This post contains tips, tricks, and information related to the 2010 Golden Tee course The Great Wall, which is the consensus #1 easiest course in Golden Tee 2010.  The recommended equipment for this course is the X-22s with the distance balls, although others prefer the old birds or any other normal-lofted club set (such as the 2010 Callaway FtiQ Set).  Read below for hole-by-hole breakdowns as I partner up with the Golden Tee community to give you the edge you need to beat your friends!

Also, check out the Golden Tee Blog for a chat with Golden Tee course designer Jim Zielinski as he discusses The Great Wall!

Finally, check out the “Course Caddie” from goldentee.com, which also offers a breakdown of each hole!

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:

Some guys are driving this hole with a tailwind using a low-loft driver and the red D2 distance balls!  Even if you can’t drive it, you can consider a big A1 or C3 with roll off the tee to get pretty close to the green.  If you have good chipping skills you might be able to run one in, but be careful not to run it into the sand — par is not how you want to start!

EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

A very long par 4, but not too difficult with the flat green — make sure to leave yourself a putt.

EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT

The only thing to warn against here is if the pin is tucked in by one of the edges of the star.  If so, make sure you err towards the center of the green so you don’t have to putt through rough towards the pin!  If you have a shorter putt, say 20-feet or less, you can still putt through this fringe, but don’t put yourself in that situation!

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

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 front of the square patch is a good place to be, but there are a couple obstacles that could give you an unlucky break.

Perhaps a more consistent place to be is to the right of the big tower you see ahead of you.  Pounding a drive out here leaves no obstacles but a slightly longer approach — still, this is probably the safest play.

Here’s an example holeout from the square patch if you insist!

From the front box and middle boxes, this hole is always driveable.  Here’s an example 5-wood hole-out from the front, and here’s a driver hole-out from the middle.

From the back box, it depends — it might not be driveable for you.  If you’re playing the balls that give you extra distance off the tee, it can help you drive this green from the back box!  Here’s a nice hole-out with a couple great bounces in the sand.  For GT Par purposes, this is always considered an eagle hole.

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 fairway.  From here, you can still get there pretty easily, as shown in this hole-out.

Finally, I’ve heard that some pros are driving this hole on occasion!  Take a look at this setup next time you play to see if you can play a huge A1 with roll around the corner, even skipping over the water as it shoots towards the green!  This one had plenty of distance, using the hill to help shoot it into the hole!

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 MIDDLE GREEN
RIGHT BOX TO BACK MIDDLE GREEN

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 drive — here’s how that’s done! Here’s another great tee shot that only took normal driver distance to get there.

Here’s a hole-out from that shortcut spot if you insist. Actually, even if you miss long and land in the dirt, you can still reach the green in 2 anyway — here’s proof.  So, if you take aim at the landing spot, err on the side of being long so that you can still ensure your eagle on this hole.

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. You can also hit a 5-wood over the corner of the top of the roof, as shown here! Or, you could even hit a 7-wood with the distance balls!

From the back box, it’ll usually be a driver A1 shot, although a 3-wood can work too — here’s a great hole-out from there!

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.

I usually lay back behind the sand and water, allowing me to come into the green with anything from a 5-wood to a 3-wood.  It’s about the same distance right of the sand, too, or if you’re brave you can cut over all of it for a shorter approach!   

EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT FROM LAYING BACK
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT AFTER CUTTING OVER THE HAZARDS OFF THE TEE
CRAZY GOOD BOUNCE FROM A SHOT THAT CAME UP SHORT!

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 pull your ball off the front of the green on shots into the wind that hang in the air a long time.

HOLE-OUT FROM THE FRONT BOX
HOLE-OUT FROM THE MIDDLE BOX
HOLE-OUT FROM THE BACK 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.

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

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 degree of cut to curve a shot on top of the wall and stick it there.  7-woods and 9-woods can be wonderful clubs to have here, and you might even find yourself using something like a 7-iron.  Here’s a double eagle from the top of The Great Wall!  And check out the huge bounce this got off the rock!

The penalty for missing can be severe — if you miss left at the base of the wall, you’ll have to shoot backwards, and you’re looking at par instead.  There’s actually a thin line of grass that might catch your ball if you trickle off the right side of the wall — here’s a hole-out from that lucky spot!  As a matter of fact, if you’re really good and have a big right-to-left wind, you might want to aim for this spot off the tee.  If you land on top of the wall, the headwind will be too severe to reach the green in 2.

Check out this crazy double-bank shot — amazing.

Here’s a beautifully creative driver from 350 out!

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 driver with the red D2 distance balls that flew 390 to the green!

EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT FROM THE RIGHT
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT FROM THE LEFT

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 mud.  So, accuracy becomes even more important, and so does trying to play safe towards a fatter part of the green.

It’s almost impossible to overestimate the always nasty wind here, so club up and don’t use any roll if you’ve got anything but a tailwind.

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

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 backspin to hold the green, but if you don’t land far enough up this green, you’ll be sucked back in the water.  Do your best to stick and hold the center of this green, and then take your shot at a very tough putt!

I suggest only using your driver as a last resort.  If you don’t hit it hard enough, you can clip the wall and bounce off.  A 3-wood clears the wall much more safely.

Here’s a perfect 5-wood from the front right box (only available in casual play).
Here’s a 3-wood with no spin from the back right box — the slope is more than enough to bring the ball back towards the hole.  And here’s an incredible bounce off the top of the Great Wall!
Here’s, a driver from the back middle box — great shot!
Here’s a 3-wood with backspin from the back left box. And here’s another driver from the back left box that threads the needle just over the wall!
Horrible angle, but crazy lucky hop!
Beautiful 3-wood curved into the slope.