The best play off the tee is to aim out left, giving you a clean look into the green with a 5-wood or 3-wood.  Here’s a 3-wood knocked down perfectly by the tree guarding the green, and here’s another one that lands cleanly and finds the hole.  If you do stay to the right, a 5-wood can still work but is much riskier — here’s a very aggressive 5-wood over all of them!  There’s also a left tee box (only available in casual play) that can make this hole driveable with a favorable wind.

Or, you know, disregard the drive, curve it around the corner at light speed, bank it off the tree and ram it home.

I haven’t seen an example, but some pros are driving this hole under optimal conditions.  It appears that a huge A1 off the tee can curl all the way over the water, around the trees, and onto the green!

This shot can be a little intimidating with some cross wind, but don’t panic.  In the case of a cross-wind, play a very small cut shot into the wind to keep your ball straight through the gap.  If you don’t play cut shots very often, be careful to only pull very slightly to the left or right of straight back, with the same concept going forward.  It’s better to be on the green but far from the pin than to clip a leaf with an errant tee shot!

EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT
A 5-WOOD GONE WONDERFULLY WRONG!

This one is tough to reach in 2.  The fairway sand is strategically-placed to envelop a tee shot that’s too aggressive, and then you’d have to lay up.  Similarly, if you’re not aggressive enough and leave your tee shot too far to the left, you can’t make it in 2 either.  However, a 9-wood can offer an advantage on the approach if you do leave your tee shot left of the sand, as it can cut up and over the trees on the approach.  A combination of skill and some luck might be necessary to leave an approach for eagle.  Be careful on the approach shot here with the green sloping towards the water!

Here’s a straight hole-out from an outstanding tee shot, well past the sand in the fairway.  And here’s another great hole-out applying some cut and backspin.  Here’s an incredible 5-wood from the left side of the fairway!  Finally, check out this amazing, aggressive driver shot that really pays off!

There’s also a closer tee box (only available during casual play) allowing you to clear the sand in the fairway for a short 2nd approach shot — here’s a hole-out from there.

You’ll almost always be hitting over the trees, pretty straight at the green.  However, club selection is very important!  A 5-wood can usually clear the trees no problem, a 4-wood clears all but the highest spots of tree, and a 3-wood needs to be over the gap in the middle or around the upper sides of the trees.  Backspin or not depends almost entirely on the wind.

From the front of the front tee box, an option is to poke a 3/4-strength driver under the gap in the 2 trees into the green.  This can also be done with a 1-iron, as evidenced by this great shot!  Another option is to take your shot around with a C3 backspin to hold the green.  If you’re on the right and so is the pin, you can take a 5-wood right over the corner!

From the back of the front tee box, a 5-wood clears the gap over the 2 trees as shown here. You can also cut a 5-wood around the side of the tree, as we see here. Also check out this 5-wood and how it runs down the flagstick — amazing! Finally, you can really curve it around with a 3-wood, like this great shot!

From the back tees, a C3 3-wood with backspin works, but so does a pretty straight 3-wood over the corner!  Or, you could still try to poke a driver under the gap in the 2 trees, like this!! Finally, if you have the distance, a 5-wood can still be hit over the left side of the trees.

Get your drive past the sand down the fairway to leave yourself with a tough A1-type approach into the green.  As with many holes in Golden Tee 2010, don’t leave yourself on the wrong side of the green where you don’t have a clear putt at the hole!  Here’s a great cut-shot after a long drive.  And here’s a drive that was long enough to allow an open look at the pin, followed by a nice bounce with the low-lofter!  Also be careful not to go long in the water on your approach, because it is a ways downhill — you may want to take one less club.  On the other hand, if you’re even a yard short, your approach will not hop up onto the green, which must be carried!

A 7-wood makes this hole a bit easier, as you can lay back and go right over the top, like this!

This is a really tough par 3 that most of us aren’t going to be able to birdie on a regular basis.  You have to have a low-lofted club, and you usually have to cut into the slope of the green, or else you’re going to be wet.  In fact, if it weren’t for this hole, a lot more people would be playing the club set with a 7-wood and 9-wood!  Most of the time, you’ll want a small A1-type cut shot with backspin, so that the backspin helps the ball up away from the water.  Here’s a great shot from the middle box following this lead.

There are exceptions, depending on wind, rain, and pin placement, so study the setup.  For example, here’s a great hole-out from the back box with backspin, shot right at the hole, that settles perfectly in the hole because of how the rain kills the roll in 2010.  And here’s a hole-out from the front box that worked with the pin on the back left, where the ball worked its way towards the flag.  Finally, here’s a hole-out from the middle box, where the wind blowing to the right helped keep the ball on the right side of the green.

If you’re stucking playing a 7-wood into this green because you don’t have low-lofted clubs, then you might have to get creative.  Clubbing up to a 5-wood and playing a 3/4 cut shot into the green is one option.  Another is to try to settle in the bunker closest to the pin with the intent of chipping on and putting for par.  Neither of these options is easy, and it’s still hard to keep a chip shot from rolling into the water.  This hole is most devastating with a big right-to-left wind, which makes it incredibly difficult to hold the green either off the tee or with your chip!

Here’s another tip offered up by Hotrod:  “If you have a strong wind blowing left and the distance has you at a wood, turn right one from the pin. Pull straight back to B, maybe a little left, then throw it out to the 1 with backspin. It will talke a few tries to figure out the distance but it will work great. The way you are throwing it with backspin will make the ball spin up the break of the green.”

This shot just demands that you nail the right distance with backspin.  It’s downhill, so don’t get crazy and blast your drive in the water, especially if you have a tailwind.  Again, the green is separated by a gap, so try not to leave yourself without a clear putt at the pin.  Here’s a crazy 3-wood dunk from the front box! Here’s another nice hole-out from the front box, and here’s a great 3-wood from the back box. Finally, here’s a crazy skip-dunk!

This hole can be devastating.  As if #16 weren’t enough to ruin your round, now you have to deal with this monster.  Not only that, but it’s a very tough tee shot, and a very tough approach shot, and a very tough putt!  You’ve got dangerous water off the tee on the left, which the fairway slopes towards, but you also have mud pods on the right that prevent you from laying up too far that way.  And, if you lay up too short, you have a really tough approach shot in which you’ll have to cut a C3 in towards the green.

Believe it or not, the best shot off the tee is usually an attempt at the green.  Using at most a 3-wood (the more loft, the better), get yourself amped up to crank out the biggest C2-type shot you can!  Here are some holeouts to examine for inspiration:

If you have the front tee box and the wind is blowing towards the hole, you can hit a 5-wood C2-type shot onto the green!  Actually, the green is also driveable from the back box with a huge C3 3-wood, rotated once right of the hole, as long as the wind isn’t blowing dead right.  Here is a holeout with a 5-wood, C2 cut shot, with the wind 13MPH at 1:00.  Here’s one with a 4-wood with a 13MPH wind at 11:00.  Awesome!

And here’s one more that really does find a gap in the trees.  The setup was 11 mph wind at about 7:30, hit with a 4W, full C and just a hair right of 2 with roll, with freaks.  So it works with wind in the face too!  Finally, you can do it with a 3-wood with backspin too — check out this brilliant shot.

Now, if your drive comes up short of the green, which will be most of the time, and the trees are really blocking your approach shot, you can still hit a 7/8-iron right through the trees onto the green!  As long as you find a path where tree trunks aren’t in the way, you should still be able to blast one of these clubs right through and it’ll settle onto the green — practice a couple times to see which club works for you.  Usually, if you club up about 3 times, you’ll be in the ballpark for distance and should have a birdie putt — it just depends on how many sets of tree leaves you need to get through.

If C2-power shots aren’t your thing, then try to read the wind for your best course of action off the tee.  If you have a headwind, you can lay up shorter than normal, because the wind will help your approach shot back towards the green.  With a tailwind, you need more distance off the tee to have a successful approach shot, but you’ll have to avoid the hazards off the tee!

Now, if your drive comes up short and the trees are really blocking your approach shot, you can still hit a 4/5-iron right through the trees onto the green — just take aim at the green and ram it through!  This approach is easier than trying to curve a lofted iron around the trees.  Again, start with a baseline of clubbing up about 3 times, give it some practice, and see what works best for you!

This hole can be driveable at times with the right wind and equipment — but, don’t just automatically crank the longest drive you can.  Know the gaps in your clubs and don’t put yourself in a situation where you have an uncomfortable distance into the first green.

EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

This hole can be driveable from the front box, which might only be available in casual play.  It may also be driveable at times from the back box with the right wind and equipment!  Normally, you’re just thumbing a drive out into the fairway, because you don’t gain anything with extra distance — leave yourself a smaller gap in your club set, because you’re shooting into a pretty narrow green.

Here’s a hole-out from 150 in the fairway.

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

If you’re playing with the red distance balls, then this hole becomes much easier, but you certainly don’t need them.  Usually, even a 3-wood has enough loft to clear the center and left parts of the tree in your way.  If you control the distance, you’ll be on the green for an eagle putt!  Here’s a hole-out straight over with the 3-wood.  Here’s another perfect 5-wood dunk from the left box.

Always err to the right on this hole, because the sand still offers you an easy birdie, where the water will give you a disappointing par.

If need be, you can still curve a driver around the tree. Here’s one skipping off the water into the hole!

Worried about going around the left and having to skip water?  If a straight 3-wood doesn’t have enough distance, turn right and pound a C3 through the gap in the trees, using the length of the green to your advantage!  Damage Inc. has mastered this shot — watch it not once, but twice!

There’s another tee box off to the left (only available in casual play) that offers you an unimpeded shot at the green, but you’ll still have to carry the water.  Here’s a hole-out from there.

Most guys are always laying up in the same spot, every time, on this hole.  It’s towards the end of the fairway, just left of the orange bush straight ahead.  From here, you can hit either a 3-wood or 4-wood over the hill and under the tree on top of that hill right at the green!  Here’s an example hole-out with a 4-wood from that spot.  You can carry more distance on this approach because it plays slightly downhill, so your 3-wood can usually carry 300 yards without issue.  Just make sure you don’t go too far and end up in the rough — it’s better to be back just a bit in the fairway than too long!  Or, if you get just a bit too far left for your liking, you can still go the traditional route around the left — here’s a nice 3-wood.

If the pin is in the back left, or if there’s a strong headwind, you might consider laying up in the rough to the right just over the water.  You can either hit a straight shot or an A1-type shot into this area off the tee.  The approach shot is not as tough as you might think from here, because the rough seems to be “thinner”, allowing you still to shape a shot without losing much distance.  Still, be careful of the elevation and the hill guarding your approach, because short or right can mean water!  This tee shot got far enough to have an unimpeded shot under the tree!  And this one was way out there but almost had trouble with the elevated green.  Finally, check out this unbelievable roll up and over the hill!

The conventional route is to the left edge of the fairway, but this leaves the most difficult approach shot, because you have to shape the shot and also avoid the thin trees guarding the green.  Here’s a great 5-wood from there!

Finally, if you’re fortunate enough to get a tee box that allows you to carry the water to the second fairway, you can end up with a very easy approach shot for eagle!  From the tee box on the left, you can sometimes carry the water — here’s a 5-wood hole-out after clearing the river.  Don’t expect an A1 driver to clear the river easily though — that wall can certainly block a low-lofter.  Also, there’s another much closer tee box up and left from here (normally only available in casual play, but it can come up in live play!).  Here’s a hole-out from there after the drive. This tee box may also make this hole driveable!

It’s best to clear the stream if possible, so you can hole-out like this … but, if you can’t make it, lay up to the right.  Here’s a hole-out from a lay-up in front of the river.

The approach shot is not easy — the green is tricky and surrounded by water.  Be extra careful if you’re using backspin, and play the middle of the green to be safe.

There’s also a front-left tee box (only available in casual play) that would make this hole driveable!

You can have all kinds of approach shots depending on your club set and the tee box.  From the back right box, hit a 9-wood if you have it.  A 7-wood works from the back of the box, like this, but you can clip the house from the front of the box, so use a 9-wood if you can!  Here’s a nice 9-wood dunk!

From the middle box, you can take a 9-wood over, or a 7-wood around the highest part, like this.

From the left box in this group of 3 boxes, a 7-iron will clear the corner of the roof and make the green.  Or, you can still stick with your 9-wood, like this.

There’s also a tee box out back and left (only available in casual play) that offers you a clean look into the green!  If you’re fortunate enough to get this box, it should be a pretty easy eagle.

Don’t get confused — there are two greens here and 4 possible tee boxes!

HOLE-OUT FROM THE SECOND-FARTHEST BOX TO THE LEFT GREEN
HOLE-OUT FROM THE SECOND-CLOSEST BOX TO THE RIGHT GREEN
HOLE-OUT FROM THE BACK BOX TO THE RIGHT GREEN
HOLE-OUT FROM THE MIDDLE BOX TO THE RIGHT GREEN

It’s easy to think you need to clear the river to have a chance at the green in 2, but that usually won’t pay off.  The fairway slopes back towards the mud and water, and you’ll probably get stuck here instead.  The reward isn’t worth the risk, even if you can hit a 7-wood or 9-wood into the green from there.

So, take it easy off the tee and lay back for a 5-wood approach, playing the ball a ways back from the river.  To be safe on your approach, you may also want to play a bit of a right-to-left shot, because it can be easy to clip the hill on the left side of the approach.  Here’s a hole-out from 233 that was still able to clear the right edge of the hill on the way in.  Better yet, try to leave yourself somewhere close to 260 yards — from this distance, a 5-wood flies right over the top with no issues!  This 4-wood went under, into, over, and in — amazing.  Also, if you have a 7-wood in your bag (and you should), you can get a bit closer and have more confidence in clearing the hill on your way to the green — here’s a 7-wood hole-out from 223.  And here’s a great 9-wood!

Another option several players are using is to turn right and hit a 3-wood to 5-wood up on that hill, by the house.  From there, you’ll have a level, straight shot to the hole with a 3-wood or driver!  Here’s one from half-way up the side of the hill with a 5-wood.

Finally, there’s a front-left tee box (only available in casual play) that would allow you to carry safely onto the second fairway, leaving a much easier approach shot in two.  There’s also a chance that this green could be driveable from there, maybe with a C3 5-wood over and around the hill!

This hole forces you to make another decision based on the wind and pin placement.  Most of the time, you’re fine going left down low.  Your approach will be way up hill, but unimpeded, and wind won’t affect it much.  So, if you go this route, club up one for your approach.  Here’s a hole-out from down there (notice how he clubbed up).

If you go right, blast it as far as you can, because there are trees guarding the approach.  The tee shot is safe, but your approach might be more challenging.  You’ll now be hitting downhill, where the wind will affect it more, and you might have to work a C3-type shot into the green for your birdie putt.  Here’s a hole-out after a very long tee shot — it was a great decision to go right because he has all the green to work with on the approach!

From the front boxes, you can clear the neck and the lake towards the bowl of the fairway, and then it’s a decent approach into the green — here’s an example hole-out from there.  It’s not automatic because it all slopes off into the sand, so try to hit the middle of the green.  Here’s another example hole-out.

From the back boxes, you can still lay up right before the neck of the fairway, in front of the water.  From here, you still have a manageable 3-wood or 5-wood into the green.  Here is a nice dunk with a 3-wood from there!

If you have a choice, always use the pin placement as your guide.  If the pin is on the right, lay back right, and if it’s on the left, hit your drive long and left.  Then you’ll always be carrying over a part of the green where you can use backspin to stop it by the cup.

There are two possible greens on this par 3 also, and errant shots here have a chance of backing up onto the green because of the backstop created by the hill behind either green.

HOLE-OUT FROM THE BACK LEFT BOX TO THE LEFT GREEN
HOLE-OUT FROM THE FRONT BOX TO THE LEFT GREEN
HOLE-OUT FROM THE BACK RIGHT BOX TO THE RIGHT GREEN
HOLE-OUT FROM THE MIDDLE RIGHT BOX TO THE RIGHT GREEN

You’ll need to hit one of a few green grassy pods out past the fairway in order to reach this green in two.  It’s not easy, and you’ll have to have a good handle on your distances to stick the landing here.  You may also take wind and pin placement into consideration when deciding which pod to aim for.  Even then, this green is really tough, so you’ll need 2 great shots to have an eagle putt!  Here’s a perfect driver with backspin after sticking the back middle pod.  Here’s a great 5-wood hole-out from a pod on the right, and here’s a nice hole-out with a 5-wood from the front middle pod.

If you miss off the tee and land in the dirt, be careful laying up!  A driver might not get over the small wall guarding the fairway, so use a 3-wood to lay up in the fairway for your 3rd shot if need be.

This hole also has a front tee box (only available in casual play) allowing you to clear the dirt to the bottom fairway, and here’s a hole-out from there.

Believe it or not, this hole is driveable from almost any setup.  Read on!

If you’re on the far right box, a 5-wood can get over the corner of the house to the green with a minor C3-type shot — here’s an example. Better yet, if you’re towards the back of this box, the 5-wood goes straight over.

If you’re on the middle-left box, you can take a 5-wood, or even a 4-wood, pretty much straight over towards the green, or with a small curve around the corner.

From the back box is where you get creative.  The most common way of attacking the green from here is to rotate left and play an A1 driver with roll around the corner, skipping across the water if needed!  Or you can still try the traditional route, where a driver can get under that last tree and skip onto the green, like this amazing shot!

Even if you don’t think you can reach the green, try to get your drive on the hill towards the back-right of the green.  You can sometimes get lucky and kick towards the green, but even if you stick up on the hill, you can often times putt from up there!  Check out how this shot rolled back down the hill into the hole!

This short little par 3 can be very tough, because most club sets have a gap in their wedges, and you’ll find that a lot of times here you’ll be in between clubs!  So, if you’re in between clubs here, you’ll have to hit a 3/4 shot with the longer club, which is difficult.  Don’t forget how much the wind affects high-lofted clubs, and you still might need to cut into a cross-wind to prevent the ball from blowing off the green.

Here’s a bouncing hole-out to a back right pin.  Here’s a short dunk to a left pin!

You’ll have a choice here too depending on the wind and tee.  The best option is to clear the lake to the fairway on the other side, which gives you an open approach with your second shot.  If you get the generous front tee (only available in casual play), you can easily clear the lake and have a fairly short approach shot for eagle, like this one.  From the back tees, even if you can get to the rough on the other side of the water, you’ll have a chance — here’s a 5-wood hole-out from there that gets just enough through the tree!  At worst, from this rough, you can hit a driver that still gets through the tree onto the green.

If you can’t make it, you can also try to stick the grass between the 2 houses perched up to the left.  If you can’t make the distance with a straight shot, try a C3 driver at that spot — you can even skip it across the water and have it bounce up in that area, so no excuses for laying up anywhere!  If you can land it here, you’ll also have an approach for a chance at eagle — here’s a great hole-out from that spot! And here’s another one, applying some nice hook and backspin into the green.  You can also take this path, avoiding the tree and using the slope of the hill for help!  Need to curve it?  No problem — check out this handsome shot! There’s also grass to the left of the left house, and whether you intend to land here or get a lucky bounce, you can hole out from here too! Here’s one more from the corn — watch the roll take it all the way in!

The green has an awful slope here, so if you have the luxury of shaping a shot, cut into the slope.

This one’s for fun because your ball may never be here, much less end up in the hole on the next shot!

Here is a 5-wood from the farthest right box that the tree cuts down just a tiny bit to make it a perfect shot!  You can try this shot with a 4-wood too if you have it.  I’ve also found that a 7-wood can cut over the corner of the tree with an A2-type shot.  Finally, if you’re convinced you just can’t cut it around, take a look at the orange trees in line with the green.  If you can manage only to clip them, you can thumb a driver right through.  If you’ll be going through a lot of heavy stuff, you can pound a B2 driver that should still get there.

If you’re really pinned on the right box, consider this shot — you can take a 9-wood or 7-wood (X22 set) over the building and over the right orange tree!  Take a look at this option (this was a 7W) next time you’re on this box.  You won’t get this lucky, but here’s a 2-iron that cut right through the trees!

From the back middle box, play a 3-wood or 5-wood A1 backspin shot.  Here is a gorgeous hole-out with a 3-wood from there, and here’s one with a 5-wood!  OR, take a look if a C2 type shot over the house is possible!  Here’s an incredible shot with a 5-wood from the other angle!

From the middle box, a 9-wood goes right over the tree if the wind allows you to get it there!  This 9W went 255 and was still coming in hot!  Otherwise, you can cut a 7-wood around the corner.  There is a gap in the trees too that some lucky shots might exploit.

From the left box (only available in casual play), you can follow this example — a perfectly shaped low-lofted shot with backspin.  Better yet, you should have a mostly unimpeded straight shot into the green from here!

A typically tough finishing hole, this green is awful and will take tremendous skill to stick it.  From the right tee box, a driver won’t clear the tree blocking your path, so take this into account.

You’ll have an offset look, so you’ll have to be precise with your aim to hold this narrow green.

Use a driver as a last resort normally — the low loft might not clear the hill guarding the front, and it’s harder to stop on the green with backspin.

Laying up will certainly be an option and should always be done with the wind in consideration.  Even so, you’ll still have a difficult chip shot, and this hole is never over until your ball is in the cup.

Here’s a 3-wood dunk from the left middle box.
And here’s an amazing dunk from the right middle box!
Here’s a crazy-good 3-wood from the far left box.
This is an outstanding 3-wood from the far right box.
Here’s an outstanding cut shot with a high-teed 5-wood…wow.

Check out this incredible A1 driver skipped off the hill!

Finally, a shot-of-the-year candidate…a miraculous bounce turning a water ball into an ace!  Here it happens again from a different angle — looks like the water spits the ball out into the hole!

EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

This should be a pretty good eagle opportunity for you.  If the pin is in the middle of the split green, you goal is to leave your shot pin-high on either side of the split green so that you have a manageable putt.

Remember that the shot is downhill slightly, so your drive may travel farther than you’d expect.  Also remember that you need to clear the water, so don’t let the distance indicator fool you into thumbing a low-lofter.

Here’s a driver hole-out with the pin on the left, and here’s a hole-out with a 3-wood with the pin in the middle.

HOLE-OUT FROM FRONT RIGHT BOX
HOLE-OUT FROM THE MIDDLE-LEFT BOX
HOLE-OUT FROM LEFT BOX

The best place to be off the tee is just over the water (usually a driver backspin).  From here, you can float a 5-wood over the top of the trees onto the green for an eagle putt!  Here’s a nice 5-wood hole-out from that general area.  If you have a 7-wood, you have even more flexibility and can hit your drive a little farther.

I also want to point out here that the palm leaves seem to be more porous than leaves on other trees, meaning you have a better chance of getting through them with little or no contact.  Keep this in mind as you are considering shortcuts throughout play on this course!