Here is an awesome 3-wood ace from the left-center box.  This high-teed 5-wood found the cup from there as well.

This 3-wood came around the left side with a great B1 shot and found the hole.  This one came around with more angle for the dunk!  And this low-teed driver skip was a great play to a pin on the right.

From the front left box, this high-teed 4-wood was curved around the left side perfectly.  And check out this amazing low-teed 2-hybrid with a skip and a hop off the hill!

From the back box you’ll likely want to float a shot into the green with something like a high-teed 3-wood or a driver.  Or, you can low tee it and try to play the skip — here’s another one that was a bit hot but found the hole off the skip.

Another option is to come around the left side — here’s a beautiful driver skip shot that found the cup.  This one also took a huge hop for an amazing ace!

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Incredible risk here if you want a double-eagle chance.  It’s very easy to stroke-limit if you get stuck in amongst those trees, and then your round is gone.  This driver got through the tiny gap and found the hole for an ace!  This 4-wood found the hole, but on the second try for eagle instead.  And this shot got a couple fantastic deflections off the trees for another ace!

Another risky yet sometimes profitable option is to play a big curve around the left side, where there are some gaps to sneak through.  This one settled just off the green!  This one rattled around and kicked back on as well.  And this one very nearly found the cup!

This drive got long enough out to the left to leave a fairly straight approach shot, cutting back right slightly into the hole.  Here’s another one played very nicely back into the green.  Remember not to pull back too much left of center on this shot — if you do, you’ll slam into the tree instead of going around it.  It’s more about the push forward towards 1 here to get it out instead, and keep your pull back fairly close to B.  This one actually grazed the tree, but due to the wind, it blew back on…and found the cup!

If you shoot around the side, there’s also a small gap you can shoot through instead of trying to go completely around the trees and cut back in — this one made it through and found the hole.  Just try to line your drive up with the sand trap to the left of the fairway to give yourself a shot through here.

Finally, check out this amazing pinball recovery from a drive that looked lost in the trees!

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Here is a fantastic low-teed driver cut through the gap and into the hole.  This one came in pretty hot after a big hop and an out-wind but still found the hole!

If the wind is blowing hard left, you may need to rotate another click left and play more of an A2-type shot instead of the normal A1 cut shot.  The wind didn’t look too bad here, but here’s an example of that shot.

If you can control your distance and also if you potentially have a tailwind where it’d be tough to stop even a low-teed driver, you can low-tee a 3-wood through the gap as well.  Just don’t hit it too hard because you need to keep it low!  If the wind is blowing out, you can land a bit short and let it bounce while the wind carries it down.  This 5-wood with a medium tee also got the job done!

The 2-hybrid can also be a very useful club for this shot — here’s a great one.

Finally, I’ll bet you didn’t know there’s a small gap up high right through the trees as well.  It’s too risky for most of us to try, but check out how this one bounced through and found the hole — amazing!

Also, this driver was severely undercut, but it somehow found its way around the left side of the gap and into the hole!

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Here is a description of this new course for Golden Tee 2013: “Situated directly under the sweltering sun, Jackrabbit Junction is an 18-hole trek well off the beaten path. Unlike most desert courses, this Gila Bend, Arizona creation is not jam-packed with sand, but instead spreads across the dry, sun-drenched earth that stopped growing grass long ago. Miss the green or stray from the fairway, and you’ll likely have to deal with the many cacti situated throughout. Be careful on that follow-through!”

Here is the official preview of the Gila Bend, Arizona course, and this article breaks down the course even further.

This post contains tips, tricks, and information related to the 2013 Golden Tee course Jackrabbit Junction! 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.

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

Never drivable, and with a narrow fairway, all you can do is put it out there and bring it in for birdie.  Here’s an example hole-out.

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Again, not much to do here but get it out to the bend in the fairway for your approach.  Don’t hang it out right or a little cactus might spoil your round early!  Here’s an example hole-out.

This hole can be drivable from the front boxes, some of which may only be available in casual play.  Here’s a driver ace right at it from the front box.

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Many different tee boxes here, but you’ll just be plopping your tee shot onto the green for a birdie putt.  Normally no danger in being a bit long, as you can bounce back off the hill.  So just worry about carrying the green, and don’t get crazy with backspin.

Here’s an ace from one of the middle boxes, followed by a dunk from the back box.

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If you can use a high tee and blast your drive out to the second fairway, it’s certainly best — here’s a wide-open 7-wood hole-out from there.  Even from the back box, a high-teed drive can many times carry over.  Staying to the left is a plus too, since a cactus guards the right side after you land.  If you barely clear, you may have to curve your approach shot around it.

Otherwise, you need to finesse a drive towards the end of the first fairway, leaving yourself room to hit through the cactus gap towards the green.  The less accurate your drive, the tougher your approach shot will be.  This drive ended up in a great spot for a 3-wood hole-out.  This driver shot came with some risk but was lined up perfectly to split the cacti and find the hole.

Finally, there’s another layup spot in this fairway before it juts left — this drive found it and had a nice 3-wood into the hole.

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This shot is easiest from the left-center box — normally a high tee right at the green, even though a high tee wouldn’t always be needed.  Here’s a high-teed 5-wood ace from there.

The same shot works from the right-center box where a high tee is most often needed.  Or you can work a shot around the left side of the cacti — here’s a great 3-wood that backspun into the hole.  This type of shot can be advantageous with a tailwind and a front pin, where you wouldn’t be able to stick a high-teed shot close.

From the back-left box, you can still clear the mess with a high-teed 3-wood — this one found the hole from there.  With some setups, you’ll need to hit a driver to have the required distance, and it doesn’t have the height (even with a high tee) to go right at it.  So, you’ll have to curve it in — this shot is challenging and makes for a tough eagle.  Here’s a driver that was coming in hot but caught the cup!

From the back-right box, the same rules apply.  This high-teed 3-wood went straight at it over the top of everything.  But again, sometimes you’ll have to execute the difficult driver curve shot around for a chance at an eagle putt.  As a rule of thumb, try to miss left if you miss at all — it’s easier to chip back for an eagle from there than if you’re short in the drop-off area.

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The only danger here would be an unforced error by placing your drive between fairways.  Don’t do it — just lay up towards the end of the first fairway.  Here’s a 5-wood hole-out from there.

There are some setups where you can clearly drive the second fairway, so that’s fine too — here’s a hole-out from there.

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This hole plays uphill, so you’ll usually need to play a little extra distance to stay pin-high.  But above all else here, keep your ball on the same tier as the pin!  It can be tempting to be aggressive, but you’ll likely cost yourself a stroke if you have to putt up or down a tier.  This putt up a tier was luckily able to recover!

Here’s one to the middle tier.  And this one had some crazy english on it to keep hopping back towards the hole.

This ace to the bottom tier used the upward slope to back right in.

And check out this amazing putt down TWO tiers to the hole!  Nevermind how he got up there to begin with, just be glad there’s a video of the putt :).

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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:

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

VIDEO DEMO