This par 5 is difficult to get close in two because of the narrow fairway and the pesky trees hanging over the green.  However, I’ve found a strategy that works pretty well most of the time.

With any type of wind except a strong tailwind, you can lay back in the fairway for a driver approach shot.  I usually take the distance to the hole, subtract 300, and then put a drive at that distance to the middle-left side of the fairway.  From here, then, you’ll have about 300 yards.  Line up with the green, apply backspin, pull back slightly left of center, and blast a shot hard out to 1 on your follow-through.  The shot will curve around the trees but under the leaves, and the backspin helps it settle on the green for a putt.  Here’s an example hole-out.

If you have a tailwind and the Flares, leave yourself about 210 yards from the left edge of the fairway.  From here, a 9-wood can work over and around the left edge of the tree guarding the approach.  This 9-wood was able to take straight aim over the left side to a center pin.

Planning ahead makes this eagle easier, but you can still try to curve your approach around from other places and setups.  You’ll just have to play a big curve way out to the left on the approach to avoid the trees.  Here’s a nice bender around the tree on this tricky approach shot.  The further out your drive travels, the more you need to angle your approach shot away from the trees — here’s another nice hole-out.

With the front box maybe only seen in Casual Play, or with a huge drive from the next closest box, you can blast a drive out into the rough on the left.  From here, your approach may be straight under the tree to the green.

VIDEO DEMO

You’ll always want to play over the top of the structure, with any setup.  From the front two boxes, you don’t even necessarily need a high tee to get over the top, although that’s the most common option and may be more comfortable.  Here’s a high-teed 3-wood from the middle box floated over and in.  A high-teed driver into a headwind can work too if needed.

This high-teed driver from the second-farthest box got a couple hops off the top and rolled down and in.  This driver went around the side but caught rock so it kicked back down to the green…and in!  You’ll likely want a high tee from this box, because even if you have the distance, you’ll not have the elevation with the driver.  So, add the high tee to make sure you get over the top, and adjust the power of your shot as needed.

The shot underneath is much riskier, but that hole is there for a reason, and either a poor or great setup may lead you to consider it.  Here’s an awesome low-teed driver from the second-closest box that had a perfect line straight to the cup!  This medium-teed driver from the second-farthest box just stayed underneath for the ace as well.

This hole is usually only testy with a side wind and a pin in the back of the narrow part of the green.  If you are off even a little bit, even with the right distance, you’ll have a chip onto a sideways slope.  If you are a strong putter, it’s worth considering bite or backspin on your drive to try to keep the ball towards the fat, front part of the green.  This is an easier landing area and could at least offer you a long putt over a more difficult chip shot.

I’ve never gotten the very back box, which could make this a layup hole.

VIDEO DEMO

This hole usually isn’t too bad — often an iron with bite to settle on the green.  Here’s an example ace to a right pin.  This 9-wood caught a nice little hop back off the hill to a back pin.

The tree to the right shouldn’t be in play either if the pin is on the right square — I have floated 9-woods into pins on that side when the wind was blowing left.

The trickiest setup is when the pin is tucked in the back left square, behind the structure.  You’ll have to float a 9-wood around/over to get close, or just play an iron to the visible part of the green from the tee for a putt.  This 9-wood attacked it beautifully.  You can also curve a 7-wood with bite into that section and/or use a low tee to help with distance control.

With a middle pin, this 9-wood floated over, backspun into the wall, and still made its way back into the hole!  And this one went all the way over the top, around, and came back in!

VIDEO DEMO

There are many ways to play this shot, and often still more than one option given a particular tee box and wind.  The left-center box gives you the best look, because you can take aim straight at the green and play just a small curve around the left of the trees.  You can also rotate left once from here and play more of a curve around.  Here’s a 3-wood curved around from the middle-left box that got a nice little bounce back off the wall.  The tree is really pesky here and knocks down a lot of shots if you aren’t careful.  This shot didn’t seem too careful, but it missed all the leaves anyway and got a couple bounces into the hole.  And this high-teed 5-wood was way too hard, but check out the one-hop dunk off the backboard!

From the right-center box, much more curve is needed, and here’s where a couple options are introduced.  With a helping wind, it’s a good option to club down, use a high tee, and play an A1-type shot around the trees to float onto the green.  Here’s a beautiful high-teed 5-wood from the right-center box.  This shot was not cut enough into the left-blowing wind, but it took a hard deflection right and still found the hole! The smaller-cut shot can still be there too —  this high-teed 4-wood played just a small cut around the trees on its way to the cup.

With a wind in your face, the low-teed driver is another option.  This one skips off the water, got a couple more deflections, and found the hole!  On the crazier side, here’s another driver that made its way all around the brick above the green before dropping back down and finding the cup.  And this one bounded off the statue above before trickling back and in.

And this one cut the corner completely with a left-blowing wind — it’s tough to find this gap, but the high-teed 5-wood got it done!

From the back box, the driver skip shots are more common because of the distance, but certainly are not necessary if the wind is favorable.  This driver caught a violently-fast deflection and came screaming at the cup, but it sucked in!  And watch this driver catch the stone just past the water, bounce up, and make its way over to the hole!

From the back left box, this high-teed 5-wood went right over the trees at the pin, and in!

I want you to watch what happens on this shot — you get a good view of how backspin and catching the wall after a hop can essentially flatten the drive and cause it to settle off to the right.  This allows you a way to hold the green after catching the wall at a high speed, instead of otherwise deflecting back into the water.  So when in doubt, I’d recommend backspin hoping for this kind of bounce off the back wall.

As you can see, there are lots of deflections you can take advantage of, but you can also get in trouble if you hit your shot too far past the hole.  The brick ledges continue up and you could be caught in a tough place up there, so do your best to control your distance — clear the water first and foremost, but don’t blast it too hard either!

VIDEO DEMO

The play is almost always straight down the fairway to the right — you should have plenty of club to get there in two.  A driver can work nice to minimize the effect of wind and slope — this one was played nicely and found the hole.

Use either backspin, bite, or nothing with the driver approach shot depending on the wind.  Be careful with thumb shots, because they can catch the brick and kill any spin you had applied.  Pull back the ball for added elevation to make sure you carry the green, if spin is needed.

You can also cut the corner a bit off the tee by putting a little right-to-left curve on it, which can make for a slightly shorter approach shot.  Use backspin with a tailwind to keep the ball in the fairway.  This one trickled into the rough, but check out the hop shot over the sand into the hole!  And this was way off, but it’s become the infamous deflection cheered on by the monkey.

The shortcut towards the hole is enticing, but of course a bit risky.  It can make sense if the wind is blowing directly at or away from the pin.  Here’s a hole-out after sticking that spot.  Or, you can lay up short of the sand and bring it in with a driver.  Keep in mind, however, that if you do end up long and roll over, there is sand that may keep your ball dry.  From there, a wood can recover nicely.  Even a  longer wood can work if needed!  Don’t count on your ball staying dry with a tailwind, though…the headwind is what likely may keep the ball from bounding into the water.

VIDEO DEMO

This year’s Design-A-Hole has a lot going on.  There are a lot of options, so you’ll need to size them up depending on your tee box.  From the front boxes, this hole can be drivable, and you’ll always want to go for it.  Even with a wind blowing hard right, you can still curve a high-teed 3-wood around into the sand at least to give yourself a chip.

This high-teed 3-wood from the second-closest box found the hole!  Here’s another ace from there.  This high-teed driver played the sand to find a closer cup as well!  Check out the amazing shortcut this 4-wood took on the way to the hole!  And this one amazingly found its way through the trees and into the hole!

From other boxes come more options, but the sand out to the right is in play and sets up for a nice approach shot — here’s an example hole-out from there.  This should be your “go to” shot on this hole, as it’s pretty easy to stick off the tee, and you’ll usually have a decent line to the pin.  It only gets tricky if you are on the front-left part of the sand and the pin is on the left as well, because a tree hangs down and will catch your approach.  In this case, just aim out right to the center of the green instead.  Make sure to give your shot enough power so the distance and elevation carry you onto the green!

There’s more sand out that way to the left which is reachable from the next box out, especially with a wind blowing left.  This can give you a much closer approach shot — here’s a hole-out from there.

Next, a 9-wood or 7-wood can shoot up to a fairway patch on top to the left, which leaves a long wood into the green from there.  Here’s a nice 4-wood hole-out from there.  This 3-wood also found the hole.  Getting over the stone shouldn’t be an issue, but just keep it right of the overhanging tree.  This option may be desirable depending on the wind.

Finally, you can curve a driver through the center gap to leave you an approach shot in from the fairway over to the left — here’s a nice 5-wood hole-out from there.  You may require a bit of curve from here at times too.  Since you may have to pull off two difficult shots to reach in two this way, it’s not an often-used option for most players.

VIDEO DEMO

There are tee boxes from the side and from the corner here, and the shot can get tricky when the pin is tucked up against the wall with a wind countering it.  From the side, here’s a nice 9-wood ace to a front-right pin.  There is also a ledge you may have to deal with if the pin is tucked left — this shot went right over it and in!

From the corner, here’s a good shot to a pin tucked left.

There’s another box coming at it straight on that may only be available in casual play — here’s an ace from there.

VIDEO DEMO

A low-teed 4-wood often works well here — it stays under the first obstacle and goes through the second obstacle instead of over it.  This lets you hit it hard but still have correct distance.  Check out an example of that shot here.  Just be careful using backspin and/or hitting it super hard, both of which elevate the shot and could leave you crashing high into the bricks instead of through the gap.

If you use backspin, hit it about 90%, with nothing: 95%, and with roll, you can crush it, since trajectory is lower with roll and you want to get high enough through.

Another possibility through that gap is a medium-teed 3-wood, again with just thumbs (about 90% speed), or a high-teed driver with thumbs (same 90% speed) — these give similar elevations to the low-teed 4-wood shot yet allow for alterations in distance if needed, or if you aren’t playing a set with a 4-wood.

Once you find a shot that works consistently here, stick with it!  For me it’s the low-teed 4-wood, hit hard but not totally crushed.  Then you just move around in the tee box a bit to adjust for the side wind when needed.  Also, with a back pin, consider putting bite on your shot instead of trying to let it roll all the way back.  With that narrow part of the green, you could roll into the sand instead of leaving yourself an easier shot of a longer putt by playing safer.

If you have a big tailwind and are in the middle of the box or farther back, you can hit a high-teed 9-wood over everything.  Use a tee, move all the way back in the box, and crush it!

If you slide left or right, you can see a small gap on either side of the far structure.  It’s narrow, but you can work a 3-wood under the first overhang and then around the far one — this 3-wood took a tight line around the left side and found the hole!  And here’s the same tight shot around the right side to a back pin.  I’ve not had success trying this option, because that first overhang is still very much in play and you have to stay inside of it to have a chance.

And check out this high-teed 5-wood around the right side!  Tony prefers this shot on a consistent basis, so you may want to consider it if the low-teed 4-wood doesn’t look good for some reason.  It looks risky, but apparently it works!  Mouth also pulled off this shot with a high-teed 4-wood.  This attempt didn’t go so well, but check out the recovery!

Finally, here is an amazing low-teed driver around the left side that somehow missed all the trees, got a kick off the stairs, and found a back pin!

We believe this hole changed slightly from the video demo shown below, where a 4-wood could actually get over the second obstacle.  So, you’ll need to go around or through it instead.

VIDEO DEMO

Before teeing off, size up the wind and pin position.  If you can thumb a shot straight ahead, short of the water, and still have a straight shot into the green, then that should be your option.  Check out how this approach kicked off the tree to find the hole!

If you have a nice wind and/or need to get out to the second part of the fairway to have a better chance at birdie, then high tee a driver.  Pull back a bit left, but then shoot forward all the way out to 1.  You want to make sure you have plenty of room out to the left to curve back around the structure without crashing into it, and you don’t want to overcut the shot by pulling too far back to A either.  Check out this 9-wood over the trees on the right — another way to come at it!

Finally, during most conditions, you can high-tee a 5-wood right over that tower!  Give this a shot sometime and see how it can save you some difficulty and possibly a stroke on this hole.

Here’s a great recovery from the left rough for a hole-out eagle.  Here’s a hole-out from the right side of the fairway after a long drive.

If the pin is tucked all the way to the right in between the sand, you can also play the hill to the right as a landing area to help trickle back down.

VIDEO DEMO

The only legitimate chance of eagle here is to look to the right towards the green, and locate the shortcut patch.  Depending on the wind, you’ll play a couple different types of shots.  With a headwind, you’ll want a high tee, loft and an accurate line through the middle of the structures to nail the patch.  Here’s an example shot to the shortcut patch towards the line of the green, although the ball seems to have disappeared in the video :).  If you are going to miss, aim a bit right, because you can still bounce back off that hill onto the fairway patch.

With a tailwind, it’s very difficult to hold the patch with a high tee.  Instead, use backspin and still aim for the middle or right edge of the patch.  If you nail the distance, the backspin will hold the ball there.

If the wind is blowing left, you’ll need to shoot a 180-type shot out to the right to combat the wind.  You’ll normally use a high tee here to help with elevation through the gap, but it’s not absolutely necessary.  You can also play a small cut shot from left to right to help the ball stick.

From here, you should have plenty of club to reach the green with any wind.  This driver took advantage of the hill to roll back in.  With a pin on the left, I recommend a driver with backspin.  If you don’t apply backspin, your ball may get stuck on the side of the hill, and there isn’t a risk of spinning back in the water with that setup if you carry the green.  And this shot is not for most of us, but check out this incredible driver skip from this spot.

If you get wet with this difficult tee shot and you don’t get a drop that allows you to reach in two, consider shooting ahead to the grassy rough on the next inlet up to the right.  From here you’ll have a much shorter approach shot and more green to work with.

Since you are not guaranteed a birdie drop if you get wet trying for the shortcut, the route to the left could be for the birdie player, or if you want to try to preserve a good round with a tough setup.  Hit your drive out there, and hit another shot towards the end of this fairway.

VIDEO DEMO

This tough par 3 usually forces you to carry the green to retain your backspin.  You’ll often be in between clubs, and the wind will be tough.  Here is where you can practice your curve shots into the wind to counteract it, especially if you need to cut into a tough pin placement.  Be creative — use a low tee if it will help, and do your best to stay dry and keep your round alive.  There are so many tough setups here that it’s hard to describe them all, so here is where you get your practice with curving lofted irons in tough winds.

If you find yourself faced with a putt that will roll into the water if missed, it’s a good spot to lag putt closer to (and level with) the hole.  Preserving a par here is much better than losing 2 strokes and still being faced with the same putt again!

Here’s a great ace from the back left box to a tough pin.  Here’s another one from there getting a nice hop to a left pin.

Watch this one get sucked in from the front left box.  Sometimes you’ll have to play some pretty extreme angles — check this one out from there as well.

VIDEO DEMO

This is one of the toughest eagles in 2013, followed immediately by perhaps THE toughest eagle in the game.  In most cases, it doesn’t hurt to go for it, because the sand and the rough below the hole will catch most errant shots.  Let’s start there, because this is very entertaining.

From the front box, you’ll be able to aim fairly straight at this green.  This 7-wood curved around and landed up in the brick but caught some great bounces back down into the hole!  A 9-wood is another common option — this one also played the front brick and bounced in.

It’s almost always there from the middle box too, but the wind makes all the difference on the difficulty.  Here’s a great high-teed 7-wood curved around from the middle box that incredibly bounced cleanly through all the brick and back into the hole!  This high-teed 5-wood also settled on the brick and rolled back down and in.  This 4-wood did the same — check out how the wind killed it so it could settle straight down.  On the other hand, this 4-wood got an incredible kick backwards out of the sand to find the hole!  Here’s another one with a 6-wood, where the out-wind kept the ball up on the brick so it could settle back down nicely towards the pin.  And this 7-wood kept turning left until it found the pin.  Finally, this high-teed 3-wood was an amazing play into this pin.

The back box also offers some opportunities to drive the green, but you’ll need some help from the wind and the tee placement.  This high-teed 5-wood from the back box barely got around the right side and then caught a perfect hop off the brick into the hole!  This one also caught a great hop off the brick over the sand, where the wind pulled it back down and in.  It shows you how you can still hit that gap from the back box in some conditions.  This medium-teed 5-wood also found the gap, settled on the brick and rolled in.  And this shot actually found the fire pit, bounced out, and then found the cup!  This one did the same, but dunked in the hole instead!

Even a high-teed 3-wood is possible from the back box, believe it or not — check out this incredible shot!

In many cases back here, you’ll just be laying up a short ways ahead to give a clear-in approach shot. You can also go farther down the fairway to bring it in, but it’s usually not as good an angle.  Check out the bounce back this one got with a big headwind!

There’s a tee box up to the right likely only available in casual play that provides a straight shot at the green — here’s a 5-wood ace from there.

The fire pits on these holes are unplayable lies, as you may expect, ha — here’s a shot that got an unfortunate bounce.

FINALLY, here’s one of the more amazing deflections you’ll ever see — 3-wood off the tiny back tree FTW!

VIDEO DEMO

This is perhaps the toughest eagle in 2013, and I’m not even convinced that sticking the green is possible under certain conditions.  Many of the aces I’ve seen here were “luckily” intercepted by the hole.  If you miss, then left and slightly long is the place to be!  That being said, there are ways to attack this hole for each setup.

In general, with a headwind or wind blowing left, you’ll want to float around a high-teed wood trying to land the left part of the green, where it will then settle for a putt.  With a tailwind, you’ll likely want to retain backspin to keep from rolling off the back of the green, but that also makes it hard to keep from sucking off the right edge.  We’ll talk about a right-blowing wind farther down.

From the front box, you can go right at this one — this 3-wood stayed under the leaves and found the hole.  Those leaves are pesky, and if you can find a way to stay under them, it’s certainly to your advantage.  Any higher loft requires your shot to be taken way out left to start.

From the middle-right box, here’s a high-teed 5-wood with a ton of cut that found a right pin.  However, that one got kind of lucky to miss the leaves.  You’ll usually want a low-lofter to stay underneath — here’s a perfect shot with a low-teed 4-wood.

From the middle-left box, this high-teed 4-wood found the hole.  And here’s a 3-wood with backspin for a nice ace as well.

From the back box, here was a high-teed 3-wood intercepted by the hole.  It can also be shut down from here, so lay up in the fairway with a tough look.  Another option is to look around the right side!  Check out this driver curved around the right that caught the front of the green and bounced up and on.  Here’s another example of that driver around the right.

Now, something else to keep in mind with a wind blowing hard to the right is that a low-teed driver rammed into the hill by the green can pop up, where the wind can carry it on!  This can help you hold the green where it would otherwise be very tough to stick with that wind.  This is actually the preferred shot among many pros given this wind, but it certainly takes some practice.  Check out this ace with the low-teed Ballista driver from the left center box!

VIDEO DEMO

Here is a description of this new course for Golden Tee 2013: “Tucked away in Nag’s Head, North Carolina, Cape Haven is home to the largest sand dunes on the east coast and one of the most unique golfing experiences in the entire country. While the plentiful dunes can impact your round if you happen to miss the fairway, the choppy Atlantic seas can also come into play on errant drives and approaches. Bring your sandals and your sand wedge; you’re going to need them.”

Here is the official preview of the Nag’s Head, North Carolina course, and this article breaks down the course even further.

This post contains tips, tricks, and information related to the 2013 Golden Tee course Cape Haven! 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 Hawks and Ballistas are also used by some.

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

With a favorable wind, this opening hole can certainly be drivable from the front box.  Here’s a high-teed driver right at it that found a front pin!  A big A1 high-teed driver can work too — here I am driving the green on my opening round here.  Of course, you don’t want to find yourself up against the edge in that pot bunker, so the straight route is the safer play — maybe you can make a chip if you are just shy of the green.

Just lay up from the back box — here’s an example hole-out.

VIDEO DEMO

Here’s an example hole-out.

VIDEO DEMO

Here’s a nice little dunk from the middle box followed by a backspun ace from the right box.

VIDEO DEMO

Here’s a 5-wood hole-out from the end of the bunker-ridden fairway.  This driver also found the cup from the center of all the traps.

VIDEO DEMO

Here’s a nice 4-wood ace from the back center box.

This 3-wood found the hole from the front-right box.

And this driver was intercepted by the hole from the back-right box.

VIDEO DEMO

Here’s an example hole-out.

VIDEO DEMO

You may have to carry 340 or more to reach the green if you play out to the left fairway.  It can be done sometimes, but you also don’t want to get wet trying, and you’ll have to put extra emphasis on your drive to be as far right as possible.  It’s worth consideration sometimes if the wind is blowing towards the green.

Most of the time, you’ll be playing to the narrow fairway out right.  Missing left is wet, but if you miss slightly right, you may still catch some sand at the bottom.  And from here, you can still get to the sand to the right of the green on your approach, allowing you to save birdie!

Here’s a great 7-wood around the left of the lighthouse from the narrow fairway.  This driver made it around the left from the very back of that fairway.  And here’s a 5-wood dunk around the right side.  Finally, this shot actually deflects off the left side but still finds its way to the cup!  And this one rammed into the right side but also got a very generous deflection to find the hole.

If you happen to get wet, there are occasions where you can still reach the green from the drop zone.  It’ll take a good wind and a precise shot — here’s a nice example.

There’s a teebox possibly only available in casual play up to the left a ways, and from here, you can fly your drive to the second far fairway.  Here’s a hole-out from there.

VIDEO DEMO

Here’s an ace from the middle box.

From the back center box, this one rolled around the hill and found the cup!

VIDEO DEMO

Here’s a nice 3-wood from the back right box that carried the green and found the cup.  And this driver curved around the left to suck back into the hole!

This driver from the back-center box caught a nice little hop towards the cup.

Here’s a 5-wood from the middle box that caught some nice bounces and trickled back to the hole.  And this big curving 4-wood was also an impressive play.

VIDEO DEMO

Nothing wrong with laying up straight ahead, just leave yourself a bit of clearance from the sand mound on the approach.  Here’s an example hole-out.

If you get a good setup and really crave a big drive (or if you get the much closer tee box), you can reach the second part of the fairway for a shorter approach — here’s a hole-out from there.

VIDEO DEMO

Here’s a nice one-hop hole-out from the end of the first fairway.

Here’s a hole-out from the second fairway after a long drive.

VIDEO DEMO

If you play out left, you need to lay back a ways from the sand mound, otherwise you may not have enough loft to clear it towards the green.  At the same time, you can’t be so far back that a driver won’t even get there in two.  This driver had just enough to clear it from where it was positioned.  And this driver got a nice bounce coming in from the left fairway.

The sand mound isn’t quite as bad from the right side but is worse to the left edge of that fairway.  Still, it shouldn’t come into play as long as you leave a bit of room from the end.  Here’s an example hole-out from the end of the right fairway.

VIDEO DEMO

This par 3 can be really tough, especially with a bad wind and/or if you have the back box.  Sometimes it’s best to work a very small-cut driver against the wind/slope to hold the green.  Here’s an awesome 3-wood dunk from the back box.

Here’s a one-hopper from the front-right box.  This 7-wood found the cup from the middle box.

Finally, this errant tee shot got an incredible deflection out of the pot bunker, directly into the cup!

VIDEO DEMO

Club down and hit it hard!  You need as much loft as possible into this elevated green guarded by a hill and pot bunkers.  Short is bad, and long is wet, so you need to nail the distance.  If in doubt, aim for the grassy hill in between the bunkers and hope to hop over onto the green.

Here’s a great 3-wood ace from the left center box.

This 3-wood got a nice hop from the front right box.

From the back-right box, this driver hopped off the hill and settled down into the hole.

VIDEO DEMO

This hole can be drivable from the front boxes with a high tee and a nice wind.  Here’s an amazing shot from the front-right box that hopped the bunker and almost found the hole!  This one came within an inch of dropping.  With an out-wind, you can also go straight at it with the high tee — this one almost found the hole too!  It does come with a bit of risk, as you could find yourself up against the ledge of the pot bunker and needing to chip out backwards.

From the front-left box, this big C3 driver did find the hole!  And from the front-right box, this huge 424-yard A1 driver also found the cup!

Otherwise lay up to give you the best shot in given the wind.  Here’s a hole-out from the left side of the fairway.  This one dropped in from the center of the fairway.

VIDEO DEMO