This year’s breakdowns now include video of each hole being played, although your feedback is most appreciated on these designs. How do you play? Share your strategy or Golden Tee Great Shots in the comments below.

All holes will then be available for reference on the Course Caddies page—a bookmark must for the entire encyclopedia! Enjoy, and stay tuned for plenty more.

Celtic Shores No. 10

The lack of YouTubes on Hole 10 on Celtic Shores says a lot of this par-5. As I navigated the Interwebs searching for examples of shots to share with you, the difficulty of the design takes shape. There just weren’t many to show.

It’s the combination of distance, elevation, sand, water and wind that make the first hole of the back nine difficult to deal with, at least with specific settings. And although you should go into this hole with an eagle mentality, you should also be conscious of the incredible risks of trying to hit the green in two.

Although catastrophe will come in the approach, a quality drive will help limit the chances of finding the hazard. On certain setups with a front tee box and a big out wind, you can take a high tee and blast up and over everything.

This opportunity isn’t always there, but when it is, you should seize it. It will make for a much easier, less stressful and closer second shot. The difficulty of the hole drastically decreases when this is possible.

Now, the reason this play won’t always be there is because of a) the bunkers in the middle of the fairways and b) the elevation change in fairway will alter your overall placement. When you try and reach that second level of fairway and don’t, you’ll likely land in the sand. And if that’s the case, you won’t be able to hit the green in two. Eagle is eliminated from the equation, unless on the rare occasion you hole out.

There are different areas to play your tee shot in these instances, many of which will allow you a shot at hitting the green in two. Some get as close to the bunker as they can without going in. Others go right of the sand traps, up in elevation a bit and hit from there. You have options.

The next shot, depending on the wind, could be extremely difficult. Given the elevated green and water in front, landing short cannot be an option.

A big fairway wood will get there, and you’ll have to adjust spin strategies based on where the pin is located. It’s worth pointing out, however, that being long is not optimal, either. There is danger in play here, and you should approach this shot with caution as a result.

If you’re going to miss, miss short left of the green. Those greenside bunkers are a perfect target in the event of distance concerns, and they won’t take birdie out of the equation. That’s critical. What is often lost in Golden Tee is not where you need to hit a shot, but also knowing the right place to miss.

On Hole 10, this mindset should come into play. When eagle isn’t there, don’t fall for the disaster bait.

How do you play?