Here is a description of this new course for Golden Tee 2012: “Take a golfing journey from the top of the north rim all the way down to the bottom of the great chasm. While water is sparse through much of this 18-hole excursion, the streams and waterfalls you encounter will certainly impact your round. […]

From almost every setup, a high-teed 9-wood can go straight at the green if you’ve got the distance.  Here’s a perfect example of where you’d play this shot to a back pin.  This one actually comes at it from the left — what a crazy shot!  And this one involves a bank, which is even […]

The left or right fairway works here — it’s usually wind-specific.  To the right, you can hit it long and straight or curve a big A1-type shot over there, trying to get past the sand.  You don’t have to be dead accurate — it can bounce off the walls a bit and settle, still giving […]

This is the hole that seems to define your round.  The risk/reward is more evident here than anywhere.  It requires a precise A1-type curve around this mountain with exact distance to hold this green and give yourself an eagle putt.  If you miss in any direction, you risk the chance of a re-tee, which is […]

If you get the front left box, you can high-tee a 3-wood and play a small cut through the gap — here’s an ace from that box. From the middle box, this hole may be drivable — check out this high-teed 3-wood that nearly went in!  It takes a precise shot through this gap, but it […]

In beta, this hole did NOT have a sand trap in front.  If you played the Flares and had a strong wind in your face, you didn’t have much option other than stroke limit, so be thankful you now have somewhat of a bail-out spot! This hole alone makes me want to use Hawks to […]

Here you’ll be aiming straight through the small gap straight ahead, to the left of the green.  It’s too risk to try to cut it left to right — instead, shoot straight through and use the hill to the back left of the green to deflect back down onto the green.  There is water left […]

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 […]

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 […]

This opening hole is drivable with a high tee from the front box — check out this nice little hop!  This hole-out didn’t even require a high tee because the look was so good — nice. Here’s an amazing hole-out from the middle box with a huge A1 high-teed driver!  Here’s another amazing ace with […]

Gauge the wind here to determine the tee shot that will give you the best approach into the green.  First, you can rotate left and play a drive straight over to the second fairway.  You may sometimes want a high tee to ensure your distance is enough.  This gives you a clear shot at the […]

This hole tests your elevation control, as the wind will play a big part on the way down.  You shouldn’t need to apply any spin here unless you have a tailwind, in which case you should use bite or backspin.  You may also use bite if a side-wind is blowing away from the flag.  Here’s […]

Lots of tee boxes here create many different looks at this downhill par 3.  Account extra for the wind and recognize the presence of a big grassy hill on the right — it can help or hurt you depending on how you bring it into play.  Again, the best shot is to the center of […]

I haven’t seen a need yet to even consider the right fairway.  The left fairway is always reachable, usually without a high tee, but you might want a high tee to be safe.  Line up with the fairway that juts towards you and hit it straight and hard.  This should leave you a nice approach […]

This par 3 is where things start to get slightly tricky.  This usually isn’t the place to go pin-hunting either — do what you can to stick the middle of the green and give yourself a putt.  Don’t bring any trouble into play by being too aggressive, because this front 9 is very manageable and […]

Here’s another standard, flat par 4 where nothing but fairway or green should ever come into play.  Here’s an example hole-out. VIDEO DEMO

There’s never an issue taking it out to the right fairway.  Make sure you carry it far enough but not all the way through, as it slopes downward a bit.  Use a tee or backspin to stick the center of it.  Here’s an example hole-out from the right fairway. There may be certain wind conditions […]

This green is big and fairly flat, so don’t lose a stroke here trying to chase a pin tucked away to the edge.  Keep the pin between your ball and the rough, make your birdie, and move on.  Here’s an example hole-out. VIDEO DEMO

Nothing special here either — just pick a spot and bring it in for birdie.  Here’s an example hole-out. VIDEO DEMO

The following grid breaks down the best and worst you should be able to shoot on Grand Canyon relative to the possible setups you could get on each hole: Hole Par GT Par Total Min Max Min Max 1 4 2 3 -2 -1 2 4 3 3 -3 -2 3 3 2 2 -4 […]