COURSE CADDIES :: Turtle Island :: Hole 14 :: PAR 4


Welcome to the Course Caddy, a look at each and every hole in Golden Tee 2014. Over the next few months, we will spend each day looking at a different design, starting with Hole 1 on the first course and ending with the final hole on the final design.

We want—no, NEED—your help in this process!

How do you play a particular design? Share your thoughts on strategy and YouTube uploads in the comment section. Your feedback is integral in the complete understanding of the design.

All holes will then be available for reference on the Course Caddy page—a bookmark must for the entire encyclopedia! Enjoy.

 

Turtle Island Hole No. 14


No pond has swallowed more golf balls on Turtle Island than the the one sitting quietly in front of Hole 14. It’s placed perfectly, and even the slightest miscalculation can result in a penalty stroke.

We’re here to avoid such rituals entirely.

One of the most intriguing drivable par-4s in the entire update comes at a critical time in the round. The beginning of the home stretch starts with a tee shot that comes with a fair amount of danger—likely a high tee—and the potential for an eagle.

The trees guarding the green, sitting at the top of the strategically-placed mound, serve as the key aspect of this hole. The water will do the damage in the end, certainly, but it’ll likely be the trees that cause such damage.

Fairway woods will be your friends here, and you’ll be able to hit anything from a 6-wood to a 3-wood depending on a variety of factors. Distance, wind and pin all play a role, and the use of a high tee will impact these shots greatly.

While a 5-wood should be able to clear the trees if the distance works, anything less than that can be dicey. That’s where the Golden Tees come in.

More than any hole on this course—and perhaps in the game—having the flexibility to raise and move your tee will help you here. Obviously controlling distance with this high tee will take some practice—practice you have already logged time with—but it’s a safe option.

It can also be much more than that.

There are other ways, too.

If the wind is working left to right, going around the trees on the left is another way to attack it. This shot is certainly a bit riskier—but as seen below—it works.

 

If you go long, it’s not the worst thing. You’re almost guaranteed a birdie versus the alternative of having to drop if you land short. Staying dry is checklist item No. 1, putting it on the green is No. 2 and giving yourself a makeable putt is No. 3.

And, well, you know No. 4.

How do you play it?