This section breaks down how to play each hole at Golden Tee’s Woodland Farm, in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Check back soon to see how this course and specific holes rates difficulty-wise among all the 2009 courses!
Check back here and learn even more tips and tricks, and how to play from each of the tee boxes on the course!
So what’s the best set of clubs to use when playing Golden Tee 2009’s Woodland Farm? Well, I got feedback from 25 pros on their choices, and here’s what I found!
The most votes went to the new Big Bertha set available in 2009. Players like the combination of the 310-yard driver and the loft that the woods offer, and the driver is one of the few low-loft clubs that can be worked through the covered bridge on hole 4!
Coming in second is the old hybrids, still a favorite among amateurs and pros on any course.
The low-loft clubs (310 driver) and 2007 hybrid set (0 Hybrid) also offer a club making it easier for hole #4, and some players like how it’s easier to work these lower-lofted clubs on some of the driveable par 4s. Oh, and the D2 balls are the most popular choice, followed closely by the Gamers, and then the Freaks!
Here’s what the players are saying early on about Golden Tee’s new 2009 course Woodland Farm!
AMJ — GT Par is -28.
Jeff S — Trees and elevation changes galore!! Some tight greens too. If you hit a cow, yes…it does MOO.
AMJ — Played the old birds the first round and the low loft clubs the second round. Both can work, but I’ll be sticking with the low lofts for now (I have rekindled a relationship with the 4W). Honestly I don’t remember a ton about his course. I think my main impression was, “that’s a fun course,” but nothing jumps out at me. Just looking at my two rounds combined. GT Par is at least -26, but I’m sure there was a hole or two that I messed up both rounds, so it’s at least -27, probably -28.
I have made it through the bridge witha 2 hybrid twice…might not work from other tee boxes though.
Nothing fancy on hole 1 — just get out at least to the top of the hill and try to line up the wind with the pin as best you can!
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT
There’s no point in trying to clear the lake here — just punch it down the fairway. Be careful on your approach shot with the sandy moat in front — a low-lofted club may get stuck in there, so make sure you fly the green and stick it!
Here’s a tough, long par 3 that can set up over 300 yards! It’s slightly downhill, and you’ll probably have to fly the sand, landing on the green and sticking it by the pin. Make sure you leave yourself a clear putt at the flag because of the oddly shaped green!
Time for some fun! This hole is great. It’ll take some practice, but you should always be trying to punch a driver (or a very low-lofted iron) through the covered bridge onto the green! The tee box is 60-70 yards long, but it’s always in line with the bridge. You’ll have an offset look through the bridge, so it’ll be tougher to be accurate, but that’s part of the fun!
Most of the time you’ll be using your driver with roll to punch it through. Pull the club back 1/4 to 1/2 way, and shoot forward with 50-75% power, depending on how far away you are. If you can get the ball to touch down inside the bridge, it should roll up onto the green! This is definitely a touch shot that will take a lot of practice, but when you get it down, it’s one of the funnest tee shots in the game!
HOLE-OUT WITH PIN IN BACK
HOLE-OUT WITH PIN IN FRONT
3-WOOD OVER THE TOP
AND ANOTHER ONE
STRAIGHT OVER THE TOP
AMAZING SHOT — HOOKS WITH BACKSPIN TOWARDS THE PIN
AND ONE FOR FUN!
Here is a manageable eagle opportunity on a par 5. You have to get long, but more importantly to the right, off the tee, and many times rotating left and hitting an A1 will be the shot for you to get far out to the right side of the fairway. However, you can also really cut the corner with a successful C3 if conditions are right, then you’ll just have a little iron shot in for eagle! With a good tee box and drive, you can have a clear approach shot into the green in two. If you do have to hit a C3-type shot around the tree, be wary of the sand in front of the green! The loftier club you can use, the better.
The safe play is to lay up out to the right, far enough where you have a clear shot into the green. But what fun is that?
There’s usually room to play a small C3-type shot with a 5-wood over the trees, if the 5-wood looks like it offers the right distance to get to the green.
If you’re feeling daring, there are tiny gaps in the trees to finesse a driver into the green. It helps if your tee box lines up with the largest gap, because then it’s actually manageable to hook a driver with backspin onto the green. It’s certainly a risk, but with enough practice you can really gain a stroke on your competition here by being able to pull it off! Something like a 0-hybrid can fit through here.
Pin placement can make this shot difficult sometimes, as can the fact that you don’t know whether the green will have slope of up 7, down 7, or left 7, because of all the different tee boxes! Use the strategies you already know to attack this green based on the slope.
Be warned on downhill putts here — I had a Down 7 putt roll over! So pull back to A or C and putt it more gently to ensure the same never happens to you!
From the right tee box on this par 5, there is a fairly big landing area along the river that offers you a shortcut into the green in two, but it is REALLY tough to stick! It’s very hard to get around the trees and carry the landing area without getting caught up in the trees or the river. Take it out wider than you may expect, because those trees really poke out to the right.
In all actuality, you don’t really need to try for this spot anyway, because you can always get there in two by going around the left.
From the left tee box, just stay long and left, whether that’s a straight B2 shot or a C3 shot to create a bit more angle. Above all else, keep it in the fairway, where you’ll have anywhere from a B2 5-wood to an A1 driver that you can bring into the green in two.
This hole offers a lot of looks from two tee boxes set up perpendicular to each other. If you’re closer to the barn, a 5-wood does not always clear the silo rising up in the middle, so work around that if you can. From the front right tee box, a 3-wood clears the bar just fine if you aim at the green. And from the back of the back tee box, a loftier driver can clear the barn if aiming at the green. So, you’ll probably have a club that can at least clear the barn, if not the silo as well.
If you’re way back on the box and unsure, you can also try to work a C3 with backspin around the tree into the green. It’s a par 4, so even if you don’t end up on the green, you should still have a chip and a putt for birdie!
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 1
CUTTING A 3-WOOD OVER THE TREES
A FRIENDLY KICK
INCREDIBLE TRICK SHOT
OFF THE PIG — CRAZY!
CHIP OFF THE COW AND IN — AMAZING!
ANOTHER AMAZING TRICK SHOT
YET ANOTHER FORTUITOUS BOUNCE OFF AN OBJECT
Yikes. Golden Tee sometimes likes to punish you coming out of the clubhouse for the back 9, and this hole certainly fits that bill. If you choose to hit a long drive, you’re almost certain to have a tree blocking your approach shot into the green.
Instead, I sometimes like to lay up short into the little peninsula jutting out into the river, which you see is around 160-180 yards out. Get as far left as you can without clipping a tree or rolling into the river. Remember, you can always work an A1 type shot around the tree for your approach shot if you’re too far right, but if you’re too far left, it’s hazard time. If you can execute your tee shot well enough, you can usually hit a 5-wood straight into the green, which is ideal here!
If you’d rather take your chances with a little hook shot into the green, that’s fine too — odds are, you’ll have to be shaping one shot or another here in order to have a decent birdie putt!
On this par 3, you’ll be on any one of 5 different tee boxes, hitting into a well-guarded green. If conditions are tough, just aim for the middle of the green and deal with your putt, rather than ending up in the water or sand!
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 1
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 2
From the left tee box on this crazy par 5, you can usually play a big A1 with roll and get your ball to either carry, skip, or bounce down to the lower-level fairway to the right. If there’s a big wind at your back, you may consider laying up at the top of the left fairway, but it’s very difficult to get there in two from here unless you have this type of wind at your back.
From the left side of the right box, hit a big C3 with roll into the middle of the fairway. You’ll still have a long way into the green, but this is your best shot to set up an approach that might get there in 2. You can also cut the corner over the trees a bit by using a 5-wood C3 shot!
From the right side of the right box, you can usually hammer a B2 right down central that will leave you within striking distance of the green!
Depending on the distance of your approach shot in, you might have to play a C3 or A1 here also. It’s uphill, so if you try to hit a B2 with roll and it gets caught up in the elevated fairway, it may not go more than 300 yards! This green is well-guarded, so you may have to try to skip it over the sand and hope it holds the green or fringe!
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 1
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 2
From the left fairway, check out this huge driver hole-out!
This par 4 with an island green is usually driveable but very tough! There are 4 tee boxes, and sometimes you’re on the back of one and simply can’t get there with your driver. If this is the case, you at least have a lot of fairway to work with so you can line up your approach shot with the wind.
As with most driveable par 4s, you’ll see an offset look into the flag, meaning you won’t be able to take dead aim with a B2 shot. This of course adds to the difficulty of the shot! As expected, use the most lofted club you have that will get there, and to improve your chances, aim for the fattest part of the green. If you can stick it here with backspin, you’ve got your eagle putt, and you can’t complain about that! Remember too that if you plan to play a small curve into the wind, you’ll lose just a bit of distance over a 180-degree shot!
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 1
FLIRTING WITH WATER — TWICE!
I DARE YOU TO TRY THIS AT HOME!
A LAY-UP GONE WONDERFULLY WRONG!
ANOTHER SICK SHOT
This hole has several looks among 3 tee boxes, but you should always check out the small gap in the trees leading towards the pin. Most of the time, you’ll have a look with anything from a low-iron to a 5-wood to a driver that has the proper trajectory to fit right in that gap! It will usually be a finesse shot that rarely will have a clean angle into the green. More than often, the tree to the left of the green will catch your drive if you get through. If you anticipate this, you can aim to land a bit long and left, and when it catches the tree, your ball will trickle down onto the green for an eagle putt!
If the shot through the gap in the trees is not there, pick a point in the fairway that gives you a clear approach shot at the flag, and stick it there. It’s very tough to get eagle anyway on this hole, so it’s not terrible to play it safe and take your birdie this way too!
One final note — if you are on the far-right tee box, look for a gap OVER the trees that a lofted wood can clear, floating your shot down onto the green instead!
CLEANLY THROUGH THE GAP
CLIPPING THE TREES BY PLAN
RAMMING IT THROUGH!
UP AND AROUND THE TREES!
On this hole, you’ll usually be laying up in the circle fairway, although sometimes you can clear the river to the next fairway. If you’re laying up in the circle, be careful, because it slopes down and can leak into the water if you hit it too far!
With this elevated green, loft becomes important again. If you have to hit a low-lofted iron because of the distance you have left, it’ll be harder to get your shot safely on the green. The Big Bertha clubs offer a big advantage on this hole because of the 7-wood and 9-wood, but you can still get a 3-iron or 3-hybrid high enough on the approach too — it’s just more difficult.
The pin is usually on the right, and the green slopes that way, so make sure you land your approach high and left and let the ball trickle down that way towards the flag! The fattest part is also in the middle, so it makes a good landing area.
The easiest shortcut here is to a grassy hill just over the river — if you are on the left tee box, you can line up with the green and you’ll see it straight ahead. Pull out your 3-wood (you’ll need the loft) and crank it straight ahead on top of this hill! From here, you’ll have a good look at eagle, but there’s sand guarding the front (as usual) and backspin won’t work as well from this rough.
It’s hard to find, but there is another decent shortcut here if you’re on the right tee boxes. If you rotate to the right several times, lining yourself up with a tree out in the rough, you can play a big C3 out this direction. It should end up in a patch of small trees in the rough, if not beyond them all! From here, you’ll usually have a pretty clean look into the green in two (and if not, you can usually chip onto the green in 3 anyway for your birdie putt).
I’ve also found that if you take your drive straight out to the fairway, you can sometimes get there in two with a big A1 approach. With sand on the lower side, it’s still tough to stick the green with this shot, but you should at least have an eagle chip with this route.
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 1
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 2
Another par 3 with drastically different looks from multiple tee boxes. If you’re got the wind and the slope going the same direction, it’s extremely difficult to hold this green, and if you don’t, it might be wet. You can pray that the wind is blowing opposite the slope so that you can play a straight shot into the green, but in all other cases, expect to be working a small curve against the slope with backspin to give yourself a chance at birdie.
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 1
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 2
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 3
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 4
Woodland Farm finishes with a driveable par 4, but you’re going to have to maneuver one of the most difficult greens in the game, both in terms of shape and slope. If your drive is short, it’s wet. If it’s long, it might bounce back down and be wet. If you hold the green, you might not even have a line at the pin because of the shape. If you’re above the hole and chipping, you can’t stop it, and it may very well roll all the way down to the water. Downhill putts roll over, or if you miss, it’ll roll into the lake.
So what do you do? This is the ultimate skill shot off the tee and offers a fun challenge for pros, but for amateurs, it can just be hell. It’s fun to go for it, and it’s worth the risk if the pin is in the vicinity of some fatter green. Otherwise, the rough to the side of the green can actually be the next-best place to be. From here, you can lob a chip to the high part of the green and let it trickle down to the pin, where you tap in for birdie. Play it safe here, and your birdie may very well get a stroke or more up on your competition!
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 1
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 2
EXAMPLE HOLE-OUT 3
CRANK UP THE VOLUME ON THIS ONE!
BIG HOP!
LIKE THROWING DARTS
USING THE ROOF PERFECTLY!
ANOTHER CRAZY HOP
BEAUTIFUL DUNK
