As in real golf, most guys like to show off their long drives on Golden Tee. It’s usually beneficial to be able to crank out a long drive, because that may make the difference in whether or not you can reach that par 5 green in 2 shots. But as the game has evolved, driving accuracy has become immensely important as well. This section contains some tips to help make sure you always leave yourself a good, open second shot.

The first step on any hole in Golden Tee is to figure out how you’re going to get to the green. Be creative! Driving down the middle of the fairway is not always the way to get you to the green in the least number of strokes.

On Par 4s, an important tip is to always check to see if there’s any way to reach the green with your drive. Maybe you can hook the ball around those trees, maybe you can hit over that building that looks too tall, or maybe all it takes is a good, accurate shot into a reachable green surrounded by water. If you determine that it’s possible to reach the green on your drive, the next decision should be whether or not you want to go for it! How aggressive or conservative are you feeling? There are times in Golden Tee to lay up and times to go for it, but those depend on your current situation!

On Par 5s in Golden Tee, you’re looking to see where you can drive the ball so that you can reach the green on your second shot. Sometimes you just can’t, but often times you can. Maybe you have to land the ball on a little island, maybe you have to hit off into the sand, maybe you have to land it in an area where your next shot will thread the needle between some mountains, or maybe you just need an extra long drive to clear that second lake. Again, use your imagination, and then figure out if it’s worth the risk! If you’re curious, give it a shot – you won’t know until you try! Better yet, tell your buddy to tee off before you to go for it!

Once you figure out where you want to drive the ball off the tee in Golden Tee, it’s time to figure out the best shot type to get it there. Are there trees in your way? Which way and how strong is the wind blowing? Can you hit it straight, or do you need to hook it? Do you need to maximize distance? Do you need to hit it as close to the water as you can if you can’t clear it?

Visualize the flight of your ball to the landing area. Also realize that if you plan to pull the trackball back first, you may be sacrificing some accuracy, but you may gain some distance as well. A great tip I use is if my landing area is pretty thin, I’ll just crank the ball forward against the direction of the wind so that it lands where I want it to. Review the shot types in the section on “Using the track ball”, and figure out what you want to execute!

Next, determine if you want backspin or roll on the ball (review the section on “Backspin and Roll”), and make sure you’re accounting for the wind!

Finally, execute your shot and hope for the best! It takes a lot of practice to get the ball to land exactly where you want in Golden Tee, so take notes in your head on what you did and what the results were so you can improve upon or do it again next time!

I’m no expert on this subject, but I know about it from reading forums. The best Golden Tee players can crank out 400+ yard long drives with regularity, but I’m not one of them. The secret lies in the big-hooking A1 and C3 shots. If you can visualize a clear path where your drive can take this kind of angle, then a good tip is to shoot one of these shots off the tee for maximum distance. The ball just travels a lot farther, and by using a big hook, you get a ton of roll on the ball as well. Here’s an example video showing the execution of this shot.

If anyone has any comments to help out here with long drives in Golden Tee, I’d love to hear them!

I hear this from more and more guys, and it’s something I need to start working on more. The Golden Tee concept here is to take the wind direction and pin placement into consideration before cranking out your drive on an unreachable par 4. You want to put yourself in the best position you can to stick your upcoming approach shot by the stick. So, the tip here is to try to give yourself as much green to work with as you can, and try to position your drive so that you have as little side-wind as possible. Having an approach shot in Golden Tee with very little side wind and green to work with greatly increases your chances of leaving with a tap-in birdie, not to mention giving you a better shot at holing out!