A good drive is the way to start any round, but be careful. Strong hitters taking an aggressive line can run out of fairway and find trouble behind the 150 marker. The approach will more than likely be from a sidehill lie, which will prepare you for many more of your approach shots on this challenging course. Pay careful attention to club selection as the green is deep. Also watch the mounds, as Dye asks you to use them as backstops.

On short holes, architects often call on psychological elements to aid in the defense effort. Here, Andy Dye reminds the golfer of the risk of deep sand by starting the bunker at the back tees, lest it escape our attention.

Your first order of business on this long par-3 is to find the green. The bunker in front is an optical illusion to make you think the green is closer than it really is. Use it as a target to fly over. Shots left short and right may get a fortuitous bounce and be funneled back to the deep green. Hell here is the swale behind the pot bunker middle right. Andy advises that the player should “play the green and what it gives, not the pin position.” And “be the ball.”

From the tee of this dramatic, short par-5, you can see all the possibilities and problems to solve. The gambler will cut off as much of the deep ravine as he can, with the perfect tee shot leaving a long to middle iron for an eagle bid. Right of the bunker is the safe side, but it leaves a slightly longer approach over bunkers and towering mounds. Perched on the slimmest of ridges, the green’s undulations would be protection enough, but the designer has added mounds, swales and a long bunker that wraps around the back of the green.

Finding short grass on the plateaued fairway is essential to holding your approach on this medium length par-4. Aim for the middle of the righthand bunker and plan to hit a high fade into a large and elevated green. The fairway turns right and downhill at the trio of bunkers and mounding on the left and your tee shot can find rough there. The perfect landing area is just before the fairway makes its downward plunge.

If you have it in your arsenal, put on the power for this long, meandering par-4. The perfect tee shot will be near the quartet of bunkers on the left, avoiding them of course. The second should land near the bunker short and left of the green and be played to roll on, rather than landing directly on the putting surface. Despite a great tee shot, you may find yourself laying up to the green. Par here is a definite plus and birdie is a real bonus.

Pure risk and reward, there is forty yards of open fairway in front of the green. So, if conditions are right (wind behind) and you got a good night’s sleep, go for the green on this tantalizingly short par-4. But you must commit to your line, for any deviation will spell trouble. Alternately, you can play conservatively and short or left of the fairway bunker, pitch on and walk away with a bird.

Your short game skills will be at a premium if the green is missed. It sits on a ledge with tiny pot bunker and a severe drop-off in front. The canyon dwarfs the size of the green, making it appear even smaller than it really is. Try to remember that it is just a medium length hole and that Dye is messing with your head.

Here’s your chance to be a hero in front of the clubhouse. With favorable winds this green is definitely reachable by two well struck shots. But make sure you are on the right portion of the large green or an abject par may be your only reward. The traditional 3-shot route leaves a short iron and perhaps a chance for birdie.

There are options in the play of this short hole. A precise mid-to-long iron hit just to the right edge of the fairway bunker should feed down to the right in perfect position for a wedge second to the small green. Alternatively, hit a fairway wood up the left side for a look along the green’s axis, again with a wedge in.

Break this very long hole into its component parts and it is not all that daunting. The tee shot must avoid being too close to the tall mound behind the fairway bunker, lest the second shot be hampered. That done, it is a straightforward long iron or fairway wood to the ideal spot looking down on a tiny green. The approach is critical and should generally keep towards the left, or high side of the green. Accomplishing that will not guarantee a birdie or par, but it will keep the ball out of the deep and treacherous greenside bunker framing the green.

The penalties for missing the green can mount up, depending on where you miss. The front bunker is deeeep, so short is to be avoided at all cost. But shots that hit the right front will feed towards the green. As the green narrows, so does the difficulty of the pin position increase. For most players, just do your utmost hit the green and make the best of it.

You can try to drive the green – it is within reach – but the consequences of anything less than perfection are grave. A fairway wood or long iron will usually serve to get you to the wide landing area beyond the bunker. From there it is only a wedge to the small and severely undulating green. Special Warning Note: “Perfectly” hit approach wedges have been known to hit the green and spin back and off into the hazard fronting the green.

The tee shot actually plays a little downhill, but the rest of the hole distinctly rises up to a green perched above a deep bunker on the front left. It is all carry on the tiger line, but the more hazard you can cut off, the shorter the uphill second. There is space on the right behind the plateau to shy away from the bunker, and the chip to most of the pin positions will favor the slope back down to the green.

Target the right edge of the first bunker to stay as far away from the hazard as possible. The fairway runs downhill from about 250 yards and narrows to as little as 30 yards, the farther you hit, but the rewards are a good view and a middle iron to a long green sitting somewhat downhill.

No amount of heroics will win the day on this long uphill par-5. Since there is little hope of reaching the green in two, you just have to plod along, completely in he hands of Mr. Dye. Hit your tee shot as long as you dare, favoring the left side. Your second shot should also stay left to afford the best angle into the green and the least exposure to the hazard. The approaches to the green are usually fairly firm, rewarding a well struck running shot.

This short hole will keep you confused while you ponder the variables. You can feel the wind on your face and see the treetops dancing while the flag below hangs limp. The large mound back left dominates the green’s movement, but there are also some more subtle dips and rises that will test your abilities.

To attack this difficult hole you must hug the hazard on the right side, knowing that no matter how well you hit your tee shot, your second will require great skill and technique. The smart golfer will seriously consider laying up and hoping for a good up and down for par. If you are long and left, you will need finess and bravery.