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Sandy Reef — Hole #3: Par 5

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With most setups, you can turn left and play along the right edge of the fairway as far as you can.  You’ll be able to get there with a driver or less.  Here’s a driver hole-out to a back pin.

There are a couple other options to play to spots in the right fairway towards the water, but you’ll need to shoot over/around trees on the approach.  This is usually not a problem with a 5/6-wood if you’re left with a setup where you need to hammer it, which allows extra height…smoother shots can still catch trees.  That’s why the left route is preferable as long as you can get past that set of trees on that side.  From the center fairway layup spot, here’s a nice 5-wood over the top.

From the far-right end of the fairway, this 3-wood goes around the right side of the trees to find the hole.


Sandy Reef — Hole #4: Par 4

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The shape of the green and tough pin placements make this challenging to end up with a straight putt at the cup.  Sometimes it’s a short chip instead, which is okay.  You’ll either be cutting a lower-lofted shot through the gap or playing a high tee over instead.

From the front-right box, here’s a 4-wood cut around to a back pin.  And here’s an incredible driver shot through the trees for an ace!

From the left box, this 3-wood cuts around to a right pin.  And this high-teed 5-wood had enough to go straight over at a right pin!

From the back box, this low-teed driver skipped the water and bounced up to find the hole!


Sandy Reef — Hole #5: Par 3

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Sandy Reef — Hole #6: Par 5

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Ideally you carry your drive out to the farthest fat part of the skinny center fairway for a shorter approach, which is always possible with the closer tee box.  Here’s a 4-wood hole-out from there.

That’s not always possible, and you can get there from the closer fat part of this center fairway too…fairway is essential but the more distance, the better.  Here’s a driver hole-out from there.

With a side wind, it looks like you might be able to get a long driver to the green in two from the very end of the first fairway…TBD.


Sandy Reef — Hole #7: Par 4

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From the front box, you can go through, over, or around.

This medium-teed 6-iron went right through the gap to backspin into a front cup!

Higher-lofted clubs may be able to go right over the top — here’s a high-lofted hybrid for the dunk!  Even this high-teed 7-iron made it straight over the top for the ace.

Other times you’ll be cutting around the side, most likely the right side…something like a 6/7-iron and sometimes high-teed.  Here’s a great high-teed 7-iron around the left side to a back-right pin.  You can also cut something like a 6-iron around the right side into the green if that works better…here’s a great ace to a left pin with the 5-iron.  It’s challenging not to let the tree leaves catch your ball, so play it out wide!  Or, just miss them altogether 🙂.

From the back box, an 8-wood is fantastic…high-tee it to go right over the top to the green to give yourself a putt.  Also, this high-teed 7-wood cuts around the right side to a back pin.  And here’s a high-teed 6-wood up around the right side to a left pin.  With stock clubs, this 3-iron found a nice gap through the trees for the ace!  And here’s a 2-iron coming in hot around the left side for another ace.


Sandy Reef — Hole #8: Par 3

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Sandy Reef — Hole #9: Par 5

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There’s no real advantage to aiming for the left fairway off the tee…you’ll often need to shoot around those trees for the approach.  Rather, turn right and aim for the right fairway over the water.  This affords you a clear approach shot and distance is not an issue at all from here.  Here’s a 6-wood hole-out from there.

If you’re tight on tees, another option is to lay up straight ahead where the fairway juts out into the water a bit.  Here’s a clear 3-wood hole-out from there!

NOTE – this is a par 5 even though it was listed as a par 4 in the beta.


Sandy Reef — Hole #10: Par 4

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A popular shot for me is a high-teed 8-wood or 7-wood around the left side cut over the trees to the green.  From the middle box, this high-teed 8-wood went straight over the top for the ace.

From the back right box, here’s a great 5-wood cut around to a back pin.  And here’s an awesome 2-iron skipped through the sand to find the cup!  Finally, here’s a high-teed 8-wood cut over the top left to find a front-right pin.

And here’s an unbelievable 7-wood ace through the RIGHT side…how did it dodge all the trees?  This high-teed 6-wood also found a way through the right side!  Apparently there is a consistent shot here that can also be executed with a high 5W or 7W, or a low driver.

Finally, for the low-lofters, this 3-hybrid made its way around the left side and cut back for the ace.


Sandy Reef — Hole #11: Par 5

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From the front box, aim to the left edge of the tree island to the right.  There’s plenty of safe landing area that will give you a short open approach to the green.

The tree island to the left is good too — here’s a hole-out from the right edge of that spot.

From the back box, lay up at the end of the left fairway and cut a wood into the green.  It’s a tough approach but generally safe of any hazards if you play towards the center of the green.

Another option is the island pods straight towards the green (either the far left or right, which are biggest).  If you can stick these, you’ll have an easy open approach.  Here’s a 5-wood hole-out to a back pin.


Sandy Reef — Hole #12: Par 3

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A couple different tee boxes here offer different approach options.

From the left box, the tree can partially guard the approach — this 5-wood cuts into a back pin.


Sandy Reef — Hole #13: Par 4

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It’s not usually hard to carry and stick this green, but it may be hard to get close to the hole with the setup.  Play a small cut if you are comfortable but make sure you at least have a putt at the eagle.

Here’s a nice 3-wood ace to a back-right pin.


Sandy Reef — Hole #14: Par 5

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It’s possible to drive this par 5 with a tailwind!  From the front-right box, this big A1 driver missed the trees and just ran on by the hole.  And here’s a huge C3 around the right side that came so close to dropping!  Finally, this giant C3 did find the cup for the amazing super albatross!

Otherwise, there are a couple decent landing areas off the tee to give a good approach.  From the front box, and pretty much always from the back box, you can play for the sand on the right side of the left area with trees.  It’s easy to stick and hold the sand and will afford an open approach shot to the green.  Here’s a hole-out from there.

From the back box, you can aim for the fairway pod a bit farther left, which also gives you a decent approach.  Here’s a 7-wood hole-out from there.

You can also turn right and play farther back to a landing area which gives you an open approach with a medium wood.


Sandy Reef — Hole #15: Par 4

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It can be tough to get on this green in 1 but at least there are forgiveness areas around the green if you miss in the right spot!  A tailwind means you can high-tee a 3/4-wood over the right side of the trees at the green (check out this 4-wood ace), and other setups may allow a high-teed high-loft driver over the top as well — check out this ace!  Here’s another one from a different angle.

Other setups allow a driver cut around the left side that can skip onto the green.  Don’t feel bad about laying up left with a bad wind.  Check out this driver skip with backspin to a center pin.  Here’s another that just missed the trees to find a right pin.  And one more well-played skip shot to find a back-right pin.


Sandy Reef — Hole #16: Par 3

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This is a tough par 3 because you may be in-between high-lofted clubs battling wind and a nasty down-slope.

From the back box, here’s an awesome dunk to a front-right pin!

From the middle box, this 7-iron spins back into a front-right pin.


Sandy Reef — Hole #17: Par 4

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This can be anything from a low-teed driver straight at the green to a 3-wood cut shot through the trees to a higher-lofted club over the trees right at it.  Again, it’ll be hard to land where you have a nice open putt at the cup.

From the back-left box, this 5-wood cut around nicely to a left pin.  And here’s another one with quite a bit of cut with the driver for an ace.  This low-teed driver caught a late water skip on its way to the hole.  And this high-teed 5-wood went right over the top for the ace!


Sandy Reef — Hole #18: Par 5

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From the front box, you can carry out to the second fairway to give yourself more options to curve around a wood on the approach to stick the green.

Especially with the back box, you can just lay up left in the first fairway.  If you are back far enough and/or have a headwind, a straight driver thumbed into the green can be a great approach.  Here’s an example hole-out.

A hard-hit 5-wood can clear the trees straight at it if the distance is right.  You can also curve around a 3-wood into the green with backspin or bite to give yourself a putt, but your look is always offset so it’s very challenging to get the curve right.  On top of that, it’s a nasty-shaped green with water all around, so having a clear putt at the hole is a big win.

If you can hammer your drive out far enough left, you can avoid most of the trees altogether…check out this 4-wood with a small cut that got a very nice bounce into the cup!


Ruby Rock — Golden Tee 2017

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Here are some early screenshots of the course!  Here is the official preview of the new 2017 Colorado Springs course.

“This is not your typical Rocky Mountain voyage. While Colorado Springs has a seat at the 2017 table, the Garden of the Gods is where the elements seemingly blend together. Ruby Rock is a combination of destinations. The red rocks plastered throughout will alter the path of wayward tee shots and approaches. And the tactically placed hazards along with the dusty, persistent dirt—an element that should not be merely glossed over—make proper shot placement a must.”

Here is a 6-hole demo from the Golden Tee Lounge!

Here is a YouTube demo of all 18 holes from the beta version!

GT Par is consistently -28 on this course.

This post contains tips, tricks, and information related to the 2017 Golden Tee course Ruby Rock! 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.


Ruby Rock — Hole #1: Par 4

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With a big C3 off the tee you can get pretty close to the green on this, and it doesn’t hurt to try so that you can have a chip at it!

Here’s an 8-iron hole-out to start the game.


Ruby Rock — Hole #2: Par 4

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You can usually take aim straight at this green and curve around the left, or sometimes to the right, of the main mountain to get to the green.  It’s easy to overcut or underestimate the loft, which can leave you in trouble early, so consider playing a little safer to give yourself that putt for an eagle chance.

From the back box, this 4-wood went straight through the gap to find a left pin.  And this high-teed 8-wood dunked to a front pin.

Here’s a 5-wood over the right corner to a right pin.  And here’s another 5-wood with more cut around to a left pin.

Check out this incredible 5-wood off the rock that bounces high over and eventually into the hole!


Ruby Rock — Hole #3: Par 3

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From the left box, here’s a 6-iron ace to a right pin.


Ruby Rock — Hole #4: Par 5

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Take advantage of setups where you can drive the second fairway, which makes this hole a lot easier.  This should always be possible from the front and middle box (from the middle box, play a big C3 out there to the left side of the second fairway).  Here’s a 7-wood hole-out from there.

With a back box and/or tough wind, the safest play is on the downslope of the left side of the first fairway, from which you’ll be able to curve a wood around into the green (although this is typically a pretty tough shot).  Here’s a very nice 3-wood hole-out from there.  The middle of the fairway can be okay too…better than being left in the rough too far up the hill.  Here’s a great curved-in driver to a front pin!

It’s a riskier tee shot, but especially with a left pin, you’ll have a straight shot into the green by driving farther down into the rough left of the first fairway.  You won’t be able to put any curve on the ball out of the rough, but a straight shot in is nice…there’s not as much elevation to clear as you might think from towards the bottom of the hill.  Here’s a picture of the look from there.
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Another option, usually less successful at eagle, is to look short and right over the mountains to the grassy landing area before it drops down to the stream.  You’ll want to be back a bit so you aren’t too far down the downslope, and also usually pretty far right to give yourself a shot into the green.  Being too far left is no good because you can’t curve your shot out of the rough.  This affords you a 3-wood or driver through the gap so you can at least reach the center of the green.  Here’s an example shot from that area.  You can see how a 5/6-wood is good from this spot, but you also see how you’d be in trouble if the pin was on the right side of the green.  Due to the difficulty to accurately place a tee shot where you need it, given a certain pin placement, I don’t usually recommend this spot off the tee.


Ruby Rock — Hole #5: Par 4

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This tough par 4 early in the round can present some nasty setups that will challenge your curve accuracy to avoid the mountains on the the approach.  Other setups require only a small cut and should be a pretty easy eagle.

From the front box, this 5-wood cuts nicely into a front pin.  And this 7-wood takes straight aim at a right pin.

From the back-left box, this high-teed 3-wood cut perfectly into a front-center pin.  Here’s another great one to a back pin.  It’s difficult to get the perfect cut to avoid the rocks and the water and keep it on the green.

There’s also a rare look from a front-right box that offers a very easy straight-in look at the green…here’s a 3-wood ace from there.

If you’re unlucky, or lucky (depending how you’re feeling after this tee shot), you may find the pot of gold!
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Ruby Rock — Hole #6: Par 3

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Multiple tee boxes offer many different approaches here.  From the left box, this 9-wood dunks to a right pin.

From the back-center box, here’s a 7-wood ace.

From the far-right box, this 9-iron finds a back pin.


Ruby Rock — Hole #7: Par 5

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The ideal place to be off the tee is far up in the right fairway, which is possible with some setups.  Here’s a 3-wood hole-out from just past the narrow neck where it opens up more.  Even with tough setups, you can aim for the fairway neck to the right of the water…you’ll need to be this far to have enough distance on the approach.

Another option is to curl your drive around to the left fairway and loft in your approach.  If you go this route, don’t hit it too far because trees block the approach if you get too close.  So lay back by using backspin towards the center of this fairway spot.


Ruby Rock — Hole #8: Par 4

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This is usually a high-teed wood right at the green where you’ll just have to worry about the wind and the distance, as it’ll clear all mountain obstacles.  With a front pin, err to the center of the green since there’s water short.  With a left pin, you may not even need a high tee…here’s a 4-wood backspun to a front pin.  Here’s another cut around the rock to spin back to a right pin.

From the back-right box, this 3-wood was overcut into the rock but got a miraculous bounce onto the green and into the cup!


Ruby Rock — Hole #9: Par 5

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Either layup shortcut spot straight ahead works, but both still provide challenging shots into the green.  You’ll often have to cut around a tall mountain using as much loft as you can get away with.  Take what the tee box gives you and hit the back-right side of either layup spot to give you the best chance on either approach.

The left landing area usually leaves you a straight shot or a small curve around the right side of the rock into the green.  Here’s a nice 5-wood hole-out.  And here’s a great 3-wood with cut into a left pin!

From the right end of the right area, this 4-wood cut nicely through the rocks to find a back pin.  From farther back, this 4-wood cut around to a left pin.

This nice family found a stray shot!
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Ruby Rock — Hole #10: Par 3

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From the center box, here’s a 9-iron ace to a left pin.  And here’s an 8-iron ace to a back-right pin.


Ruby Rock — Hole #11: Par 4

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Your goal here is to land safely in the fairway with an open approach to the green.  Getting too aggressive could mean trouble!  Here’s a nice hole-out to a front pin.  Even if you play straight ahead from the tee and lay back, you can still get there — here’s a nice driver hole-out.

Be careful cutting the corner here – you could get a bad deflection and end up somewhere terrible like this, ruining your round.
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Ruby Rock — Hole #12: Par 5

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You can go left or right off the tee depending on the setup, but coming in from the right is safer since you won’t be hitting over water.  You’ll still need to make sure to play your approach out right far enough to avoid the pesky rock.  You may also consider laying back farther than a long driver, since you can cut lower-lofted woods more into this green (especially with a right-blowing wind).  You have to try to cut into the green and hope to end up with a clear putt.

Here’s a nice hole-out to a front-center pin.  With the pin in the back left, this 4-wood caught a nice hop after a perfect cut!

Another option off the tee is to try to get your drive farther right, out in the rough…you won’t be able to cut your shot into the green, but if you’re out far enough, you won’t have to!  Check out this example hole-out from the rough right of the sand.

Going left off the tee presents an equally if not more challenging approach into the green.  You might not be able to go right at the green because you’ll still have mountain in the way.  Check out this amazing 3-wood with big cut into a back pin!


Ruby Rock — Hole #13: Par 4

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Pick your favorite layup spot off the tee here given the conditions — lots of options along the fairway.  From the left end of the front fairway, here’s a 6-wood hole-out.


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