Just lay back behind the sand on the left — no reason to kill a drive here.  Here’s an example hole-out. There may be rare cases where you can drive this green — here’s a really long high-teed driver that almost went in!  Here’s another close one around the other side.  The Air-Os can also […]

EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

Handicap: 7th hardest hole Category: Difficult Average Score: -0.76 / -2.00  Eagle+ 25% Birdie 48% Par 13% Bogey 8% Double+ 6% You should almost always drive out to the left here. Consider the wind and pin placement, and put your ball in a position that allows the best approach shot through the gap in the […]

Handicap: 5th hardest hole Category: Difficult Average Score: -0.28 / -1.00  Eagle+ Birdie 46% Par 41% Bogey 11% Double+ 12% Check out the wind and tee position, because you may be able to drive this hole! If you’ve got a big tailwind, consider teeing high a driver, which can carry 380 to the green if […]

Handicap: 9th hardest hole Category: Difficult Average Score: -1.22 / -2.00  Eagle+ 47% Birdie 31% Par 19% Bogey 3% Double+ You’ll be cutting around the corner with an A1-type shot, but accuracy is more important than distance here. A left-blowing wind makes this tee shot very difficult, so you may want low loft so you […]

Handicap: 2nd hardest hole Category: Difficult Average Score: -0.25 / -1.00  Eagle+ Birdie 39% Par 49% Bogey 10% Double+ 2% The challenge here lies in the slope of the green, because it’s hard to sustain a cut shot into that slope when you’re shooting downhill. Be happy just to stick this green for a birdie […]

Handicap: 16th hardest hole Category: Easy Average Score: -0.81 / -1.00 Eagle+ Birdie 83% Par 15% Bogey 2% Double+ If you get the “ladies tee box” up front and left, you can sometimes drive the green — check out this ace! Otherwise, carry down to the second fairway if you can — here’s a hole-out […]

Handicap: 14th hardest hole Category: Easy Average Score: -1.56 / -2.00 Eagle+ 66% Birdie 36% Par 4% Bogey Double+ The best option, if it’s there, is to blast it down the left side. There’s sand in the fairway to the left, but you don’t necessarily have to be to the right of it — you […]

Handicap: 13th hardest hole Category: Easy Average Score: -0.78 / -1.00 Eagle+ Birdie 84% Par 10% Bogey 6% Double+ This hole has two greens, but neither is very challenging. One green has a bit of slope but is pretty big — here’s a hole-out there. The other green has a trickier shape but is flat […]

Handicap: 11th hardest hole Category: Moderate Average Score: -1.33 / -2.00  Eagle+ 40% Birdie 53% Par 7% Bogey Double+ What a cool hole this one is. You can go any of three ways off the tee, and you can reach the green in two from any of them if you place your drive well enough! […]

Handicap: 12th hardest hole Category: Moderate Average Score: -1.43 / -2.00  Eagle+ 60% Birdie 24% Par 15% Bogey 1% Double+ This hole is not as intimidating as it might look. Loft isn’t usually an issue — in fact, most of the time you should NOT use a high tee so that you can apply backspin […]

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You won’t find any tips in this article, but I thought it’d be fun to share the process that GTF goes through when preparing for a year of new courses and new features! First, I soak up all the teasers and previews that start coming out 2-3 months before the release date.  I like to […]

You may have seen some pretty awesome YouTube shots this month where you saw someone (probably Putz) drive a par 4 that you never thought possible, just by hitting it straight.  I’ll point out four pretty sweet examples: Timber Bay #15 Grizzly Flats #7 Falcon Sands #6 Falcon Sands #7 I don’t even have examples […]

Now that you’ve hopefully got many games of 2011 under your belts, you have a pretty good idea of the holes on which you score well, but more so, you probably know which holes are giving you fits.  Ever wonder if other players like you are struggling on the same holes? Better yet, wouldn’t it […]

Here is a shorter par 3 that may test your skills curving a short iron into the wind.  There’s a lot of green to the right, and that’s the safe place to be.  Sometimes you’ll get a really favorable setup, so if you do, try to take advantage — here is a hole-out to a […]

From the back box, there’s no need to cut the corner much here — you don’t want to bring anything but fairway into play!  Poke it out right in a fat part of the fairway and hit a long wood into the green.  Here’s a nice driver hole-out. From the front box, you can curve […]

Lay up towards the end of the first fairway and bring it in for birdie.  Here’s an example 9-wood hole-out.  Don’t take this one for granted — you’ll need to nail your distance with sand short and long. VIDEO DEMO

Lots of tee boxes here create many different looks at this downhill par 3.  Account extra for the wind and recognize the presence of a big grassy hill on the right — it can help or hurt you depending on how you bring it into play.  Again, the best shot is to the center of […]

I haven’t seen a need yet to even consider the right fairway.  The left fairway is always reachable, usually without a high tee, but you might want a high tee to be safe.  Line up with the fairway that juts towards you and hit it straight and hard.  This should leave you a nice approach […]

This par 3 is where things start to get slightly tricky.  This usually isn’t the place to go pin-hunting either — do what you can to stick the middle of the green and give yourself a putt.  Don’t bring any trouble into play by being too aggressive, because this front 9 is very manageable and […]

Here’s another standard, flat par 4 where nothing but fairway or green should ever come into play.  Here’s an example hole-out. VIDEO DEMO

There’s never an issue taking it out to the right fairway.  Make sure you carry it far enough but not all the way through, as it slopes downward a bit.  Use a tee or backspin to stick the center of it.  Here’s an example hole-out from the right fairway. There may be certain wind conditions […]

This green is big and fairly flat, so don’t lose a stroke here trying to chase a pin tucked away to the edge.  Keep the pin between your ball and the rough, make your birdie, and move on.  Here’s an example hole-out. VIDEO DEMO

Nothing special here either — just pick a spot and bring it in for birdie.  Here’s an example hole-out. VIDEO DEMO

If you don’t have a 7-wood or 9-wood, make sure you lay back towards the top of the fairway to the left to use your 5-wood on the approach.  Actually, you can be a bit of the way down the slope for a 5-wood — here’s an example hole-out.  Here’s a 9-wood hole-out from towards […]

There are a couple of tee boxes here — one shot is longer into the upslope, and one is from the right where the green slopes left.  It’s usually up to the tee, wind and pin to decide whether high or low lofted clubs are better here for the shot into the upslope, but you’ll […]

Nothing fancy off the tee here, just poke it out right and bring in your approach.  Here is a dunk from the fairway!  Here’s another nice hole-out to a back pin. VIDEO DEMO

If you’re playing the Flares, you can lay back before the fairway gets too narrow — here’s a great 9-wood hole-out to a back left pin, and here’s a dunk to a right pin. If you want to take the skill and decision making out of this shot, just blast it straight as far as you can. […]

A 9-wood isn’t necessary here, but it sure can help.  Here’s a 9-wood hole-out playing the wind and loft nicely to a pin tucked up against the hill. Loft is no issue to the right — here’s a 5-iron hole-out to a right pin. VIDEO DEMO