance to drive the green here, but Mouth teed up a huge A1 and got it there!

For the rest of us, you should always be able to carry the top left fairway, so use a high tee here to be sure if conditions are nasty. Birdie rate is lower than expected here, so take your time and execute.

This hole also forces you to carry the green on your approach, because there’s a ridge short of the green that will reject anything that doesn’t carry! Here’s an example hole-out.

Finally, check out one of the most amazing deflections you’ll ever see in this game!


Grizzly Flats — Hole #15: Par 4

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Handicap: 3rd hardest hole
Category: Difficult
Average Score: -0.31 / -1.00 

Eagle+
Birdie 54%
Par 27%
Bogey 15%
Double+ 4%

A narrow winding river can suck up careless drives here. There’s no reason to have to hit a long drive, so just find a spot in this voluptuous fairway where you’ll stay dry, and then make sure you hit enough club to carry the slightly elevated green — scores on this hole are worse than they should be, making it the 3rd hardest hole on the course!

Here’s a hole-out from the right side, and here’s another example hole-out from a ways back.

Check out this shot, bouncing right over the trouble!


Grizzly Flats — Hole #16: Par 3

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Handicap: 1st hardest hole
Category: Difficult
Average Score: +0.18 / -1.00

Eagle+ 1%
Birdie 42%
Par 31%
Bogey 12%
Double+ 20%

Here’s one of the toughest holes in 2011 (the 2nd hardest statistically). Average score here is over par, and this is the only hole where double bogey or worse is more common than bogey! This par 3 slopes hard towards the water and has an awkward narrow green that usually forces you to make a great shot with a lofted club that the wind will also give hell!

You can see all kinds of looks here because of the giant tee box and the three areas of green that can contain the flag. Some looks can be forgiving — here’s an example hole-out from a left box and here’s another hole-out to a front pin.

This thing gets nasty quick if the wind is also pushing towards the water. Here’s where you have to execute an A1-type cut shot into the slope. Here’s exactly how to counter that slope, and here’s another fantastic 9-wood cut shot.

It’s ironic, but in some cases, you’d be better off in the water than in the sand. Shots out of the sand to the right are very tough to stop on the green, so you could find yourself an extra stroke behind if your chip shot goes long (or doesn’t get out of the sand at all)! This makes it all the more important to find SOME green here, so take your time and do your best!


Grizzly Flats — Hole #17: Par 5

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Handicap: 6th hardest hole
Category: Professional
Average Score: -0.70 / -2.00

Eagle+ 16%
Birdie 50%
Par 26%
Bogey 5%
Double+ 3%

A high tee and the Air-O balls would be huge here to help you carry over the strip! Otherwise, it’s going to take a very fortunate tee box and wind to allow you to carry the second fairway.

Unless the wind is in your face, your next option is to lay up just short of the strip. From here, you should be able to get a driver to the green, having 330-340 yards in! Here’s a great 3-wood hole-out from there.  And this is just an unbelievable power shot that most of us can never pull off.

Your next option should be trying to land the strip — here’s one example. Why? Even though it’s near impossible for players like us, if you miss left in the water, you’ll still get a good drop and be shooting into the green for a birdie putt! If you find mud, just punch it out and go after your birdie.  Eagle is pretty rare on this par 5, so you can be happy if you’re moving on with a birdie!

Here’s an example driver hole-out from the strip. Here’s one with a 5-wood and another with a 7-wood.

Here’s a hole-out after a monster drive.


Grizzly Flats — Hole #18: Par 4

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Handicap: 4th hardest hole
Category: Professional
Average Score: -0.66 / -2.00

Eagle+ 10%
Birdie 55%
Par 26%
Bogey 8%
Double+ 1%

This fun finishing hole offers many different potential approaches, so your game plan will usually depend on your tee box. Keep in mind that this is the toughest hole to eagle in GT2011, so don’t feel bad playing safe for birdie in some cases!

If you’re way to the left, you may have a pretty straight shot at the green.

The most common approach is to take a driver or a smaller wood around the left side of the trees onto the green…you can even use the hill as a backstop.  Also, here’s a high-teed 5-wood that cut the corner a bit.  You can also take the high-teed 5-wood straight over the top with a back box and a tailwind.  And check out these crazy bounces! This is also the safest approach strategy with the hill as a backstop and bunker in front.

If you’re towards the middle of the box and especially if you get a favorable line, you can punch a driver right through the trees! You’ll find some very unpredictable looks here though, not knowing exactly how high or low your shot will go. With narrow elevation gaps between leaves and hill, it’s often best to just go around instead of settling for a par attempt if you get wet.

Finally, if you’re tucked away right, there’s still ample room to take a wood around the right side! Here’s a great shot around the right side with a 5-wood!


Falcon Sands — Hole #1: Par 4

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Handicap: 18th hardest hole
Category: Easy
Average Score: -1.00 / -1.00

Eagle+
Birdie 100%
Par
Bogey
Double+

 


Falcon Sands — Hole #1: Par 4

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Handicap: 18th hardest hole
Category: Easy
Average Score: -1.00 / -1.00

Eagle+
Birdie 100%
Par
Bogey
Double+

 


Falcon Sands — Hole #2: Par 4

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Handicap: 10th hardest hole
Category: Moderate
Average Score: -1.27 / -2.00

Eagle+ 46%
Birdie 36%
Par 16%
Bogey 2%
Double+

Bottom line — aim straight at the green and let it rip! You’ll almost always be shooting a B2 or other 180-type shot right at this green — even a medium-teed driver hit firmly will clear all the trees in the middle and on the right. So, in most cases, just pretend the trees aren’t there, and focus on hitting the green. It’s slightly downhill, so it may not take as much power as you think. Here’s an example shot. Since this green is flat, landing anywhere on the green should be your priority!

If the wind is at your back, you have even less to worry about. It will be almost impossible to land directly in the water short of the green, so you can potentially take advantage of the steps down to the green and let the bounce and wind carry your ball onto the green. Especially because of this, don’t be long!!

If the wind is in your face, a high tee can be considered, since you might need the extra distance and your ball should settle nicely once it lands.

This hole has a very low eagle rate, most likely because people are still scared of hitting the trees and are trying to cut the ball into the green. If you do need to play the C3 or C2-type shot, it can be beneficial to use the hill here — let it take care of deflecting the ball onto the green. Here’s a nice hole-out using the hill.

Check out this wild deflection!  Also, check out this helpful bounce!


Falcon Sands — Hole #3: Par 3

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Handicap: 15th hardest hole
Category: Easy
Average Score: -0.86 / -1.00

Eagle+ 2%
Birdie 83%
Par 14%
Bogey 1%
Double+

Here’s an example hole-out to a back pin.

If you get a front pin, you can actually take advantage of the sand here. It’s elevated, so if you land short, the sand will stop the ball and let it trickle down onto the green by the pin! Even if you’re short, you can putt from this sand too since it’s downhill.

Be careful though, because this can backfire — if you hit the downslope of the sand, it will shoot the ball forwards towards the back of the green. It should still hold the green, but you should certainly try to carry the green instead of relying on a helpful bounce from the sand!


Falcon Sands — Hole #4: Par 5

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Handicap: 14th hardest hole
Category: Easy
Average Score: -1.64 / -2.00

Eagle+ 69%
Birdie 25%
Par 5%
Bogey 1%
Double+

You should pretty much always blast a straight, high-teed driver out to the second fairway (here’s a hole-out from there). Even if you don’t get to the fairway, the desert sand is just fine too.

The eagle rate seems too low on this hole too — this is one of the easiest par 5s in the game.  The drive is easy, and the approach shot is easy from the second fairway and should lead to eagle.

The first fairway still gives you opportunities to get there as well. Here’s a hole-out from the left side through a nice gap in the trees, and here’s a great sand-skipping hole-out from the end of that fairway!


Falcon Sands — Hole #5: Par 4

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Handicap: 12th hardest hole
Category: Moderate
Average Score: -0.73/ -1.00

Eagle+ 2%
Birdie 72%
Par 23%
Bogey 3%
Double+

With some setups, you can use a high tee and blast a straight driver to the second fairway. This gives you a short iron, which you’ll want with some of the pin placements. The only danger is landing in an area where you might be in between clubs.

Another fine option is to lay back short of the water — here’s an example hole-out. Even if you’re short on the approach here, you can get major hops off the sand! The only real danger here is if you’re left with a long iron, which might give problems because of the low loft. This would be a good hole to learn the right spot to lay back for a 5-wood!


Falcon Sands — Hole #6: Par 4

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Handicap: 17th hardest hole
Category: Easy
Average Score: -0.91 / -1.00

Eagle+ 2%
Birdie 89%
Par 7%
Bogey 2%
Double+

Even if you are 400 yards away, you should at least take a look at the setup for a rare chance to try to drive this green. A tail wind helps a lot. Aim right at the green with a high-teed driver, and let it rip. It should bounce off the pyramid structure and down onto the green. Even if you are on the fringe you can still putt downhill! Aiming between the palm trees is the safest spot, since the high-teed driver still may not clear those trees.  Here’s another fantastic ace!

The Air-Os help a lot on this hole — here’s a high-teed driver with the Air-Os that went 414 yards into the cup! However, the risk usually outweighs the reward, because if you come up short, there’s a lot of trouble and you’ll be forced to lay up for par.

Since the eagle rate is so low, it’s a fine play to lay up to the right in the fairway. Use your 3-wood if you can. If you are careless with your driver, you won’t have enough loft to carry the slight elevation to this fairway, and that would be a disaster! So, make sure you hit it firm, and then take your easy birdie and move on.


Falcon Sands — Hole #7: Par 4

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Handicap: 7th hardest hole
Category: Risk/Reward
Average Score: -1.07 / -2.00 

Eagle+ 31%
Birdie 54%
Par 14%
Bogey
Double+ 2%

First, you may get a look where you can poke one over the building through the gap. Here’s a medium-teed 4-wood with the Air-O balls that finds the cup, so you shouldn’t have a height issue with a 5-wood or a high-teed 3-wood either.

Normally, you’ll be curving a C3-type shot around the corner of the building into this green. Here’s a great C3 3-wood from the left side of the box. Here’s another 3-wood hole-out from the middle of the box, and here’s a driver hole-out from the middle as well.

However, there can be trouble here if you aren’t accurate. If you miss just slightly long and right, your ball can trickle down into the water! And being short is definitely trouble too. To be safe, aim for the middle of the green — that way, if you’re a bit long or miss a bit to either side, you should still have a chip and retain your birdie. It will take practice to master distance control here.

Finally, keep the small change in elevation in mind. You’re shooting a bit uphill, but not as much as it may appear!  The reward outweighs the risk here, so always go for the green!

This approach shot took a serious change in direction!


Falcon Sands — Hole #8: Par 3

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Handicap: 16th hardest hole
Category: Easy
Average Score: -0.90 / -1.00

Eagle+
Birdie 89%
Par 11%
Bogey
Double+

This hole gives you a good shot at a hole-in-one, especially if you have low-lofted clubs in your bag! Here’s an example hole-out.


Falcon Sands — Hole #9: Par 5

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Handicap: 13th hardest hole
Category: Easy
Average Score: -1.56 / -2.00

Eagle+ 62%
Birdie 34%
Par 2%
Bogey 2%
Double+

No need to cut the corner here — if you hit it to the end of the straight part of the fairway, you still have plenty of club to get it there in two, and then you’ve taken the trees out of the way on your approach! Here’s one example hole-out. Use the 5-wood if you can to clear the structures in front of the green. If you have to club up, a 3-wood hit firmly should still clear the obstacles.

Here’s a 9-wood that also stays left of the trees after a longer drive.

Check out this fortuitous hop!


Falcon Sands — Hole #10: Par 4

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Handicap: 11th hardest hole
Category: Moderate
Average Score: -0.72 / -1.00

Eagle+
Birdie 73%
Par 22%
Bogey 1%
Double+ 2%

Unfortunately, there’s nothing fancy you can do here to drive the green. Just lay out in the fairway — here’s an example hole-out. Here’s another shot that took advantage of a nice hop! Be wary of the tree guarding the left side of the green — it can knock down shots trying to come in from the left side, so I say just avoid that side altogether if feasible.

There’s even a backstop on this one allowing you to be a bit more aggressive — check this one out!

If you’re feeling aggressive and have the chush shot in your arsenal, you can sometimes cut the corner to within 50-75 yards to give that shot a try. However, there are too many pars being recorded on this hole, so don’t do anything dumb — make sure you have a good approach shot and stick it close.

Here’s a great hole-out off the pyramid from a tee shot that went bad!


Falcon Sands — Hole #11: Par 3

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Handicap: 3rd hardest hole
Category: Difficult
Average Score: -0.48 / -1.00

Eagle+
Birdie 61%
Par 28%
Bogey 9%
Double+ 2%

A low-lofted club like a 2-iron certainly makes this hole easier, and here’s one with a 5-wood — if you have to use a 9-wood and there’s a strong wind, you’re in for an adventure!

Even though the green slopes downhill, the wind should determine whether or not you use backspin. With a headwind, you’ll be wanting to just let the ball settle when it lands.

A low tee can also be considered — the more wind effect you can eliminate, the better!

When the pin is by the edge of the green, especially on the low side, your putt becomes crucial. If you miss, you’ll trickle off and have to chip back on, resulting in bogey or worse! I don’t always recommend lag putting, but doing so here could save you a stroke or more and get you out of here with a par.


Falcon Sands — Hole #12: Par 4

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Handicap: 6th hardest hole
Category: Moderate
Average Score: -0.53 / -1.00

Eagle+
Birdie 59%
Par 31%
Bogey 8%
Double+

There’s normally no advantage to cutting the corner to the fairway strip, since you can reach the green just fine laying back — you’ll have a 3-wood or 5-wood, and both should work fine to stick the green. Here’s a hole-out from behind the sand.

If you’re feeling adventurous or confident or get an easy look to the fairway strip, that’s fine too, but the risk just isn’t worth the reward. Anyway, here’s a hole-out from there. Somehow the wind blows this one all the way back!  Also check out this great great deflection!

If you land in the sand between, you’re in trouble — you can’t reach there in two, unless you do this! Here’s another trick shot!


Falcon Sands — Hole #13: Par 5

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Handicap: 4th hardest hole
Category: Risk/Reward
Average Score: -0.99 / -2.00 

Eagle+ 39%
Birdie 31%
Par 23%
Bogey 6%
Double+ 2%

Many options off the tee here. The easiest shot is usually a C3 or an A1 past the neck of the fairway, depending on the wind and pin. With a pin on the left, I usually like to drive to the right, and vice versa. This way, you’ll curve the ball into the green towards the pin on the other side.

It gets tricky if the pin is on the right and the wind blows left. In this situation, you’re probably best to play out left and cut a shot into the wind towards the pin (at worst you should find yourself in the middle of the green with a manageable putt). Be careful of the obelisk though — you’ll probably want to club up to keep the ball deep enough to curve around without a deflection. If you play in from the right, the wind will blow your ball to the other side of the green, and now you have an awful putt. Putting is crucial here too because of the drop-off, and you can easily have a blow-up score here!

Others disagree with this strategy and never want to fight the wind on the approach shot, regardless of the pin. This strategy is safer in terms of holding the green, but you’ll likely have a long, sloped, difficult putt. At least it’s a putt though!

Check out the lucky bounce on this drive! Here’s a hole-out from the right side., and here’s a nice deflected approach onto the green. It’s not even necessary to carry the second fairway — here’s a hole-out from the sand on the right, and here’s another near hole-out using the pyramid steps

You’ll also notice there are shortcut squares of grass on both sides that offer a better angle into the green. You’re assuming some risk in trying to land these spots, but the reward might be worth it, and some players prefer this approach every time! Here’s a hole-out from the shortcut square on the left and here’s one from the shortcut square on the right.

Check out this splash — wait, what?


Falcon Sands — Hole #14: Par 4

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Handicap: 5th hardest hole
Category: Risk/Reward
Average Score: -1.01 / -2.00

Eagle+ 26%
Birdie 55%
Par 14%
Bogey 6%
Double+

This one is fun! You will either be shooting through the hole in the building or going around the left side with a 5-wood (or 7-wood if you have one). Let’s talk about the shot through the hole first.

If you’re playing the Hawks, then a low-teed 2-hybrid will always get through the hole, so you can then just concentrate on distance.

From the front of the box, a medium-teed soft-thumbed driver does the trick — check out this great hole-out!

From the middle of the box, a 2-iron will get through.

Here’s a low-teed driver from the back of the box that worked.

Have a 9-wood in your bag? Then you may have another option — tee it high and go right over the top!

Finally, there are many setups that allow you to go around the left side — check out this great shot! You can pull off the around shot with a 5-wood also, but a 7-wood makes it much easier.  Here’s another option — a 6-iron over the top with a tailwind if you’re towards the front of the box!  Check out the amazing bounces on this shot!

Finally, with the 7-wood, you can also go through or around the trees on the right side, giving you even more options based on your tee box and wind!


Falcon Sands — Hole #15: Par 4

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Handicap: 8th hardest hole
Category: Moderate
Average Score: -0.55 / -1.00

Eagle+
Birdie 57%
Par 42%
Bogey 1%
Double+ 1%

With a good setup, you can carry past the pyramid on the right and get an open look at the green with a short iron. A big A1-type shot is usually pretty safe to get the distance you need.

With a bad setup, there’s no reason to get fancy off the tee — just lay back here and bring in a 5-wood.

I don’t recommend laying back this far, but it makes for one heck of a hole-out!

The approach shot is very tough here because of the awkward green, and you’ll almost always get a tough pin placement. Be happy with birdie here, but don’t be too frustrated with par.


Falcon Sands — Hole #16: Par 5

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Handicap: 9th hardest hole
Category: Moderate
Average Score: -1.14 / -2.00

Eagle+ 35%
Birdie 47%
Par 14%
Bogey 4%
Double+

Most places off the tee are fine here — check out some of these examples to see some spots that work out. A 5-wood will clear the buildings and trees from most all spots assuming you have the distance to use that club. If the wind will be in your face on the approach, lay out closer to the structures. If the wind is at your back, stay in the middle or right side of the fairway.

If you make it here, a 5-wood goes right over the top! Here’s another 5-wood clearing everything. Here’s another from a bit further back, and here’s one after a long drive around the corner.

If you happen to carry to the little neck of the fairway, you can be rewarded with a look where the approach can go right through the building gap. Or, you can hit the gap from just short of this neck if you need the extra distance.

If you end up anywhere else or don’t have the distance, you might need a 3-wood or 5-wood C3-type shot to curve around or through obstacles towards the green.


Falcon Sands — Hole #17: Par 3

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Handicap: 1st hardest hole
Category: Difficult
Average Score: -0.04 / -1.00

Eagle+
Birdie 52%
Par 11%
Bogey 24%
Double+ 13%

This cool looking hole can provide a challenge with a stiff wind if you’re in between clubs. Even after sticking the green, you’ll still have a tough birdie putt! Lots of blow up potential on this hole, as you can see from the numbers — average score is only par, so be safe!

Keep in mind the effects of the elevation here: cross winds still have a large effect, but tailwinds won’t affect you quite as much — tee shots may come in “hot”, reducing the impact of the slope, and the up 10 won’t stop the ball as quickly. Don’t over-compensate for a head-wind either since the ball won’t be in the air as long for the wind to pull it back!

Here’s an example hole-out.


Falcon Sands — Hole #18: Par 4

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Handicap: 2nd hardest hole
Category: Difficult
Average Score: -0.49 / -2.00 

Eagle+ 25%
Birdie 31%
Par 24%
Bogey 13%
Double+

Even though you’re downhill, you still need loft to carry the wall blocking the green, so hit as much loft as you can! It’s actually better to be short, because from the sand on top of the building, you can at least chip and putt for birdie, instead of a long water ball really dampening your round. However, you can still end up pinned against the wall and have to waste a shot anyway!

There are some cases where you will not want to use backspin — namely, if the pin is all the way in the back center and you have a head-wind. In this case, backspin will leave you too far away from the hole, so you’ll want to try to be accurate and let the ball dribble down towards the pin in the center of the green. Yes, this is difficult, but it’s your best shot at eagle with this setup. No putt is easy here because of the down 11 slope, and errant putts will find the water, so good luck!  Here’s a 3-wood that played perfectly in this setup.

In this case, the tee was at the back of the green, so a driver worked out well!

Here’s a nice 3-wood to a tough pin. Check out the hop this 3-wood gets, earning a fantastic hole-out!

Here’s a nice lofted 5-wood to a back pin. And check out this friendly hop on an angled shot!

Here’s another fortunate hop with the 3-wood!


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