This is a really tough par 3 that requires a very precise tee shot to have a birdie putt.  You’ll often be working the ball right-to-left to hold the green.  From the front box, hit 3-wood or a 5-wood, like this. From the middle box, hit 3-wood or driver.  Here’s a hole-out with the driver. […]

Just lay up long next to the water to bring in your approach shot — make sure you’re far enough out there to have a straight shot in, and the farther left you are, the less club you’ll need.  Make sure you carry the green on the fly, because there are some weird bounces if […]

From the far right box, you’ll have to hook it around the trees with backspin, possibly needing a water skip for the correct distance to hold the green.  A 5-wood A2-type shot with backspin can work too if you’re good at cutting back distance.  Or, you can use the hill as a backstop, as was […]

HOLE-OUT FROM THE BACK BOX HOLE-OUT FROM THE SECOND-CLOSEST BOX HOLE-OUT FROM THE SECOND-FURTHEST BOX

First, take a look at your teebox and wind, because you might consider driving this hole!  If you have the standard driver, and especially the red D2 balls that add distance with a straight 180 off the tee, you can pound a drive right at the green with either roll or backspin depending on the […]

Now here is a fun tee shot!  Take a close look at the log seemingly lying across the fairway.  You’ll notice there’s room underneath, and this is important because you’re going to be rolling your tee shot right under there!  Pick a low-lofted club that has the distance marker right on the log.  Now just […]

There are a lot of ways to attack this hole depending on the wind and pin placement.  A lower-lofted club works best, and you can even use the hill in front to your advantage, because the ball rolls pretty generously forward onto the green if you land on the back end of this hill.  Try […]

Take a look at your tee box and wind, and figure out whether or not you can safely hit a C3 that will stay in the fairway.  If so, you’ll have a pretty easy approach shot, like this one! If not, then try to lay back for a 5-wood into this green, because you’ll want […]

On this hole, I’ve been lining up with the green, rotating twice to the right, and playing a C2 shot with backspin through the gap in the rock — here’s a great example!  If you can really get the ball going right-to-left (via the C2), you have a better chance of holding the green with […]

From most tee box positions, you can carry either a 3-wood or a 5-wood over the top right at this green.  From the front left tee box, you should be able to take a 5-wood over the top, or maybe a 3-wood with a slight curve — here’s a hole-out from that box. From the […]

HOLE-OUT FROM THE BACK RIGHT BOX HOLE-OUT FROM BACK LEFT BOX

Some pros are driving this hole under certain conditions — I had never considered going for it!  So take a look next time before you tee off, because there’s really no harm in giving it a shot. EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT FROM THE FAIRWAY

Some pros are driving this hole with the right equipment and wind! EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on Grizzly Flats relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole: Hole Par GT Par Total Min Max Min Max 1 4 3 3 -1 -1 2 4 2 3 -3 -2 3 3 2 2 -4 […]

The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on Falcon Sands relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole: Hole Par GT Par Total Min Max Min Max 1 4 3 3 -1 -1 2 4 2 2 -3 -3 3 3 2 2 -4 […]

The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on Timber Bay relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole: Hole Par GT Par Total Min Max Min Max 1 4 3 3 -1 -1 2 4 2 3 -3 -2 3 4 2 2 -5 […]

The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on Laurel Park relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole: Hole Par GT Par Total Min Max Min Max 1 4 3 3 -1 -1 2 4 2 3 -3 -2 3 3 2 2 -4 […]

The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on The Great Wall relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole: Hole Par GT Par Total Min Max Min Max 1 4 2 3 -2 -1 2 4 3 3 -3 -2 3 3 2 2 […]

The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on Bella Toscana relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole: Hole Par GT Par Total Min Max Min Max 1 4 2 3 -2 -1 2 4 2 3 -4 -2 3 3 2 2 -5 […]

The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on Tahiti Cove relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole: Hole Par GT Par Total Min Max Min Max 1 4 3 3 -1 -1 2 4 2 2 -3 -3 3 3 2 2 -4 […]

The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on Monument Valley relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole: Hole Par GT Par Total Min Max Min Max 1 4 2 3 -2 -1 2 4 2 3 -4 -2 3 3 2 2 -5 […]

The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on Southern Oaks relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole: Hole Par GT Par Total Min Max Min Max 1 4 2 3 -2 -1 2 5 3 3 -4 -3 3 3 2 2 -5 […]

After playing several rounds this year, people started to realize that there are tee boxes on many holes that you will NOT get during Advanced Play, but you may get them during Casual Play!  Most of these tee boxes make the hole MUCH easier, even giving the player a full stroke advantage on a hole […]

I took a couple hours this week to go through the write-ups for each hole, revising them and adding more suggestions and strategies as I’ve seen fit.  I strongly suggest you take some time soon also to go back and review the analysis for each hole, because you might still pick up a thing or […]

Handicap: 1st hardest hole Category: Difficult Average Score: -0.15 / -1.00  Eagle+ Birdie 43% Par 35% Bogey 17% Double+ 5% Here is one of the toughest birdies in GT2011, especially if you don’t have a 7/9 wood. While a 5-wood can work out for you, you’re going to love having a 7-wood (or sometimes a […]

Handicap: 3rd hardest hole Category: Difficult Average Score: -0.21 / -1.00 Eagle+ 1% Birdie 35% Par 52% Bogey 7% Double+ 5% This is the toughest par 4 on the course — your fate on this hole relies on your tee shot, which makes you curve around the corner to a narrow fairway. Even with a […]

Handicap: 10th hardest hole Category: Moderate Average Score: -0.52 / -1.00 Eagle+ 1% Birdie 57% Par 35% Bogey 7% Double+ Here’s another difficult par 3 where the green slopes into the abyss below. Don’t worry as much about the pin as just sticking the middle of the green to give yourself a putt, which is […]

Handicap: 12th hardest hole Category: Moderate Average Score: -1.44 / -2.00 Eagle+ 47% Birdie 50% Par 2% Bogey 1% Double+ The wind will determine which way to go here, because you can potentially reach the green from the right or from the left. There’s also a couple of shortcut patches of grass in the middle […]

Handicap: 7th hardest hole Category: Risk/Reward Average Score: -0.89 / -2.00    Eagle+ 21% Birdie 55% Par 19% Bogey 5% Double+ 1% The suggested shot off the tee is much better shown than described. The distance marker in the picture is lined up with a boulder, and you want to get the ball out behind […]

Handicap: 2nd hardest hole Category: Difficult Average Score: -0.19 / -1.00  Eagle+ 2% Birdie 54% Par 13% Bogey 26% Double+ 5% This par 3 causes the most bogeys on the course. You’ve got water on the left and mountain on the right that can deflect your shot right into that water. You’ll likely have to […]