Bayou Bay — Hole #11: Par 3
By Golden Tee Fan • Category: Bayou Bay • • Leave a Comment (0)This hole can be tricky, and the wind really dictates what club to use. The green likes to leak to the right.
This hole can be tricky, and the wind really dictates what club to use. The green likes to leak to the right.
This is a very tough, long par 4.
From the 3 left boxes, the tee shot is easier – just hit an A1 around the trees and back down the fairway, leaving an easy iron to 3-wood approach shot. Here’s a short hole-out available from a generous tee box.
If you’re on one of the right 2 boxes, here comes trouble. Aim one rotation left of the trees you have to get around, and hit an A1.5 or A2 2-iron to 3-iron with backspin. If you barely clip the leaves on the last tree you have to get around, you’ve achieved the best shot possible. You will end up on the right side of the fairway with a straight driver to 3-wood approach shot. If the wind is strong in your face, consider a 5-wood around the trees with backspin, because the wind will help push it to the right side where you need to be.
If you miss all the trees but are still in the fairway, you’re still in decent shape – you’ll just have to hit a B3 3-wood to driver around the trees on the left. Watch out for leaves up top. Consider using roll if you might come up short with a back pin – roll will help the ball climb the upslope on the green.
If your tee shot doesn’t get around these trees and ends up in the forest, it sucks in there (although you may run into Bigfoot and all the other animals in there, which is fun unless they are in your way)! Just get out safely without hitting another tree.
Just play a straight drive down the middle. There’s usually no need to flirt with the narrow neck of the fairway, so just lay back in the fat part. Here’s an example hole-out. If you have a right tee box, you’ll need a C3 backspin 3-wood or driver.
Pin placement can make it tough to attack the pin, but the green is large – make sure you get birdie at worst! There are tee boxes on all sides here! Here’s a hole-out from one side. Check out this hole-out from the other side. Here’s another hole-out from across the lake.
This par 5 has several options. From the middle tees, you can hit a B1 3-wood with backspin to the biggest and closest landing area to the right, leaving a C3-type driver with backspin into the green. Or, if you can get to the end of the island closest to the green, you’ll have a 2-iron to 3-wood shot into the green (watch out for invisileaves). Here’s a hole-out from there. If you’re close enough from the middle tees, you can also hit a straight shot or an A1 to reach the middle of the 3 fairways.
From the right tees, you can also hit a big A1 driver to land the main fairway, leaving only a 6-iron into the green (should have a big right/forward wind to help with this tee shot). Here’s a short approach shot for double eagle!
If you are on the far left box, you can go to the farthest left of the 3 main fairways. Aim left of the left fairway and hit an A1. Make the rough or fairway and you have a clear approach shot.
Several different tee boxes here, but you’ll always be shooting at the same spot. You want to shoot out to the very left side of this crooked fairway, getting as far left and close to the trees as you can while still staying in the fairway (the rough is usually fine too though). From there, you’ll see plenty of gaps in the trees for you to hit a 3-wood or driver through to the green.
If you’re on a close tee box and feel lucky, go ahead and hit a C3 into the left of the forest, landing in the brown crap. Don’t go too far left or there’s water. From here you should also have an opening to shoot straight in with a 4-iron to 3-wood.
Usually, it’s the farther left, the better. If you’re farther away from the trees, it’s a driver. If you’re closer, it’s a 3-wood because you’ll need more loft to get over the hill.
If you get the easier tee box, you can play it long down the right side and still have a shot into the green in two. Here’s a hole-out from there.
Sometimes this opening par 4 can be drivable, but mostly you’ll be trying to lay up for a straight shot in with the wind. Here’s an example hole-out after laying back.
This par 4 can set up easy or very difficult. If you’re hitting across the lake to the upslope, its a 5-wood to driver, angled in from either side. Coming at it from the left, here’s an example hole-out.
If it’s from the opposite side, you have a small river and a downward green which makes it tough to land with a bad wind. Here’s an example dunk!
If you’re on the side box, there’s a tree that grabs almost all shots from here. Sometimes it can be straight, but it takes a masterful B3 around the tree to land on the right sloping green, and then you have to get lucky to stay on. So, if you have this look, just lay up left of the hole for a SW approach. Sometimes you’re at the back of this death box and you have a favorable wind, where a 5-wood will clear the death tree. But watch out — you’ll need to clear 300 yards!
Sometimes you’ll just have to lay up here if driving the green looks too difficult!
You need to get through the narrow neck of the fairway, past the trees on the left, to have a clean look at the green in two (will probably require a 350+ drive). If you’re really far back, you might turn right and hit a C3 for added distance. If you still can’t drive past those trees, you may have to hit a B3 5-wood or 3-wood around the trees into the green. Usually, a long, straight B2 drive with topspin gets you far enough to be fine for the approach. Here’s a straight hole-out after a nice long drive.
Drivable about 20% of the time. If you’re on the front big box, you can drive this hole with a straight shot. From anywhere else on the front box, hit an A1 or C3 to get there.
From the back boxes, just lay up and try to create a straight-wind approach shot again. Here’s a hole-out from the fairway.
This long par 5 can be very hard to reach in 2. From the middle tees and 670 or so out, just blast a couple straight drivers to get there in 2 — here’s a straight driver in for double-eagle.
Otherwise, hit it as far down the fairway as you can with an A1 or C3. From there, sometimes you can have a 280-yard shot all the way up to a 370-yard shot. If you’re still 330+, there’s no way a B3 will get there, so you’ll need to hit a big C3 driver with backspin and still catch a lucky bounce. If you’re over 350, a big C3 driver with topspin and a lucky hop out of the sand will sometimes work — this shot got a nice bounce and rolled its way in! And here’s a nice bounce out of the sand!
This hole is usually drivable – just use your placement on the tee box and the wind to know whether it’s best to go around the right side or the left side of the trees.
If you’re somewhere in the middle, it’s a nice wood shot to the green. Here’s a pretty straight hole-out.
If you’re on the right behind the trees, you may be able to A1 around or C3 around. Watch out for the water! Here’s a nice little cut shot around the trees.
If you’re on the left, don’t try anything stupid. Just lay up, and not with a C3 2-iron because that will get to the water. Watch your approach shot, too, as this green slopes to the right towards water. Here’s a hole-out from there.
Sometimes pin placement can make it tough to attack the flag, so make sure you get your birdie here. You just have to read the pin and the wind to know which type of shot is best. The wind affects the ball more here because it’s a downhill shot. The green has a strange shape too, so make sure your putt is not blocked by the rough! Watch out for all the fringes on every hole of this course. Sometimes they are crooked, and if you putt from them, you will miss (to check, turn your guy left or right a few times and look at the fringe from the side). Here’s a hole-out to a front pin. Here’s a hole-out to a back pin.
If you’re on the left box, you can turn left a ways for a tee box landing zone, or aim down the fairway and hit a C3 down the fairway and around the water. You’ll have an easy iron in from here.
The middle set of boxes makes this hole tough. The fairway is similar to a torso and legs. If the wind is going to the right, hit a driver to the end of the left side of the left leg, but short of the stomach. From here, you will have a mini-A1 or a B1 5-wood or 3-wood to the green — here’s a nice hole-out coming in from the left.
If the wind is going left, hit to the right side adjacent with the tiny island, or just a little past. This usually takes a driver also to stay under the trees. From here you will have a 5-wood to 3-wood B3 around the right side of those trees.
If you’re on the right set of boxes, turn all the way right and look across the water. There’s a nice big landing zone there that is a straight 5-wood to driver into the green. I have no idea how this 3-wood skipped the water — amazing!
This green is really tough, sloping down and left towards the water. Watch a downhill putt here because if you’re off-line even by a hair, the ball will trickle into the water!
This is the second toughest hole ever, and the toughest par 5 ever. There are 2 ways to get eagle here.
If the wind somewhere between barely going left to all the way right, hit far down the left side of the fairway (C3 may be good for added distance). Try to leave yourself with a 5-wood approach shot. In no way is this an easy 2nd shot, but you need to then hit a B1 backspin around the trees by the green, just barely missing left of the left-most tree, to stick the green. Hitting water or trees on this shot is a good possibility, but keep practicing! Here’s a cut shot that used the hill to get the job done!
If the wind is going hard left, get as far to the right side of the fairway as possible. Your second shot will be a 5-iron to 5-wood through the larger gap in the trees on the right. I don’t know how this got through, but there are holes in the trees if you get lucky! If you hit a tree, 99% of the time you will stay on top of the hill, where you are still only a chip shot away. Then make sure you rotate 2 or 3 times to the right to adjust for the wind if hitting a lob wedge or sand wedge down to the green.
Several options here to leave you an approach shot to the green in 2.
If you’re close enough to hit it down past the sand on the left and onto the lower fairway, hit it there and close to the water, as far left as possible. You’ll have a 3-wood with backspin to the green. Here’s a great hole-out with a 4-wood.
If you’re stuck behind the trees, you can sometimes hook a 5-wood around and over the left side of the trees. This shot ended up well behind the sand in the lower fairway, but check out this amazing driver bounced through the sand into the hole.
If that’s too difficult, lay up a 2-iron (or whatever club gets you there) on top of the hill to just before the sand on the left. From there you will be about 330 yards out and you’ll have to hit a hard driver with backspin, but it’s still doable. It’s tough to get it close to the sand without going in the sand, but that’s what you’ll need to do to be able to reach it in 2 from up here. The advantage is that you’re hitting much more level with the green. Here’s a nice hole-out from there.
The tee shot on this par 3 can be anywhere from a putter to a driver!
If you get a really close tee box, you can hit a putter down the hill to the green. Be careful with a downhill putt here, because this green likes the rollovers. With a funky wind from this close box, you might try chipping an iron at the green to help the wind not take it so much. Here’s a 24-yard ace with the lob wedge!
From across the water, it can be a tough wood shot (usually a 3-wood). Try to land the green on the fly without spin and use the hill in back as a backstop, just like this! DON’T hit the hill on the fly or you’ll shoot back in the water!
This hole can set up VERY tough! You can have anywhere between an 80-yard shot and a 250-yard shot. The green slopes big time left towards the water, and the wind is usually wicked.
If you’re really close with a sick crosswind, try Sobe’s “arcade shot”. This is when you go left of the hole (if the wind is going right) instead of looking at the hole, then hit a B3 “schwerve”. For example, let’s say you’re 100yds out, with a down 8 green and a wind 16mph to the right. Click one to the left of the green, hit a smooth B3 9-iron with backspin. It will start hooking to the left to combat the wind, but the loftiness of the club will let the wind take it back right to the green. This is one of the toughest shots in the game to master. If you can chip a 5-iron or 6-iron 80 yards, this might be a better option for you.
If you’re across the water, it’s normally a 5-wood shot. But if the wind is behind you and you know your 5-wood is too much club, hit a 2-iron backspin into the hill on the right of the green. From the end of the green to about 20′ right, your ball will bounce off and onto the green. Here’s an example hole-out with a high-lofted wood.
Remember, if you get wet with any tee shot here, you will be shooting from the hill on top of the green, which can be scary. But, you can always putt from here to save par.
Always drivable, but difficulty depends on your setup.
For most setups, it’s an easy thumb shot with a 5-wood to driver. Here’s a nice 3-wood hole-out. Here’s another 3-wood hole-out from different box.
The only time this hole is tough is when you’re on the tee box behind the trees. If you are close and right, you will want to hit a B1-type drive through the middle of the V-shaped tree (sometimes you’re only 280 with a wind behind you. Try the same shot, but pull your club back 75% of the way and finesse your follow-through (when not pulling back the full way, you have to put a little extra hook on it)).
From any other placement here you’ll want to go around the left side of it altogether.
The stock driver misses the leaves without backspin, but you’ll usually want backspin here if you know you’ll miss the leaves. Wind and pin placement determine this too — sometimes you don’t want backspin or else you’ll pull the drive back off the green into the water!
This par 4 is always drivable, although sometimes it’s 370 into a big wind. With water all around this tiny green you only want to go for this hole if it’s easy or if you have to have eagle to beat your opponent.
An 8-iron to driver, always with backspin, is the club here. Here’s a nice ace with a 7-iron. Here’s a long one-hop dunk! And this is always an option — skipping across one island to another en route to the hole!
If you choose to lay up, this can be tough as well. There are plenty of spots to do this, but make sure that you will have an easy 2nd shot into or with the wind because if you get wet laying up into a side wind, you’re looking at bogey.
An “always” drivable par 4. If this hole looks like death, that’s because it just killed the foursome in front of you. This is THE toughest hole in all of Golden Tee Golf.
From the front box closest to the trees, a 5-wood will get under the trees if you’re close. If you’re on the back half of this box, you have to go around the leaves. Here’s an awesome 5-wood cut shot.
The box behind or to the left of that gives you a nice wood shot to the green. Here’s a B1 3-wood that was intercepted on its way back to the water :). Here’s an incredible 3-wood bank shot off the video board!
From all other boxes is where the shot multiplies exponentially in toughness. So from any other box, you will have to hit a “lucky” shot through the trees, missing all the trunks, leaves, water, and sand!
Laying up on this hole is sometimes an option, but be careful where you lay up. You might give yourself a worse shot to try to stick! If you lay up far down the fairway, make sure the wind is blowing left where you end up, because you will have a crazy sloping right green. A lot of putts and chips end up in the water in front of the green because of the severe slope.
One more note – some guys are ending up with stroke limit on this hole because of a rock in front of the green. They will have a chip roll off the front of the green towards the water, but instead of getting wet, it gets lodged under a rock and there’s no escape! As if this hole needed any more obstacles…
Just make sure you’re not short! Be careful with a front pin and a low-lofted club. If you thumb it, you have a good chance of ending up short in the water. Club up or pull back to get extra loft hitting uphill to this green. Here’s an example hole-out.
This green is sometimes drivable with a lucky turbo-bouncing C3, but watch out! This green is 250-feet across, so if you’re on the wrong end of the green, you could be 3-putting from 200+ feet! It’s better just to shoot a straight driver 300+ in the fairway to get a clear look at attacking the flag with your approach shot — here’s an example hole-out.
From every tee box, you will either be turning left once to blast an A1 driver with topspin, or you will be turning right once to hit a C3 driver with topspin. Hit this one hard. If you get past the sand, you’re gold. Even if you’re in the sand but you get out far enough, a hard 3-wood or driver will get there on the approach — here’s a nice hole-out from the sand just short of the fairway. Here’s a hole-out from one of the grassy mounds.
This par 4 is drivable 75% of the time, but it’s very challenging.
The front left box gives you the best chance. Aim for the right side of the green and hit a C3 5-wood to 3-wood with backspin, The follow-through is the key here — make sure you hit enough “3” so you don’t come slamming back into the mountain, but don’t go so far out that the ball doesn’t come back to the green. Practice makes perfect!
From the back right box, it’s a little tougher, but you’ll be hitting the same type of shot with a 3-wood. Here’s a great ace using that shot. If the wind is blowing hard to the right, you may have to lay up as described below.
Be careful with a driver — it may not have enough loft to reach the landing area unless you hit it hard. However, this shot did just that and is a gorgeous ace to watch! Also, make sure your shot is a “spinny” C3 — this helps ensure that the shot ends up going out to the right. Sometimes the machine won’t read the trackball right if you just pound out to 3 without spinning it backwards, and then you’re slamming into the mountain.
The back left box makes this hole very tough. If you are on the very front of this box with a big right-to-left wind, you can aim for the green and get lucky with a huge C3 5-wood or 3-wood. Otherwise, aim straight down the fairway and hit a C3 driver with backspin. This will get you out far enough around the trees to leave you with a nice wood shot into the green for a chance at birdie. Here’s a driver hole-out from the fairway.
This hole is sometimes drivable, especially from the front left box with a good wind. Just hit a C3 into the green. Sometimes with a headwind you’ll need to blast a C3 and catch a lucky bounce but you can still get there. Here’s a high-teed driver ace!
From the next box back, it’s only drivable with a HUGE tailwind and a HUGE C3 with a few lucky bounces. Make sure you hook it enough and don’t go into the water.
From all other setups, pick out a spot that gives you the best approach shot with the wind and pin placement, whether that be in the fairway or in the sand. Hitting out of the sand is okay from almost any close sand trap, so don’t be scared to dump one in there. Here’s a hole-out from the fairway.
If you can get to the second fairway across the water, this one is easy. Stay right as much as you can, because the fairway slopes left. Here’s an example hole-out from there. Just watch out for this fringe when you’re on the green, because it really throws putts off track!
If you cannot clear the water to make the second fairway, lay up short and to the right on the first fairway. This will give you a difficult, but makeable, second shot where you hit a B3 wood around the trees and hope to stick the green. Sometimes, you’ll be able to shoot a low liner through a gap in those trees as well.
If you’re way back on the box but you can reach the sand, try to dump the ball in the skinny sand trap 3rd from the right. There’s a nice gap between the trees here where you can thumb a driver with backspin right onto the green.
Here’s another always drivable par 4. This hole can be an easy straight wood shot, an A1 or a C3, all depending on the tee box.
From the left box, you can come straight at it — here’s a hole-out from there.
If you’re toward the middle of the boxes, an A1 5-wood will clear most of the left trees if you’re close enough to get this there. You can also cut a 2-iron around the left side of the trees and roll it up to the green. Here’s a nice cut shot around the corner.
If you’re tucked away back and right, sometimes you’ll need to chip a C3 driver (60-75%) around and through the gap on the right. Be careful with this shot. If you hit a tree trunk, you might not be in a position to even stick the green on your 2nd shot, and you will take a par or worse.
If you’re on the close back right box, a 3-wood will get you through the gap and over the next tree.
Sometimes one of those boxes will leave you a straight driver shot underneath.
Once again, make sure you’re not short! This one can be tough too. With a front pin, aim for the back of the green and use backspin. Here’s an example hole-out. With a back pin, make sure you aim for the back of the green again with no roll. The wind affects tee shots here quite a bit.
You’ll need a big A1 drive off the tee with topspin (into a headwind) or backspin (with a tailwind), also depending on the angle you get from tee. Make sure you get the ball as far left on the fairway as you can without actually going in the rough, and you’ll have the best approach shot here with a wood — here’s an example hole-out. Watch out for the hill on the right during your approach shot – you can hit it if you’re not careful. Also be careful curving a shot into this green, because you’re off the cliff in the water if you go too far right or come up short!