Golden Tee Fan 2012 - Golden Tee LIVE 2013 Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Golden Tee Fan

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Archives for the ‘2012 – Golden Tee LIVE 2013’ Category

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #8: Par 4

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You should always at least be attempting to drive this green, because there’s no danger around it. Here’s a high-teed 3-wood with a small cut from the front box. This 5-wood played a much bigger cut and found the hole.

The front box may also provide an option to shoot through a gap in the cacti instead. Here’s a high-teed 4-wood through a cacti gap that found the cup. This high-teed 5-wood split the cacti as well. The advantage here is a straight shot at the green, but you’ve got to be sure you can split those gaps to pull it off!

Form the far-right box, you can usually play this one a bit straighter. Here’s a high-teed 3-wood with just a small cut from there.

From the back-right box, this hole gets longer and more curve is needed, making eagle more challenging. This driver used quite a bit of cut to find the cup.

Even the far left box should be drivable — here’s a great high-teed 3-wood that found the hole.

The left and back box also provide an opportunity to play something like a high-teed 4-wood around the left side with an A1-type shot instead. Here’s a great ace from the left box using that shot which had enough elevation to clear the hill and find the hole. Here’s another one from there that ended up just as well! This one also found the cup taking a more straight-on approach at the green and throwing it out left.

From the back-center box, you can play this same shot with a high-teed 3-wood…this one found the hole.

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #9: Par 5

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As long as you can pull back and hammer a solid drive, you should always be using a high tee to cut the corner of the fairway over the left side of the hill. There are several gaps in the cacti, and it’s rare to actually catch one. Even if you do, it’s also rare to be left without an approach from wherever your ball settles. Here’s a 9-wood hole-out from the fairway there. This one fell short but a 9-wood was still able to get up and in.

The alternative is to play the fairway straight ahead, possibly cutting the corner just slightly without risking missing the fairway. A 3-wood is nice from here. If you have to hit driver, make sure not to leave it short due to the slightly-elevated green.

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #10: Par 4

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Your shot here depends on the pin location and the wind. You’ll usually curve over or in with the direction of the wind. The best setups allow you to use a medium-teed 9-wood so that you can use backspin to hold the green. Another good setup allows you to high-tee a 9-wood into a headwind so that your ball will also settle.

Another good play is a 7-wood around the right side, where elevation isn’t as much of an issue, using backspin to hold. If you have to play the 7-wood around the left side, you might have to luckily find some gaps in the cacti, since this is where elevation becomes an issue. And never just thumb a shot on this hole, because that kills the elevation you need! Pull back and hit it hard to keep it high.

All that being said, this firmly-hit medium-teed 7-wood went over the top of most all the mess from the far right box. This 7-wood from a left box was short and right, but the backspin somehow kept it close and it snuck back in the cup!

Here’s a nice 9-wood over the left side that found the cup. This firmly-hit 9-wood curved around the right side and in.

This 7-wood from the left box curved all the way around and found the hole. And even a 5-wood can occasionally get it done with a right pin!

This poorly-hit 7-wood still managed to find its way down to the green…and into the hole! This 9-wood was short as well but bounced its way down and in. And this shot curved right into the cacti but caught an amazing deflection and also found the hole!

This tee shot ended up behind a rock, but check out the resourceful recovery!

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #11: Par 3

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This hole is tricky because it combines an elevated green with a likely gap in your club distances. Many times you’ll want to change tee height to get the distance you want. Be careful with the low-teed 9-iron, because elevation will be lower AND backspin is stronger!

Here’s an ace into a tough pin from the left box on this short par 3. Here’s another ace from the next box over. And here’s one from the right box.

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #12: Par 5

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From the tee boxes closest to the green and a hard wind blowing at the green, this hole can be drivable! From the front box, you can high-tee a driver and blast a shot straight at it. From the next box, there is also the potential of aiming straight at it, although there’s risk of clipping the hill this way. However, this one did carry over and found the cup for the ace — awesome!

Curving an A1 shot through the gap in the cacti over the hill, but of course it’s riskier — this one had a little deflection but almost buried in the hole! A C3 shot from the right side won’t have enough elevation to clear the hill cleanly, but it can trickle over down to the bottom at least.

If you come up short and roll back down the hill, it looks daunting, but you can still get over by either hitting a 5-wood with roll, or by blasting a 9-wood that should also trickle over. The safest option is probably to turn left a couple times for the 9-wood over the left end of the mountain, and then you’ll have an open wood shot into the green to save birdie.

Otherwise, you’ll want to lay out towards the right edge of the fairway, ideally in the little section that juts out right. This is much more important if the wind will be in your face on the approach. And the farther out you get, the straighter your approach can be. This driver curved around the cacti nicely and found the hole. This one was more in the middle of the fairway but had a tailwind, so here’s a nice one-hop driver right at it.

Even if you fall off into the dusty rough to the right, it’s generous enough that you can still get there — so aim long and right to get a straighter shot in to the hole!

Finally, especially with a headwind, there’s a little shortcut patch down to the right where you can lay up. From here, you can take something like a 5-wood over the top through the cacti at the green.

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #13: Par 4

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Three different fairway approaches to the hole create variety on this short par 4, which is all about distance control. You need to clear the hill in front while trying not to fall off the slope on the back.

Here’s an ace coming down the right fairway, where the angled green makes the shot slightly more difficult.

Here’s a 5-wood ace down the left fairway.

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #14: Par 4

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Lots of little fairway patches to choose from off the tee — pick one you are comfortable with, or if you are confident, pick the one that gives you the best approach shot given the wind and pin. The fairway to the right is the safest, and here’s a 4-wood hole-out from the left edge over there.

Here’s a 9-wood hole-out from one of the middle patches.

You may even be fine if you miss a patch — a good strategy can be to shoot for one that doesn’t have obstacles in your way on the approach. This errant tee shot was wide open from the dirt on the approach.

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #15: Par 3

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Many different tee boxes here give you different slopes to deal with, but all are challenging. With a wind blowing to the right, you’ll have to cut a shot into the wind and slope to hold the green. Favor over-cutting it here — the hill can still project your ball back onto the green, but if you don’t cut enough and miss right, you’ll fall off the edge. Here’s an ace from one of the middle boxes.

Here’s a 3-wood ace from the left box. An example of counteracting the slope with the hill — this one was played nicely!

This driver from a right box got a bit lucky that the hole got in the way.

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #16: Par 4

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Most of the time it’s best to lay up at the end of the first fairway — here’s a nice 3-wood hole-out from there.

It’s sometimes fine to shoot for the second fairway if you’re comfortable as well. Here’s a hole-out from well out into that fairway. Even if you miss, you may still have a shot — here’s a great recovery with the 7-wood for a hole-out.

However, the trouble here arises if you get too close to the cacti guarding the approach. You’ll likely have to work your iron shot around or through a gap in the mess to find the green. Or check out this professionally-played 9-wood worked around the right side! Since a long drive can mean a difficult approach shot, it’s often best to lay back and bring a long wood into the green instead.

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #17: Par 4

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With a high teed driver, a good wind and a little luck, you can play a huge C3 shot and drive this green! Here’s an example of how that worked out. Here’s another one that found the green. You’ll have to dodge a few obstacles, but the right setup gives you a chance!

From the middle-left box, this big A1 driver with roll also almost climbed up on there, leading you to believe it’s possible to drive around the left side too!

Otherwise, it’s usually best to cut the corner over the left edge of the hill into the fairway. This can either be a straight shot or an A1-type shot with backspin, taking care not to go long. There are a couple small obstacles in the way on that hill, but it’s mostly open and rare to find trouble taking that route. From here, play your approach up high on the green, or cut into the wind if you need to counteract the slope. Here’s a nice use of bite with the 9-wood.

Straight out to the left end of the fairway can be fine too for an approach shot with a wood.

Jackrabbit Junction — Hole #18: Par 5

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The best setups allow you to blast a straight high-teed driver over the cacti to the right edge of the second fairway. If the wind is more challenging, you can rotate left and play a big A1 drive through the gap into that second fairway instead. Here’s a nice backspin one-hop hole-out with the 7-wood. This 9-wood went right over the top and dunked in the hole.

Even if you end up in the rough on either side, you can still have a shot depending on the cacti. This one looked dreary but actually found its way to recovery! This 5-wood still found its way over the corner but then got an amazing bounce back off the cactus into the cup! And I’ve seen guys play the side of a hill before, but this one is way up there — it still finds the hole! And here’s one more crazy deflection off a rock that finds the cup.

Finally, some setups just look too daunting to be able to get over to that spot. You can also lay up towards the left edge of the first fairway, which may allow you to hit a 5-wood around and over the left edge of that hill instead to reach the green.

Coconut Beach — Golden Tee 2013

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Here is a description of this new course for Golden Tee 2013: “Don’t let the majestic blue water confuse you. This isn’t your average tropical getaway. Despite the beauty of Coconut Beach, this Punta Gorda, Belize masterpiece has more bite than bark. Constructed throughout a rugged Caribbean jungle, nature will likely force you to use every club in your bag. And when the dense trees aren’t standing between you and the flag, the ancient ruins will serve as a formidable, antique foe.”

Here is the official preview of the Punta Gorda, Belize course, and this article breaks down the course even further.

This post contains tips, tricks, and information related to the 2013 Golden Tee course Coconut Beach! Check out the hole-by-hole breakdowns and example hole-outs as I partner up with the Golden Tee community to give you the edge you need to beat your friends!

The Flares and Hurtles remain the most popular combo on this course, and I recommend that equipment for the time being. The Ballistas are also used by some.

GT Par Breakdown for Coconut Beach

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The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on Coconut Beach relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole:

Hole	Par	GT Par		Total
Hole	Par	Min	Max	Min	Max
1	4	2	3	-2	-1
2	4	3	3	-3	-2
3	5	3	3	-5	-4
4	3	2	2	-6	-5
5	4	2	2	-8	-7
6	5	3	3	-10	-9
7	4	2	2	-12	-11
8	3	2	2	-13	-12
9	4	2	2	-15	-14
10	4	3	3	-16	-15
11	5	2	3	-19	-17
12	3	2	2	-20	-18
13	4	2	2	-22	-20
14	4	3	3	-23	-21
15	5	3	3	-25	-23
16	3	2	2	-27	-24
17	4	2	3	-28	-25
18	4	2	3	-30	-26

Coconut Beach — Hole #1: Par 4

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If you get the front box, this hole should be drivable most of the time. Here’s an ace to start off the round.

From the second box, you also have a decent chance at driving it, or at least giving yourself a pretty short chip shot. It’s usually worth the risk of dropping off the side or into the sand to potentially end up on the green, as you should be able to recover for birdie if you don’t quite get it. With a straight tailwind, the B2 shot hammered right at the green is your most accurate bet. With other setups, your next best shot is usually a C3 high-teed driver, since there’s more room to the right to take it out quite a ways. Here’s an ace to a back pin! And check out this one at 422 yards!

From the back boxes, lay up anywhere. Here’s an example hole-out.

Coconut Beach — Hole #2: Par 4

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From one of the front boxes, this hole can potentially be drivable! From the closest box, you’ll have the distance, but the trees will pose an issue. Your best bet is from the second-closest box — with a nice wind at the green, you can play anywhere from a fairly straight shot to a C3-type shot trying to thread the tree leaves towards the green. If the look is good, you can at least end up with a chip shot for an eagle try. This one found a gap straight through for an eagle putt! And this one was within inches of the cup after bouncing on. But here’s the one that found the hole — an out-wind, high-teed driver, and a friendly bounce! And this one high-hopped from the grass all the way over the steps to find the cup!

Don’t get careless on your drive — there’s sand left and a tree poking out right, so put it in the middle of those. You can also use the wind to gauge how far you drive the ball, trying to line up for a straighter shot. And don’t bring that sand into play on your approach — make sure to hit the middle of the green to ensure a clean putt. Here’s a hole-out to a back pin.

Coconut Beach — Hole #3: Par 5

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Here you’ll almost always play a driver straight ahead to just behind the back-left fairway trap. This is the safe play, and the farther left you can stay, the straighter approach you’ll have — this one played the wind nicely. Here’s a nice 7-wood curved around from well behind the fairway sand. Even if you end up quite a ways back, you can still work a shot around, so make sure to give yourself something — this 3-wood was played beautifully around. Just don’t miss left off the tee — you can always work something around on your approach if you are in the center!

If you have Flares, you’ll often practice your B1 shots around the tree guarding the approach (although if you are back far enough, a 9-wood will go straight over the left side of that tree). You’ll normally pull back a bit left of center and hit it hard out left around and over the tree. Visualize the shot to determine if you want to apply any type of spin once it hits the green, and remember that B1-type shots kill a bit of distance, so don’t be short. With this tricky green, you should again try to give yourself a putt, even if it’s a long one.

This shot actually went under and around the right side of the tree, found some sand, but still bounced up and in!

For aggressive players, you can rotate right and play a big C3 off the tee to try to thread the fairway sand for a straight approach shot. These shots often end up left, which can certainly pose a lot of problems. Even if you happen into the sand, you may still have a shot. If you don’t have a shot straight at it, check out what this creative player did, banking it off the opposite wall at the perfect angle and finding the green! This guy did one better, actually finding the hole…amazing!

Another option that’s fairly reliable is to rotate another spot left and play a 3-wood or 4-wood into the rough to the left of, and behind, the wall. From here, you’ll have a driver or 3-wood straight into the green without having to worry about a curve shot!

You can also miss way to the left of the wall to the left of the sand, in that brick area — if you are far enough back, a 5-wood gets over the wall with a straight shot at the green too!

Now check out this amazing shot that was way off but somehow got a couple deflections back in the hole!

There’s also a tee box much closer possibly only available in casual play that lets you hit your drive well past the sand for an open approach shot.

Coconut Beach — Hole #4: Par 3

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The only trouble here would be self-inflicted — you should be able to put this one close. Just don’t get too aggressive to a tough pin and leave yourself without a putt. Here’s an ace from the right box, followed by an example ace from the center box. Here’s another one from the back box to a back pin.

Coconut Beach — Hole #5: Par 4

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The left box here gives you the straightest shot at the green, usually requiring only a small cut around the trees. Here’s a nice driver to a back pin.

From the front box, you can either take aim at the pin and play a B1-type shot into the green, or rotate left and curve it around that way. The B1-shot from here is riskier because of the tree leaves protruding out to the left. This 3-wood backspun into the hole from the front box. A 5-wood is another common option here with backspin.

Here’s an awesome 4-wood from the middle-right box. This box also presents an opportunity to low-tee a driver to play an easier B1-type shot around the trees, but under the leaves. A smoothly hit driver from that box can work as well.

From the back box you’ll have the same options as the middle. You can choose to play a cut shot with a driver, being careful to stay clear of the trees, or you can still try to aim slightly left of the green, pull back slightly left, and shoot your driver out to 1 to play a smaller curve around.

Backspin is a good idea with pins on the right, but consider no spin if the pin is on the left to give yourself a closer putt.

Coconut Beach — Hole #6: Par 5

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This par 5 is difficult to get close in two because of the narrow fairway and the pesky trees hanging over the green. However, I’ve found a strategy that works pretty well most of the time.

With any type of wind except a strong tailwind, you can lay back in the fairway for a driver approach shot. I usually take the distance to the hole, subtract 300, and then put a drive at that distance to the middle-left side of the fairway. From here, then, you’ll have about 300 yards. Line up with the green, apply backspin, pull back slightly left of center, and blast a shot hard out to 1 on your follow-through. The shot will curve around the trees but under the leaves, and the backspin helps it settle on the green for a putt. Here’s an example hole-out.

If you have a tailwind and the Flares, leave yourself about 210 yards from the left edge of the fairway. From here, a 9-wood can work over and around the left edge of the tree guarding the approach. This 9-wood was able to take straight aim over the left side to a center pin.

Planning ahead makes this eagle easier, but you can still try to curve your approach around from other places and setups. You’ll just have to play a big curve way out to the left on the approach to avoid the trees. Here’s a nice bender around the tree on this tricky approach shot. The further out your drive travels, the more you need to angle your approach shot away from the trees — here’s another nice hole-out.

With the front box maybe only seen in Casual Play, or with a huge drive from the next closest box, you can blast a drive out into the rough on the left. From here, your approach may be straight under the tree to the green.

Coconut Beach — Hole #7: Par 4

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You’ll always want to play over the top of the structure, with any setup. From the front two boxes, you don’t even necessarily need a high tee to get over the top, although that’s the most common option and may be more comfortable. Here’s a high-teed 3-wood from the middle box floated over and in. A high-teed driver into a headwind can work too if needed.

This high-teed driver from the second-farthest box got a couple hops off the top and rolled down and in. This driver went around the side but caught rock so it kicked back down to the green…and in! You’ll likely want a high tee from this box, because even if you have the distance, you’ll not have the elevation with the driver. So, add the high tee to make sure you get over the top, and adjust the power of your shot as needed.

The shot underneath is much riskier, but that hole is there for a reason, and either a poor or great setup may lead you to consider it. Here’s an awesome low-teed driver from the second-closest box that had a perfect line straight to the cup! This medium-teed driver from the second-farthest box just stayed underneath for the ace as well.

This hole is usually only testy with a side wind and a pin in the back of the narrow part of the green. If you are off even a little bit, even with the right distance, you’ll have a chip onto a sideways slope. If you are a strong putter, it’s worth considering bite or backspin on your drive to try to keep the ball towards the fat, front part of the green. This is an easier landing area and could at least offer you a long putt over a more difficult chip shot.

I’ve never gotten the very back box, which could make this a layup hole.

Coconut Beach — Hole #8: Par 3

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This hole usually isn’t too bad — often an iron with bite to settle on the green. Here’s an example ace to a right pin. This 9-wood caught a nice little hop back off the hill to a back pin.

The tree to the right shouldn’t be in play either if the pin is on the right square — I have floated 9-woods into pins on that side when the wind was blowing left.

The trickiest setup is when the pin is tucked in the back left square, behind the structure. You’ll have to float a 9-wood around/over to get close, or just play an iron to the visible part of the green from the tee for a putt. This 9-wood attacked it beautifully. You can also curve a 7-wood with bite into that section and/or use a low tee to help with distance control.

With a middle pin, this 9-wood floated over, backspun into the wall, and still made its way back into the hole! And this one went all the way over the top, around, and came back in!

Coconut Beach — Hole #9: Par 4

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There are many ways to play this shot, and often still more than one option given a particular tee box and wind. The left-center box gives you the best look, because you can take aim straight at the green and play just a small curve around the left of the trees. You can also rotate left once from here and play more of a curve around. Here’s a 3-wood curved around from the middle-left box that got a nice little bounce back off the wall. The tree is really pesky here and knocks down a lot of shots if you aren’t careful. This shot didn’t seem too careful, but it missed all the leaves anyway and got a couple bounces into the hole. And this high-teed 5-wood was way too hard, but check out the one-hop dunk off the backboard!

From the right-center box, much more curve is needed, and here’s where a couple options are introduced. With a helping wind, it’s a good option to club down, use a high tee, and play an A1-type shot around the trees to float onto the green. Here’s a beautiful high-teed 5-wood from the right-center box. This shot was not cut enough into the left-blowing wind, but it took a hard deflection right and still found the hole! The smaller-cut shot can still be there too — this high-teed 4-wood played just a small cut around the trees on its way to the cup.

With a wind in your face, the low-teed driver is another option. This one skips off the water, got a couple more deflections, and found the hole! On the crazier side, here’s another driver that made its way all around the brick above the green before dropping back down and finding the cup. And this one bounded off the statue above before trickling back and in.

And this one cut the corner completely with a left-blowing wind — it’s tough to find this gap, but the high-teed 5-wood got it done!

From the back box, the driver skip shots are more common because of the distance, but certainly are not necessary if the wind is favorable. This driver caught a violently-fast deflection and came screaming at the cup, but it sucked in! And watch this driver catch the stone just past the water, bounce up, and make its way over to the hole!

From the back left box, this high-teed 5-wood went right over the trees at the pin, and in!

I want you to watch what happens on this shot — you get a good view of how backspin and catching the wall after a hop can essentially flatten the drive and cause it to settle off to the right. This allows you a way to hold the green after catching the wall at a high speed, instead of otherwise deflecting back into the water. So when in doubt, I’d recommend backspin hoping for this kind of bounce off the back wall.

As you can see, there are lots of deflections you can take advantage of, but you can also get in trouble if you hit your shot too far past the hole. The brick ledges continue up and you could be caught in a tough place up there, so do your best to control your distance — clear the water first and foremost, but don’t blast it too hard either!

Coconut Beach — Hole #10: Par 4

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The play is almost always straight down the fairway to the right — you should have plenty of club to get there in two. A driver can work nice to minimize the effect of wind and slope — this one was played nicely and found the hole.

Use either backspin, bite, or nothing with the driver approach shot depending on the wind. Be careful with thumb shots, because they can catch the brick and kill any spin you had applied. Pull back the ball for added elevation to make sure you carry the green, if spin is needed.

You can also cut the corner a bit off the tee by putting a little right-to-left curve on it, which can make for a slightly shorter approach shot. Use backspin with a tailwind to keep the ball in the fairway. This one trickled into the rough, but check out the hop shot over the sand into the hole! And this was way off, but it’s become the infamous deflection cheered on by the monkey.

The shortcut towards the hole is enticing, but of course a bit risky. It can make sense if the wind is blowing directly at or away from the pin. Here’s a hole-out after sticking that spot. Or, you can lay up short of the sand and bring it in with a driver. Keep in mind, however, that if you do end up long and roll over, there is sand that may keep your ball dry. From there, a wood can recover nicely. Even a longer wood can work if needed! Don’t count on your ball staying dry with a tailwind, though…the headwind is what likely may keep the ball from bounding into the water.

Coconut Beach — Hole #11: Par 5

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This year’s Design-A-Hole has a lot going on. There are a lot of options, so you’ll need to size them up depending on your tee box. From the front boxes, this hole can be drivable, and you’ll always want to go for it. Even with a wind blowing hard right, you can still curve a high-teed 3-wood around into the sand at least to give yourself a chip.

This high-teed 3-wood from the second-closest box found the hole! Here’s another ace from there. This high-teed driver played the sand to find a closer cup as well! Check out the amazing shortcut this 4-wood took on the way to the hole! And this one amazingly found its way through the trees and into the hole!

From other boxes come more options, but the sand out to the right is in play and sets up for a nice approach shot — here’s an example hole-out from there. This should be your “go to” shot on this hole, as it’s pretty easy to stick off the tee, and you’ll usually have a decent line to the pin. It only gets tricky if you are on the front-left part of the sand and the pin is on the left as well, because a tree hangs down and will catch your approach. In this case, just aim out right to the center of the green instead. Make sure to give your shot enough power so the distance and elevation carry you onto the green!

There’s more sand out that way to the left which is reachable from the next box out, especially with a wind blowing left. This can give you a much closer approach shot — here’s a hole-out from there.

Next, a 9-wood or 7-wood can shoot up to a fairway patch on top to the left, which leaves a long wood into the green from there. Here’s a nice 4-wood hole-out from there. This 3-wood also found the hole. Getting over the stone shouldn’t be an issue, but just keep it right of the overhanging tree. This option may be desirable depending on the wind.

Finally, you can curve a driver through the center gap to leave you an approach shot in from the fairway over to the left — here’s a nice 5-wood hole-out from there. You may require a bit of curve from here at times too. Since you may have to pull off two difficult shots to reach in two this way, it’s not an often-used option for most players.

Coconut Beach — Hole #12: Par 3

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There are tee boxes from the side and from the corner here, and the shot can get tricky when the pin is tucked up against the wall with a wind countering it. From the side, here’s a nice 9-wood ace to a front-right pin. There is also a ledge you may have to deal with if the pin is tucked left — this shot went right over it and in!

From the corner, here’s a good shot to a pin tucked left.

There’s another box coming at it straight on that may only be available in casual play — here’s an ace from there.

Coconut Beach — Hole #13: Par 4

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A low-teed 4-wood often works well here — it stays under the first obstacle and goes through the second obstacle instead of over it. This lets you hit it hard but still have correct distance. Check out an example of that shot here. Just be careful using backspin and/or hitting it super hard, both of which elevate the shot and could leave you crashing high into the bricks instead of through the gap.

If you use backspin, hit it about 90%, with nothing: 95%, and with roll, you can crush it, since trajectory is lower with roll and you want to get high enough through.

Another possibility through that gap is a medium-teed 3-wood, again with just thumbs (about 90% speed), or a high-teed driver with thumbs (same 90% speed) — these give similar elevations to the low-teed 4-wood shot yet allow for alterations in distance if needed, or if you aren’t playing a set with a 4-wood.

Once you find a shot that works consistently here, stick with it! For me it’s the low-teed 4-wood, hit hard but not totally crushed. Then you just move around in the tee box a bit to adjust for the side wind when needed. Also, with a back pin, consider putting bite on your shot instead of trying to let it roll all the way back. With that narrow part of the green, you could roll into the sand instead of leaving yourself an easier shot of a longer putt by playing safer.

If you have a big tailwind and are in the middle of the box or farther back, you can hit a high-teed 9-wood over everything. Use a tee, move all the way back in the box, and crush it!

If you slide left or right, you can see a small gap on either side of the far structure. It’s narrow, but you can work a 3-wood under the first overhang and then around the far one — this 3-wood took a tight line around the left side and found the hole! And here’s the same tight shot around the right side to a back pin. I’ve not had success trying this option, because that first overhang is still very much in play and you have to stay inside of it to have a chance.

And check out this high-teed 5-wood around the right side! Tony prefers this shot on a consistent basis, so you may want to consider it if the low-teed 4-wood doesn’t look good for some reason. It looks risky, but apparently it works! Mouth also pulled off this shot with a high-teed 4-wood. This attempt didn’t go so well, but check out the recovery!

Finally, here is an amazing low-teed driver around the left side that somehow missed all the trees, got a kick off the stairs, and found a back pin!

We believe this hole changed slightly from the video demo shown below, where a 4-wood could actually get over the second obstacle. So, you’ll need to go around or through it instead.

Coconut Beach — Hole #14: Par 4

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Before teeing off, size up the wind and pin position. If you can thumb a shot straight ahead, short of the water, and still have a straight shot into the green, then that should be your option. Check out how this approach kicked off the tree to find the hole!

If you have a nice wind and/or need to get out to the second part of the fairway to have a better chance at birdie, then high tee a driver. Pull back a bit left, but then shoot forward all the way out to 1. You want to make sure you have plenty of room out to the left to curve back around the structure without crashing into it, and you don’t want to overcut the shot by pulling too far back to A either. Check out this 9-wood over the trees on the right — another way to come at it!

Finally, during most conditions, you can high-tee a 5-wood right over that tower! Give this a shot sometime and see how it can save you some difficulty and possibly a stroke on this hole.

Here’s a great recovery from the left rough for a hole-out eagle. Here’s a hole-out from the right side of the fairway after a long drive.

If the pin is tucked all the way to the right in between the sand, you can also play the hill to the right as a landing area to help trickle back down.

Coconut Beach — Hole #15: Par 5

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The only legitimate chance of eagle here is to look to the right towards the green, and locate the shortcut patch. Depending on the wind, you’ll play a couple different types of shots. With a headwind, you’ll want a high tee, loft and an accurate line through the middle of the structures to nail the patch. Here’s an example shot to the shortcut patch towards the line of the green, although the ball seems to have disappeared in the video :). If you are going to miss, aim a bit right, because you can still bounce back off that hill onto the fairway patch.

With a tailwind, it’s very difficult to hold the patch with a high tee. Instead, use backspin and still aim for the middle or right edge of the patch. If you nail the distance, the backspin will hold the ball there.

If the wind is blowing left, you’ll need to shoot a 180-type shot out to the right to combat the wind. You’ll normally use a high tee here to help with elevation through the gap, but it’s not absolutely necessary. You can also play a small cut shot from left to right to help the ball stick.

From here, you should have plenty of club to reach the green with any wind. This driver took advantage of the hill to roll back in. With a pin on the left, I recommend a driver with backspin. If you don’t apply backspin, your ball may get stuck on the side of the hill, and there isn’t a risk of spinning back in the water with that setup if you carry the green. And this shot is not for most of us, but check out this incredible driver skip from this spot.

If you get wet with this difficult tee shot and you don’t get a drop that allows you to reach in two, consider shooting ahead to the grassy rough on the next inlet up to the right. From here you’ll have a much shorter approach shot and more green to work with.

Since you are not guaranteed a birdie drop if you get wet trying for the shortcut, the route to the left could be for the birdie player, or if you want to try to preserve a good round with a tough setup. Hit your drive out there, and hit another shot towards the end of this fairway.

Coconut Beach — Hole #16: Par 3

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This tough par 3 usually forces you to carry the green to retain your backspin. You’ll often be in between clubs, and the wind will be tough. Here is where you can practice your curve shots into the wind to counteract it, especially if you need to cut into a tough pin placement. Be creative — use a low tee if it will help, and do your best to stay dry and keep your round alive. There are so many tough setups here that it’s hard to describe them all, so here is where you get your practice with curving lofted irons in tough winds.

If you find yourself faced with a putt that will roll into the water if missed, it’s a good spot to lag putt closer to (and level with) the hole. Preserving a par here is much better than losing 2 strokes and still being faced with the same putt again!

Here’s a great ace from the back left box to a tough pin. Here’s another one from there getting a nice hop to a left pin.

Watch this one get sucked in from the front left box. Sometimes you’ll have to play some pretty extreme angles — check this one out from there as well.

Coconut Beach — Hole #17: Par 4

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This is one of the toughest eagles in 2013, followed immediately by perhaps THE toughest eagle in the game. In most cases, it doesn’t hurt to go for it, because the sand and the rough below the hole will catch most errant shots. Let’s start there, because this is very entertaining.

From the front box, you’ll be able to aim fairly straight at this green. This 7-wood curved around and landed up in the brick but caught some great bounces back down into the hole! A 9-wood is another common option — this one also played the front brick and bounced in.

It’s almost always there from the middle box too, but the wind makes all the difference on the difficulty. Here’s a great high-teed 7-wood curved around from the middle box that incredibly bounced cleanly through all the brick and back into the hole! This high-teed 5-wood also settled on the brick and rolled back down and in. This 4-wood did the same — check out how the wind killed it so it could settle straight down. On the other hand, this 4-wood got an incredible kick backwards out of the sand to find the hole! Here’s another one with a 6-wood, where the out-wind kept the ball up on the brick so it could settle back down nicely towards the pin. And this 7-wood kept turning left until it found the pin. Finally, this high-teed 3-wood was an amazing play into this pin.

The back box also offers some opportunities to drive the green, but you’ll need some help from the wind and the tee placement. This high-teed 5-wood from the back box barely got around the right side and then caught a perfect hop off the brick into the hole! This one also caught a great hop off the brick over the sand, where the wind pulled it back down and in. It shows you how you can still hit that gap from the back box in some conditions. This medium-teed 5-wood also found the gap, settled on the brick and rolled in. And this shot actually found the fire pit, bounced out, and then found the cup! This one did the same, but dunked in the hole instead!

Even a high-teed 3-wood is possible from the back box, believe it or not — check out this incredible shot!

In many cases back here, you’ll just be laying up a short ways ahead to give a clear-in approach shot. You can also go farther down the fairway to bring it in, but it’s usually not as good an angle. Check out the bounce back this one got with a big headwind!

There’s a tee box up to the right likely only available in casual play that provides a straight shot at the green — here’s a 5-wood ace from there.

The fire pits on these holes are unplayable lies, as you may expect, ha — here’s a shot that got an unfortunate bounce.

FINALLY, here’s one of the more amazing deflections you’ll ever see — 3-wood off the tiny back tree FTW!