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With a headwind, this 7-hybrid settles into a left pin.
This downhill shot carries farther than you may think, so you’ll always have enough club to get there in one…you might club down one to account for the downhill shot.
The bridge can also assist — check out this 3-wood that catches the wood and bounces into a front pin!
From the back box, here’s a driver to a back pin.
There never seems to be a reason to have to curve around the right side of the hill — you should almost always be able to go right over the top.
With a tailwind, just club down and carry to the downside of the hill with backspin to settle down onto the green. From the back, a medium-teed 3-wood even has enough loft to carry over the cacti to the green, making backspin an option.
With a headwind, you can use a high tee to carry and settle the green. This high-teed 3-wood had plenty of loft to clear and find the hole.
Here’s one of the most amazing shots you’ll see — cactus plinko!
And watch out for that pesky ostrich – check out this hilarious shot!
Here’s another always driveable par 5 that will just challenge your shot-making and distance control. Most often, you’ll set up a bit left of the green and angle it fairly straight right through the gap. Depending on how hard you hit it, the hills by the green can be in play with the elevation or sometimes not. The good news here is that the green is flat, so anywhere should give you a great chance at double eagle! The bad news is that if you get wet off the tee, you’re put back in the rough by the green with almost no chance of taking that same route into the green, so you’ll be going the long way around and putting up a big score. Lesson learned – don’t be short! A chip back into the green for eagle is fine.
This high-teed 3-wood was angled perfectly through the gap to find the hole for an ace.
While a high tee is safest, it’s not always necessary…check out this 5-wood that catches a great bounce off the top of the back-right hill directly into the hole!
Here’s a nice backspin ace to a front-right pin.
From the front left box this appears always to be driveable…here’s a nice high-teed driver ace from there to a left pin.
From the back right box this is sometimes driveable depending on the wind. If you like your chipping skills you may want to try to drive the sand in front of the green for a nice uphill chip.
From the back center box, you’re probably laying up for birdie.
Some setups allow you to cut around the corner taking aim directly at the green, but of course the water makes this risky. Check out this great ace!
It’s also not a bad approach to try to cut a big driver around the corner and hope to catch a deflection off the back wall onto the green…here’s a perfect example of that for an ace. But of course there’s risk of getting stuck in a sandy mess or catching water too. This one uses the rock behind the green to bounce back into the hole!
It’s not typically too difficult to stick the green here, but if you’re on the wrong tier, you’ll have some problems, as putting behaves peculiarly up the slope. You may need several attempts to putt up to the second tier depending on the distance. So, especially with a pin on the top tier, make sure you aren’t short…a chip back down is likely better! It’s slightly downhill so tee shots carry well here also.
This drive deflects off the right edge perfectly into a front pin.
Here’s a nice drive with bite to settle into a back pin. And this drive catches a nice little hop to the upper tier for an ace.
Not many holes provide as much risk/reward as this one — it can give you a double-eagle and a chance at a huge round or it can be a blow-up hole, killing your round. First step is to size up the conditions.
I’ve had success over the top with a high 6W but usually only with a side wind. A head wind means you won’t get there, and a tail wind means you’re going long in the water. Here’s an ace with the high-teed 6-wood. Here’s another great one to a left pin. Here’s a third to a back-right pin. It clears most any point over the arch but it helps if you don’t necessarily have to go over the highest point. So the high 6W seems to be the best choice if you have the distance and especially with side winds.
With a head wind and a back tee box I’ve made a high 5W over the top work as well…you’re back far enough for that extra elevation and the extra club gives you the distance you need, while the wind will help it stop short of the water. From really far back, a high-teed 4W makes it over the sides of the arch too, but you won’t often need that much club.
But what about tailwinds? From the far back, a medium-teed 5W will clear the sides of the arches but not the high center, and then you can use backspin and hopefully hold the green. In the Fore! version, you could play a driver under the arch and get a certain kick up the rocks onto the green. However, it doesn’t seem to play the same in the LIVE version. We may see people get lucky with this shot but it seems difficult to pull off. It’s something about playing to the back angle side of the high point on the large rock in front of green that will pop your ball up on the green, but you have to have precise distance and elevation to hit this point.
If you’re frustrated yourself too many times by getting wet long or going OB short and being put back on the tee, then lay up for eagle — eagle is a fine score here. There’s the traditional layup spot out left that allows for something like a 7-hybrid or 7/8-iron over the top into the green. If you find yourself in trouble you can try to cut around the left, but it’s risky…check out this amazing hole-out!
But there is also a layup spot up top and left along the ridge, among the bushes and cactii that “usually” works out okay. Pop your tee shot up there and you should have a clean shot into the green, unless you happen to catch one of the obstacles. Still, this is usually worth the risk as it’s an easy tee shot once you get the hang of it and then a fairly easy approach. Don’t lay up to the ridge short and right — that one’s OB! Remember, eagle is a great score here!
From the center box, here’s an ace to a front-right pin.
From the left box, this shot uses the bridge to bounce back to a front pin!
Not too much to think about off the tee here…you’re going to have a wood into the green, potentially fighting a nasty wind with a downhill shot. Here’s a nice 6-wood that trickles into a left pin.
Some rare setups allow you to drive the green here — it can either be a high-teed driver A1 or C3 depending on the wind. There’s not too much risk to try either as the only real trouble is the water on the right. There are some bushes and things in the dirt short but it’s still worth a chance at an eagle putt or chip if conditions are favorable…but like with other holes, you’ll want to have a lob wedge in your bag. Check out this giant A1 drive that carried the green and into the hole!
Most other times you can either lay out right in the fairway or carry down to the next tier in the rough for a shorter shot.
This is typically an awkward shot where you have to play the wind and the gap in the hills to try to stick the green. It’s usually best to take aim left of the green and maneuver your shot to the right through the gap, since the green slopes left towards water. Here’s a great high-teed 3-wood to a back right pin. And this 5-wood floats and dunks into a back-right pin.
The exception may be when the wind is blowing right, where you can high tee and float a shot left into the green.
Complexities could arise if the pin is close to the tier division on the green, as you never want to be on the wrong side of that…but it’s usually manageable on this par 3. However, you need to make sure you have the right clubs in your bag for this one. It can be a longer iron/hybrid shot where you’re uncomfortably in-between clubs and having to deal with carrying water and sticking a green. For that reason, I recommend having a 7-wood to handle a lot of these distance problems.
From the front box, here a hybrid ace to a right pin.
From the back left box, here’s a nice hybrid ace to a back-left pin.
Like many holes on this course, this shot always seems to carry very well off the tee, so more balls will be lost long than short. The slope of the green is not extreme, so just look to land anywhere giving you an eagle putt to finish your round.
From the back-left box, here’s a nice backspin driver to a right pin.
From the right box, here’s an amazing 3-wood dunk to a back pin!
Here are some early screenshots of the course! Here is the official preview of the new 2018 African course.
“In southern Africa lies a golf course rich with elements: a mix of sand and ocean and fescue, an environmental concoction new to the game you love. Here at Safari Dunes, you’ll walk amongst wilder beasts and elephants, while your wayward tee shots might end up in a hippo’s mouth baking in a nearby hazard. The scenery is both marvelous and grungy—the bright green fairways tucked between danger and beauty alike. Let’s take a walk on the wild side.“
Here is a 6-hole preview and discussion from the Golden Tee lounge!
GT Par is most commonly -29 here. It can be -28 if #16 is not reachable, and it can be -30 if #12 is driveable!
Watch Paul Luna play a demo round through all 18 holes!
This post will contain tips, tricks, and information related to the 2018 Golden Tee course Safari Dunes! 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 most popular club/ball combo on this course will also be discussed.
With the newer tee boxes, this one can rarely be drivable…check out this huge C3 that finds the cup!
No problem laying up shorter here since it’s just the first hole. But after a long drive, here’s a hole-out to start the round.
Try to get as long and stay as far left as possible, but because this is an early, short par 5, it’s also an option to lay up short, such as left of the sand…here’s a driver hole-out from there.
Here’s a 6-wood ace to a front pin.
It’s not much, but the elevation can affect incoming shots, especially to a front pin…from the back-right box, this driver caught a nice bounce to find the hole.
The best setups allow you to drive over the junk to the second fairway, playing out to the left.
Most other setups call for a layup on the sloped landing area between the fairways straight ahead, which calls for distance control. You can play left to the island, or right in front of the sand on the other fairway layup area.
There’s a newer front-right box that allows a much easier drive over the dirt to the second fairway.
It’s best if you can reach the second fairway past the neck, but that’s not always possible. The alternative is to hit out to the end of the first fairway as close as comfortably possible, which also allows you the distance for a fine approach shot.
There’s a newer tee box out left that makes it more challenging to hit the neck of the fairway, but it presents an opportunity to drive out towards the green to the desert dirt. A good high-teed driver here leaves you only 100-150 yards into the green, so even with a bad lie, you have plenty of distance to punch your approach onto the green in two.
You can go over or under here depending on what clubs are in your bag, and this hole should be a consideration when choosing your club set.
Be careful trying to go under here, even though it’s inviting. Even a low-teed 290 driver might not be low enough. From the back box, here’s a low-teed 300 driver that just got under to find the hole for an ace. From farther back, this low-teed 310 driver also finds the cup.
A 0-hybrid is a great club to have here for closer looks so you can still keep it low with the correct distance! A low-teed 0-bird even skips the water when hit hard straight ahead.
There can be a look over the top in certain conditions…check out this high-teed 6-wood that dunks for the ace!
From the back box, here’s an ace to a center pin.
From the front-left box, this 9-iron finds a left pin.
From the back-right of the box, you can take a lofted (7 or 8) wood over the top…here’s an ace to a front pin. Even a high-teed 5-wood can work into a headwind…check out this ace to a front pin.
With a front pin, having a 7/8-wood is still a great option so you can also high tee and curve around the left side of the trees if needed.
There’s a newer box to the back-right where you just shoot straight over at the green with a longer club like a driver.
As a par 5 during the first half of the release, there are several layup options here, but perhaps the best is to lay up short of the right sand trap in the fairway ahead. From here, with most all setups, you’ll still have enough distance and a clear shot between those small trees into the green. Here’s a nice one-hopper off the friendly desert rock in front of the green. Here’s another with the 0-hybrid!
From the newer front-left box, this hole becomes a par 4 and is drivable.
With the correct wind, this hole can be driveable with an A1 high-teed driver, or perhaps even a 3-wood too. From the front box, here’s the 310 driver that curves all the way around for a short eagle putt. And from the back box, this high-teed 290 driver caught a small deflection off the hill to find the hole for an ace!
But most times, you can pick a landing area out left…wherever seems comfortable, and bring in your approach from there.
With the newer tee boxes out left, this one is always drivable – here’s a nice 5-wood dunk!
From the original tee boxes, this is almost always drivable. With a long setup from the back box, this driver got a nice bounce up to a back pin.
From the newer tee boxes, you might be placed farther back where this par 4 truly is shut down and becomes a birdie hole instead.
