This hole can be driveable at times with the right wind and equipment — but, don’t just automatically crank the longest drive you can.  Know the gaps in your clubs and don’t put yourself in a situation where you have an uncomfortable distance into the first green. EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

From the front couple boxes, you can work a 5-wood backspin around the trees into the green.  Another approach that works is to punch a low-lofted club through a spot in the trees, if you see one.  If you miss the trees, your ball will trickle down onto the green!  Here’s a great hole-out from […]

Again, if you have the D2 balls that add distance off the tee, it makes this tee shot much easier — often times you can simply carry the neck of the fairway instead of having to thread it.  Otherwise, you’ll be testing your accuracy to land in the neck of the fairway if you want […]

This hole is sometimes driveable, especially with the red distance balls.  If you’ve got a friendly tee box and/or wind, pound a 180 drive, usually with backspin, towards the green and hope that you carry!  You can usually try the shot even if you think it’s not driveable, because even if you’re short, it’s just […]

Lots of options off the tee here, but I play to the same place almost every time now.  I like to lay up in front of the lava lake, in line with the hole.  From here, you can lob a 5-wood onto the green, like this great shot (love the bubbling lava)!  A 3-wood may […]

With a tailwind, this green can be really tough to stick.  This hole really tests your mastery of distance — good luck!  I love having the 7-wood and 9-wood here, which allow you to float the ball over the hill more easily. HOLE-OUT FROM THE RIGHT BOX HOLE-OUT FROM THE LEFT BOX HOLE-OUT FROM THE […]

The decision off the tee here can be perplexing!  Initially it appears as if you’d always want to go to the left, but the Golden Tee course designers were kind enough to ensure that if the tee shot strays to the left a bit, it will roll right down onto the lava rock, which is […]

Again — no reason to get fancy off the tee, so poke it out there and nail your approach shot, like this!

Nothing else to do other than lay up and try to hole-out from there.

This should be an eagle for you just about every time — here’s how to attack it: First, if you have one of the tee boxes on the right, line up with the green.  You’ll see a landing area a bit over halfway there.  Sometimes a tree impedes the shot, but either way, this is […]

Low-lofted clubs are a big advantage here.  With a front pin, don’t be afraid to bounce a low-lofter through the sand with backspin. If you have to use a 9-wood, play the wind as best you can to leave yourself a putt, and rarely use backspin. HOLE-OUT FROM BACK LEFT BOX HOLE-OUT FROM BACK RIGHT […]

There are 3 options off the tee here.  Most often, you’ll be laying back far enough to give yourself a line at the green from farther back — usually a 3-wood for the approach.  Here’s a 3-wood hole-out from laying back. If you have a closer tee box that’s lined up with the gap in […]

The best place to be off the tee is just over the water (usually a driver backspin).  From here, you can float a 5-wood over the top of the trees onto the green for an eagle putt!  Here’s a nice 5-wood hole-out from that general area.  If you have a 7-wood, you have even more […]

This should be a pretty good eagle opportunity for you.  If the pin is in the middle of the split green, you goal is to leave your shot pin-high on either side of the split green so that you have a manageable putt. Remember that the shot is downhill slightly, so your drive may travel […]

This hole can be devastating.  As if #16 weren’t enough to ruin your round, now you have to deal with this monster.  Not only that, but it’s a very tough tee shot, and a very tough approach shot, and a very tough putt!  You’ve got dangerous water off the tee on the left, which the […]

This shot just demands that you nail the right distance with backspin.  It’s downhill, so don’t get crazy and blast your drive in the water, especially if you have a tailwind.  Again, the green is separated by a gap, so try not to leave yourself without a clear putt at the pin.  Here’s a crazy […]

Get your drive past the sand down the fairway to leave yourself with a tough A1-type approach into the green.  As with many holes in Golden Tee 2010, don’t leave yourself on the wrong side of the green where you don’t have a clear putt at the hole!  Here’s a great cut-shot after a long […]

You’ll almost always be hitting over the trees, pretty straight at the green.  However, club selection is very important!  A 5-wood can usually clear the trees no problem, a 4-wood clears all but the highest spots of tree, and a 3-wood needs to be over the gap in the middle or around the upper sides […]

This one is tough to reach in 2.  The fairway sand is strategically-placed to envelop a tee shot that’s too aggressive, and then you’d have to lay up.  Similarly, if you’re not aggressive enough and leave your tee shot too far to the left, you can’t make it in 2 either.  However, a 9-wood can […]

This shot can be a little intimidating with some cross wind, but don’t panic.  In the case of a cross-wind, play a very small cut shot into the wind to keep your ball straight through the gap.  If you don’t play cut shots very often, be careful to only pull very slightly to the left […]

The best play off the tee is to aim out left, giving you a clean look into the green with a 5-wood or 3-wood.  Here’s a 3-wood knocked down perfectly by the tree guarding the green, and here’s another one that lands cleanly and finds the hole.  If you do stay to the right, a […]

There’s no big advantage here to carry the water around the corner off the tee, so just lay back for an approach shot that’s not much more difficult.  Here’s a holeout from the middle fairway, well behind the winding river.  The green is pretty long, so if the pin is in the back, lay off […]

Don’t just blindly blast a drive as far as you can here — the better play is to hit something like a 5-wood off the tee, close to the water.  This gives you another lofted 5-wood to work with on the approach, where you can float it over the trees instead of having to curve […]

From the back box, lay up in the fairway as long and left as you can.  From here, you can bring an A1-type approach shot into the green, usually with no backspin, as shown here.  It’s better to be left than long, because even if you don’t tee off long, you could still have a […]

Here you’ll almost always be hitting a straight-180 shot, usually with backspin (unless there’s a strong headwind), aimed at the rough between the green and the hill to the right of it.  Use as much loft as you can while still giving you the distance you need.  A 5-wood has the perfect loft, a 4-wood […]

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

Did you escape 17 without killing your round completely?  No?  Keep at it — it’s going to take a lot of practice.  You’ll welcome anything after that, and hole 18 should be a birdie to finish your round on a positive note. The ideal setup is one where you don’t have to use driver off […]