This par 4 is drivable 75% of the time, but it’s very challenging. The front left box gives you the best chance. Aim for the right side of the green and hit a C3 5-wood to 3-wood with backspin, The follow-through is the key here — make sure you hit enough “3” so you don’t […]

This short little par 3 can be very tough, because most club sets have a gap in their wedges, and you’ll find that a lot of times here you’ll be in between clubs!  So, if you’re in between clubs here, you’ll have to hit a 3/4 shot with the longer club, which is difficult.  Don’t […]

It’s easy to think you need to clear the river to have a chance at the green in 2, but that usually won’t pay off.  The fairway slopes back towards the mud and water, and you’ll probably get stuck here instead.  The reward isn’t worth the risk, even if you can hit a 7-wood or […]

This hole has a big-time shortcut you should be using every time.  Rotate left of the green and aim directly at the big hill on the left — you’re going to want to put your drive at the top of this hill either with a 3-wood or driver with roll.  Approaching the green from here […]

This par 3 is a bit tricky because it’s a long way downhill!  And you know by now that the wind is going to affect your shot at least twice as much on the way down.  You almost certainly do not want backspin here unless it’s a front pin with wind at your back, because […]

Here’s a really tough par 3 that can easily put a damper in your round.  You’ll have looks from both sides into this green such that it might slope right 10 degrees or left 10 degrees, and you’ll often have to maneuver a small hook against the slope to give you a birdie putt.  Water […]

This hole presents all kinds of opportunities!  The green can be driven most of the time, but you’ll have to control a deflection off one of a couple rocks while choosing the right club depending on the wind. If the wind is blowing between 3:00 and 6:00, play a high-teed 5-wood with backspin into the […]

First, take a look at your tee box and the wind.  A high-teed driver cut around the corner in the right conditions can reach the green!  A high-teed 3-wood can even cut over the far right trees but would require an exceptional look — still, the high-teed 3W gives your best chance of cutting around […]

This hole will likely require a couple of small cut shots to hit the green.  Don’t get too crazy off the tee — again, distance doesn’t much matter, just get it somewhere right of the sand, preferably short so you don’t bring it into play.  Here’s a nice hole-out from behind the sand.  There’s a […]

You’ll be cutting your tee shot around the right side to give yourself an eagle putt here.  Here’s a dunk with a 5-wood with a pretty straight look, and here’s a 3-wood with a small cut around the corner.  It’s usually not too bad unless the wind is blowing right.  If you miss anywhere, miss […]

This hole looks harder than it actually plays.  Rotate right a couple clicks and play a C2.5-type shot with a hard cut around the mountain, usually with backspin.  This helps the ball come back left and gives you a better angle at the green.  No matter where you end up off the tee, you should […]

Most of the time, you should be aiming at the fairway straight ahead, especially with a tailwind!  Take a high tee and see if you can get past, or at least stay left, of the sand traps there.  Here’s a hole-out from the fairway after a long drive straight ahead.  It’s not as far as you think […]

Handicap: 12th hardest hole Category: Moderate Average Score: -1.44 / -2.00 Eagle+ 53% Birdie 40% Par 7% Bogey 1% Double+ A high tee shouldn’t be necessary here, which is good since it’s a down-sloped green. Distance control seems to be the only thing preventing better scores on this hole. Just carry the sand with backspin, […]

This is one of the toughest par 3s in the past several years, especially with a pin on the right.  Short = water.  Long = bank off the back = water.  There’s only a sliver of green to work with.  Here’s a dunk to a right pin, and here’s another great hole-out.  Pray for a […]

You CAN go left around the house to cut some distance off your approach shot, but it’s usually not worth the risk unless you’re sure it’s an easy shot.  Sometimes it is if your tee box puts you in line with that gap, so take advantage of it if it’s there.  Here’s a hole-out from […]

Most times you can curve a wood around the left side and plop it down on the green, sometimes using the back wall for a light deflection.  A high tee can help too.  Here’s a great 3-wood from the back center box.  And check out this 5-wood played off the top of the wall, around […]

The best shot here may be a C2ish driver with backspin.  You can skip if off the water (not preferred, but doable) and/or ram into the hill short of the green (preferred), rolling up and on.   Cutting into the hill kills the velocity — here’s a great hole-out using that approach!  Here’s another low-teed driver […]

There are several different angles into this green, but almost all of them will be a straight shot towards a particular target on the green.  The green slopes severely down towards the water, so it can make your decision whether or not to use backspin quite difficult.  Usually, if you’re hitting a driver, you want […]

Here’s another Yin Yang green, but it’s much more difficult.  As you’ve probably already noticed, the fringe separating the green from the mud will NOT stop the ball — it’s sloped towards the mud.  Actually, it’s like there’s no fringe at all, because if you get too close, that ball is sucked down into the […]

Find a spot in the rough or the fairway that seems like the best angle towards the flag with the wind conditions.  The approach shot can be tough here, so take a bit of time to strategize your tee shot. I’ve heard that pros are driving this hole on occasion!  One instance involved a B2 […]

Here’s one of the coolest holes in the game, offering you a chance at eagle if you can somehow land your tee shot on top of The Great Wall!  Difficulty depends on the tee box and wind.  Sometimes a straight-forward 5-wood does the job no problem, but other times you’ll have to find the right […]

This hole is always considered driveable, but sometimes from the back box it can be really tough if you don’t have the right equipment! HOLE-OUT FROM THE FRONT-LEFT BOX HOLE-OUT FROM THE MIDDLE-RIGHT BOX

A good effort off the tee is required to reach the green on your second shot.  A big A1 is usually best, but you can sometimes cut the corner just as effectively with a straight B2 shot.  Here’s a nice holed-out driver from 301.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that this is a downhill shot, so you may think about clubbing down once off the tee.  If the wind is in your face, try laying off the backspin and just landing on the front of the green, where your ball will trickle down to the middle.  Backspin can […]

There’s no need to try to clear the river here.  Lay back and stick your approach shot close.  Here’s an example hole-out from laying up a ways back, and here’s one from under 200, still behind the water.

From the front box, you’ll usually have a 3-wood to 5-wood that can be pretty straight at the flag.  Here’s a 3-wood with a bit of curve holed out from the front box. From the middle box, you’ll usually curve a 3-wood around the corner, usually with backspin to hold the green.  Here’s an example. […]

As with hole #4, you should bypass the obvious shortcut circle you see.  Instead, rotate right a couple times and play a big C3 with roll down the fairway.  The approach can be long at times, but you should always be able to get there in two, and you’ve taken the risk out of the […]

3 tee boxes and 3 potential greens present a whole array of possibilities!  The Yin Yang-shaped greens are quite difficult when the pin is tucked back into the tip, so you’ll often have to be quite accurate if you want an easy birdie putt. FRONT LEFT BOX TO FRONT LEFT GREEN MIDDLE BOX TO BACK […]

There’s nothing wrong with laying back off the tee — it’s just as easy to birdie from here.  Here’s an example hole-out from 212, well behind the water. If you’re comfortable with a bit of a longer approach shot because it would line you up with the wind, you can blast it straight farther down […]

The square landing spot is not where you should be aiming.  If you’ve got the red distance balls, just pound your driver straight ahead into the rough — you’ll still be able to get on in 2 easily. Otherwise, you can play an A1 or C3 into other parts of the rough.  The rough in […]