I apologize that I’ve been AWOL but Incredible Technologies is keeping me busy.  Thankfully, my absence has created room for my much more in shape, quite less A-HOLE blogger minion, Adam Kramer to keep you all entertained.  He’s got chops, huh?  Thankfully, the hilarious electro-shock treatment is working on him.

So, while I may be somewhat out of the loop, I am definitely not  gone.  And with that said, it takes something compelling for me drop what I’m doing, come over here to the GTB and fire up the old blogin’ engine.  I present to you that compelling something…

The following is a player email that landed in my inbox.  I present it to you in its original form:

_______________________________________________________

Subject: NEW CARD NUMBER

I have been playing Golden Tee for about 5 years. I play with the same 3 guy’s about 2 times a week and probably play 2 games per day. I JUST CAN’T GET A BREAK. They hit and don’t get penalized, I hit and go in the water,sand trap or just miss a shot by inches. I spend about $25.00 a week playing this game ONLY TO SUCK HIND TIT 99% of the time, IT’S A JOKE. You would think after all this time I would have gotten better. I subscribe to your Newsletter and have taken time to analyze Greatest YOU-TUBE shot’s per hole. I also let my friends know where I’m Playing Golden Tee via Facebook.

Until I get a New Account with All My Clothing Transferred, I plan to tell these Guy’s that I will no longer play this game. Maybe Pool is my Destiny.

So if you want me to play give me a new card NUMBER

Thanks

Bill Ladas

_________________________________________________________

Now you know why we’re here and it doesn’t result in Bill playing billiards.

We’ve all been where Bill is.  It’s a level of complete frustration and passion that only comes with the game of golf.  It’s a crazy dichotomy, on one hand you have unbridled hatred for the game, as well as the people, places and things that go along with it.  On the other hand, you have a dedicated fanboy – doing everything short of wearing a “I Heart Steve Sobe” shirt and carrying around a Golden Tee pennant.

As I read Bill’s denunciation of Tee, I thought, “I can help.”  I can give Bill what he wants – I can exorcise his Golden Tee demons and give him that new life in the game he so loves to hate.  I can give Bill the 1% shove that will remove his dependence on hind tit and propel him into the future as the Golden Tee player he was born to be.  It’s time we expel the Golden Tee Tilt from Bill’s life and help him LIVE ON as a Golden Tee master.

Bill – are you ready?  It’s not going to be easy, my frustrated friend.  To build you up, we have to tear you down.  It may be painful – emotionally and physically.  It involves tools, – powerful tools.  Carnage, fire and brimstone!!!! (ok, not brimstone, but a mean paper shredder)

BILL LADAS, I CAST YOUR GOLDEN TEE DEMONS AWAY!!!!!

The official IT BAN HAMMER was used to alleviate Bill Ladas of his errant tee shots.

Then we lit a fire under Bill so he would stop getting flamed by his friends.

Next, we proved the rumor true – belt sanders can help your game.

Now, without a shred of dignity left – we can rebuild…

Bill, we’ve had a lot of fun with your situation here and it’s only because all of us can relate – you just so happened to be the one to put it so eloquently in an email.  So to complete your Golden Tee transformation, we will be fulfilling your demands and sending you a completely new account – fully stocked with GT equipment and apparel.  We hope that this frees you of the demons that have so haunted your virtual golf life.  You’re free!  Free to enjoy your Tee time in the sun, cause let me tell you something, brother – there are no Tee times in hell.

Thanks for being such a good sport and an inspiration all of us GT hacks out there.  And thanks for the permission to have a little fun at your expense.  You da man…

Good times,

- Duffer Dan

On the surface this might look unimpressive, but those who actively post and check the page know how far it has come in less than a year. In fact, it’s become so busy that monitoring and updating this page sometimes takes hours out of my daily routine.

Why Our Page Doesn’t Suck

The interactions on the GT page between fans and from us is unlike any other page on Facebook – seriously, just look at Buffalo Wild Wing’s one random post every few days with little to no contact with its fans. BW3s is doing something right to get the amount of fans they have, but you won’t get any direct contact with them if you happen to post on their page.

Many people might believe that operating this kind of site is a widespread operation. Time consuming, yes. Deep and complicated, however, couldn’t be further from the truth. I do most of the posting and maintenance for GT Facebook although Duffer Dan checks in every now and then. He has his hands full maintaining the Golden Tee Twitter Page.

The privilege and responsibility of maintaining the Facebook page brings an intriguing new way to operate. The response for the Gamer v2 promotion conducted over the past few weeks was so overwhelming that it surprised the marketing crew at IT. For a recap of what we did, you can check it out here.

And yes, we will offer up better questions than whether you like basketball or hockey. P.S. – I’m a football and baseball guy and either hockey or basketball really does it for me.

Ballz, BALLS, Ballllllllls, and more balls

The word “balls” was written well over a thousand times (in all sorts of ways) over the course of a two-week span for our Gamer v2 Facebook contest.

I learned throughout this contest that our GT fans are creative and don’t mind throwing in a testicle joke, or two, or three because well, it’s timely and hilarious. Plus, as a 25-year-old I can honestly declare that saying or hearing “balllllllz” never gets old.

In this two-week span, the Facebook Page literally doubled – something we were all thrilled with. Because of this, every fan was eligible to receive at least 25 free virtual golf balls for joining. This, however, is where things start to get interesting.

After providing the email address for players to submit their personas, the marketing crew received literally hundreds of emails each day from fans claiming their balls. While we plan to have a more efficient system in place in the future, we, and more specifically IT Marketing VP Scott Morrison, spent an entire day organizing all the names and personas into a spreadsheet. Not exactly a giant operation.

It was, and still is interesting to think that many thought of this as a finely oiled machine. There was no way we weren’t living up to our end of the bargain, but on our side you had less than 3 people actually sorting through and dispersing tens of thousands of golf balls.

“Golden Tee Sucks and Where are My &^%$ing Balls!”

Because the Facebook page never closes, players are able to post anything they want into the feed at all times. This is great (or horrible) news for the 3 AM drunken Facebooker who is simply looking for something to do after coming home from a bad night on the trackball.

During the Gamer v2 promotion, we saw a lot of these kinds of rants. Some were directed to difficulty getting the golf balls, some were good ol’ fashion bashings, and some were just absurd.

Here are a few of the good ones. DISCLAIMER: These aren’t necessarily drunk posts and none of the spelling, text, or wording was altered in anyway.

“All I can say about your ball promo is it sucks, you were vague on the way to get the balls and never returned MY E-MAILS THANKS FOR NOTNING<SAT LEAST SAY THANKS FOR THE OVER 4 GRAND I’VE SPENT ON THE GAME IN3 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” -Jean K.

“I used to be a huge fan of golden tee. no more. you people hjad a good thing going, but the courses are unrealistic. you get no more of my money” -Eric C.

“Grow some BALLS GOLDEN TEE!!!!!!!! come on now! Nice empty promises….” -Kyle S.

“Boobies.” -Scott S.

While these are hilarious to read it can also be frustrating at times. It would be easy to say I don’t take these kinds of responses personally, but it still somehow feels that way in the Facebook setting.

With that said, I would never delete a post like this (unless there is mass profanity) because it is your right as a fan to express yourself, whether it’s positive, negative or ridiculous. Active fans of the page can also attest to the fact that I will respond to almost every single thread – even if my head might be ready to explode.

On The Very Bright Side –  This Is Changing Golden Tee

Regardless of the random posts and occasional unhappy camper, the Golden Tee Facebook Page is by far the biggest advancement for the game outside what’s in the cabinet. It also happens to be the most enjoyable part of my day.

I love seeing what people are talking about, which YouTube moment is making noise, and what is the overall vibe from this growing community. You have a voice on the page and what you say can and will be passed along if it makes sense. (Sorry Scott S. – “Boobies doesn’t quite make the cut).

This massive active fan base is unlike anything the game has seen before. While there are message boards and forums, these don’t have the same feel that this page has. I am a Golden Tee Fan Boy at heart, so talking and answering anything people might muster up doesn’t feel much like work.

The page will continue to grow, a select few players will drunkenly post how much they hate us, and thousands of fans will continue to spread the GT love and create an even larger community of talking trackballers. And If you’re going to get hammered and start posting away – don’t drop any F-bombs because I’ll have to probably delete it. Otherwise, the stage is yours.

Can’t wait to see what’s next and if you aren’t in on the action yet – come join us.

On the surface this looked like a weekend to remember. I mean 30,000 votes?! After a few seconds of excitement, my expression and excitement turned stone cold and tilt circulated through my veins. Massive Golden Tee Blog TILT.

I quickly realized that the spike in voting was the direct result of an Internet bot, which Wikipedia describes as the follow, “Internet bots, also known as web robots, WWW robots or simply bots, are software applications that run automated tasks over the Internet. Typically, bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone.”

Ding, ding, ding. And so it turns out that our first-ever Shot of the Year vote has as much validity as the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It took me most of a week to come up with a solution, and I have, but before we discuss our Shot of the Year winner I have to ask the following. Are people this lame? Bored? Weird? With no prize other than Golden Tee notoriety and bragging rights up for grabs, someone still decided to use a voting bot on a Golden Tee Blog. While posting on a virtual golfing blog won’t have women flocking my way, rigging the GTB (with no monetary gain) would fall under the same category as the guy that brings an entire gallon of water to the gym. Or the guy that takes out the catcher in a 12-inch softball game. It’s just that pathetic.

I mean come on, folks.

And so we come to this. We still need a Shot of the Year but our 30,000 votes are more or less completely useless. Consider the following to be executive decisions carried out by the marketing team.

The “Pig Bounce” Shot has been officially disqualified from the competition. Whether or not the Internet shenanigans were a direct results by the “oink” crew, this brilliant effort is relinquishing its spot on top. This shot will not be removed  – it simply cannot go on in our disjointed contest.

This was by far the most enjoyable shot to watch and will be a YouTube staple for years to come, but this cannot be our Shot of the Year. BANNED from competition.

With that shot out of the equation we are left with four – all of which are worthy of being in contention. Still, we believe that one of these shots separates itself without question.

Brian Bernhardt’s super albatross is a shot worthy of a showcase. I was standing right next to him when he hit it and I can confidently say that I will never see anything like it ever again. It took skill, power, luck, and one hell of a kick to get into the cup – but getting an ace on a par-5 is an achievement worth celebrating. Because of this, his shot on Savannah 12 (at the Minnesota Open by the way) is our 2009 Shot of the Year.

While this wasn’t how we wanted to come to a solution, I feel in this instance the correct shot has been selected. Congrats to Brian on winning this title and congratulations to the other shots as well. All of these moments are the reason YouTube replays are so cool, and we appreciate all of these efforts.

Getting back to the spam, it’s safe to say that this contest went no where near what I expected. I certainly learned a few things while putting it together and will definitely do things differently going forward. And to the spammers out there most likely reading this straight from their mother’s basement. I have only one thing to say, that can’t be said any better than by the fine folks of WWE – which I imagine you Wordpress bot users/abusers have probably already seen.

Throughout 2009 we saw some absolutely ridiculous shots that wowed us GT nuts each and every month. While many of these shots were worthy for a spot in our monthly feature, only five of them made the cut to have a chance at Shot of the Year.

Up until now, the marketing team had the honors of selecting the monthly winners. It would only be fitting, however, to allow the players and the fans to have the say with supreme GT bragging rights up for grabs. Below are the five finalists for Shot of the Year along with a poll so you can cast your vote. Our winner who receives the most votes between now and January 15^th will be celebrated on Goldentee.com and the GTB for years to come!

And your finalists are…

Selection #1: This shot was hit back in February and featured one of the most bizarre shortcut attempts in recent memory. While it may not look like it, this shot was certainly planned. The outcome, however, was too good not to have a spot in our final five.

Selection #2: Our only animal-aided hole-in-one of ‘09 made some serious noise on the GT social media sites and for good reason. The “oink” you hear mid-shot is something that many GT fans will never forget and the bounce that followed was even sweeter.

Selection #3: Here was a 1^st in 2009, a hard-to-come-by super albatross, aka a hole-in-one on a par-5. This also just happened to be one of the longest shots of 2009 and was hit only months before 2010 debuted. Unbelievable effort here and perhaps the most “skilled” of the bunch.

Selection #4: Our one and only shot to make the cut from a 2010 course was the best of many outstanding Monument Valley moments. A favorable wind/ball bounce made this shot defy all physics on it’s way to jumping over the giant wall and just barely make the green. The rest was history.

Selection #5: Our final shot was the only old school course featured in our final five. There’s no doubt that this shot required an obscene amount of luck on its way to finding the hole, but it managed to do just that. This was also the only Skins Play shot to make the cut. Words really can’t describe the following 22 seconds.

You’ve seen the selections, now you have the chance to decide which shot deserves a spot in Golden Tee history. Vote early, vote often, and cast your vote below between now and January 15^th and stay tuned to the Golden Tee Blog and Goldentee.com for more!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

]]> http://blog.goldentee.com/cast-your-vote-for-shot-of-09/feed/ 5 http://blog.goldentee.com/toughest-in-10-the-final-selection/ http://blog.goldentee.com/toughest-in-10-the-final-selection/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:53:11 +0000 By Adam Kramer http://blog.goldentee.com/?p=1036 And so it comes down to this.

The final hole in our Toughest in 10 is upon us and while I’d love a suspenseful selection, I have a feeling many of you already know which hole will hold the top spot. Our previous selections certainly all presented very challenging looks. In my opinion, however, none of the holes selected 2-5 come close to our #1 selection. There, that should do juuuuuust fine for build up.

Ladies and gentlemen your Golden Tee 2010, Toughest in 10 hole is…

Bella Toscana 18.

The 18^th on Bella Toscana is a drivable par-4 that can usually range anywhere from 260 to 300+ yards. The green is extremely narrow and is surrounded by water on the front, left, and back. There’s a large hill guarding the green which is positioned directly in front of the water.

Typically this hill can be trouble for any ball that may happen to find, although as seen in the shot below – that’s not always the case.

So if you happen to hit a shot like this, you’re gravy. Otherwise there are plenty of items of note that can be trouble when trying to finish off the round. The hole is intimidating from any tee box with any wind, and while there can be some more favorable setups, bagging an eagle requires a truly outstanding shot.

Here are a few of the major factors that make this “The” toughest hole in 2010.

The Green: The green itself is tough to hit even with very little wind and a comfortable club – aka a 3 or 5-wood. It’s extremely narrow, perhaps smaller horizontally than any hole in recent memory. Oh and it has a down-10 slope!

If you’re slightly off laterally, you’ll get wet. If you come up just short, you’ll hit the front wall of the green and ricochet in the water. If you over hit your club slightly, your ball won’t be able to spin enough because of the slope and you’ll find more water. It’s easy to be off on this hole even when you’re off only slightly.

The Wind: It’s obvious that the wind is a critical variable in Golden Tee. Heck, it’s been a major factor in all five of our Toughest in 10. Bella 18 is no exception; in fact, it’s the leader of the pack.

On the rare occasion where you’re given a straighter wind of less than 12 mph you better take advantage. More times then not, you’ll likely have a cross wind that will typically range anywhere from 12 to 17 mph. Yikes. You’ll have to get extremely creative with your shots to battle these winds and also learn to control how your ball spins when it hits the green. Bella 18 has the toughest winds in the 2010. Period.

The Stagger: Stagger is a Golden Tee term that might be new to some. Usually players are lined up straight at the hole from the tee box or fairway, but in some instances they will be moved left or right creating a more difficult shot. This in essence, is a stagger and is seen more on Bella 18 than any other hole in the game.

This particular stagger forces players to be right on with their direction and precise with their distance even with angle or cut shots. Staggers are typically small and sometimes you may not even realize you are playing slightly off of the pin. Not here though. This is a stagger I particularly enjoying cursing out almost every game.

But that’s not all. Say you are having the round of your life and you’re simply looking to birdie this hole. While there is a layup area in the back right portion of the green, this can be a tough spot to get to and can actually be one of the trickiest wedge shots to hit from if the wind is remotely tough. Well, maybe not for you pros but for guys like me.

You can also layup by playing for the middle and knocking it in the fairway, but you might be left with a very challenging look especially if the pin is tucked up near the top portion of the green. While laying up is certainly safer and is almost necessary with some of the looks you’ll get, it doesn’t mean you’re home free.

While the hole is truly challenging, I actually love playing it. I think it plays fair and requires one, (sometimes two), good shots for an eagle or birdie. I’ve seen the hole played in one live event so far and the suspense and strategy that it created in match play was outstanding.

There’s also the chance you’ll have a shot like this and won’t even have to take the putter out of your bag.

How you decide to play Bella 18 is up to you. With time you’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t. While many will share a variety of strategies on how to play this hole, I think (key word here being think) most everyone can agree that this is the Toughest in 10. So I have to ask…

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Two out of three ain’t bad, and that would seem to be our current ratio in Toughest in 10 hole selections. Our #3 choice, Monument Valley 18, was somewhat of an overwhelming choice as being one of the toughest holes in the game. My feeling, however, is that these previous 3 holes are somewhat easy in comparison to our final two choices of the most challenging holes in Golden Tee 2010.

My #2 ranked hole in 2010 is none other than Southern Oaks #16.

This hole can really make you cringe and can pack quite a punch on your scorecard. It’s a par-3 that can vary greatly in distance, and is highlighted (or sometimes low-lighted) by the giant pond that surrounds the front and entire left side of the green.

Speaking of the green, it slopes extremely hard to the left (go figure), and anything slightly off the mark will most likely find the water.

The real interesting part of this hole is the hill that surrounds the back portion of the green. It almost plays as a backstop would in a baseball, and a lot of players are using this to their advantage. While this might be the “recommended” way to play in a lot of instances, that doesn’t mean that it is necessarily easy. The problem that I have found with this is you never know exactly what type of bounce you’re going to get. The ball seems to land pretty soft overall, but sometimes it can’t land soft enough.

While the shot featured below finds the bottom of the cup, it probably would’ve had a different fait had the hole not gotten in its path.

I’ve beaten the wind to death like a dead horse in our previous selections and I will do it once again -  the wind on Southern 16 can be absolutely BRUTAL. Anything blowing remotely to the left (aka towards the water) will require a picture perfect shot or some serious luck. Miss the green and you’ll most likely be give a drop which is no picnic either. In fact, if the wind is blowing hard with or against you, this could be one of the tougher chips in the game.

The pros will tell you that a big cut shot is required, aka bringing the ball in hard from the left to the right. This strategy certainly makes sense, but please try this at your own risk and stay patient. Using backspin is another story, and use this cautiously if the wind/pin call for it.

Through about fifteen games on Southern, I averaged close to bogey on this hole. “Not good, Peter.”  I’ve had a few birdies, a couple of near aces (turned crooked number), a handful of pars, and a bunch of big numbers in there as well.

Do your scorecards look like this, or am I just that bad? So the question must be asked…

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]]> http://blog.goldentee.com/toughest-looks-in-10-southern-oaks-16/feed/ 3 http://blog.goldentee.com/toughest-in-10-monument-valley-18/ http://blog.goldentee.com/toughest-in-10-monument-valley-18/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:53:25 +0000 By Adam Kramer http://blog.goldentee.com/?p=965

Perhaps I missed the boat on my #4 entry in our Toughest in10. Still, I find it hard to believe that people are birding Hole 17 on Tahiti Cove almost every time they play. With that said, the voting was split almost exactly down the middle and it appears that I need to play better and pick better holes from here on out.

And so I move forward… (Taking a deep breath) Our #3 hole in our Toughest of ‘10 series is hole 18 on Monument Valley.

Only a few weeks back, The Milkman, (aka a GT player and fan) posted this in our IT Forum regarding this hole and Monument Valley in general.

“Not awesome at all, just silly and not fun. Certainly not for the “regular” player. Maybe worse than Grand Savanna 17. Reminds me of Heather Point 18, in tough setups it’s basically unplayable. Sorry, but Monument Valley seems like a gimmick course to me.”

He’s not the only one who has had issues with perhaps THE feature hole in the entire update. Many have commented on Monument Valley 18 and shared their thoughts on where exactly it stands difficulty-wise in GT 2010.

Let me tackle this item first. After watching literally hundreds of games on Monument Valley at Club Lucky’s Tournament of Champions, I never saw a situation where a player couldn’t reach the green in two. I did, however, see some of the game’s best players cringe at times with certain looks on this finishing hole.

While Monument Valley can be tough, specifically the 17^th and 18^th holes, they are very fair. I believe that the possibility of getting 8 or worse on 18 is there from time-to-time. I also believe the hole is positioned so you have a chance to succeed regardless of how tough it may be. This is also without question the best finishing hole in 2010.

Monument 18 is a two-tiered par-5 that has a severe drop separating the fairway about halfway through the hole. The green is positioned much lower than the top fairway that players “typically” hit out of, and it is surrounded by rock walls. A pond guards the front part of the green and anything short or “too” long is going to get wet. More on that in a bit.

While distance can usually be a problem on longer par-5s this isn’t he case here, well, sort of. Distance alone is never the issue, the wind, however is always the issue.

Whatever wind you have (tailwinds, crosswinds, headwinds) there’s a good chance it’ll be greater than 10 mph and will greatly alter both club and shot selection. I’ve seen 5 hybrids get to the green on the 2^nd shot, while also watching crushed drivers come up short.

If you are off on your distance or direction, you’re going to either end up in water or hit the back/side walls and likely end up in the water after that. Although you could end up with a “Shot of the Month” candidate instead.

Better Lucky Than Good.

The pin placements to go along with these tough winds make this hole truly one of the toughest in the game. When the pin is tucked in the back corners, particularly the far left-back portion of the green, it could mean major problems if you’re not exactly on the mark.

A trend I’ve seen a lot of late is players flying their ball onto the lower portion of the hole and going at the pin out of the “dusty dirt.” This isn’t something you can do with all tee boxes, winds, or club/ball combos, but it’s definitely possible. Here’s one more for good measure.

Sick Shot, Sick Score.

Play safe, learn your distances and what clubs travel best in a given wind, and you should be just fine. Thus far in 2010,  I’ve had a double eagle, a handful of eagles, a LOT of pars, and a few scores that I don’t really feel like mentioning. As I play more, however, I’m starting to get better at scoring on this hole. Still, no matter how much I play, this will always be one of my Toughest in 10.

What about you?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Interesting start to our mini-series here on the GTB, as many of you shared your thoughts on our #5 toughest hole, Monument Valley 17. While many conveyed strong arguments on whether it belongs in the discussion compared to others, 70% of you agreed that this was without question one of the top 5 toughest holes in 2010. Only 30% said that I needed to “Play Better,” which is very true but also good news for my first selection.

We continue onward, however, with our #4 Toughest of Ten hole – Tahiti Cove 17.

Tahiti Cove 17 is a par-3 that can vary dramatically in distance and may require any club from a driver to a 5-iron. On the surface, TC 17 doesn’t really appear to be all that hard but as is the case with many holes in Golden Tee, looks can be deceiving.

WIND. It’s without question the biggest factor on this hole and will become a trend as we move forward. There’s a good chance that you’ll be given a setup with a wind greater than 10 mph each time through. You’ll also see A LOT of brutal looks that have crosswinds of 13 mph plus. When you get these looks, usually there is some significant cursing involved and for good reason. The strong winds really, really “blow.”

The green is shaped very similar to our previous hole, Monument Valley 17, and takes on a sort of “dog bone” shape. This means that you will see a variety of pin placements tucked in each of the four corners that can make for an almost impossible birdie. Any shot that heads remotely right will undoubtedly kick that way and find the water.

Even when you manage to stick the green, you may be forced to putt around the cutout of the green and tap in for par – something I’ve unfortunately done on a fair share of occasions.

The safe play on this hole would be to aim for the left-center portion of the green and hope for a reasonable look. If the pin is placed in the center of the green, this hole can be surprisingly manageable – and this strategy can play perfectly. Once again, I cannot stress the “if” enough.

I have averaged around par through 15 rounds on Tahiti Cove. This includes a dunk-ace that would have led to at least a bogey have it not hit the cup on a fly, so the results are skewed thanks to a very lucky shot.

With this in mind, I once again look for your help in assembling our top five hardest holes in GT 2010. Remember, at the end of it all, you’ll be able to cast your vote for Toughest Hole in ‘10. For now, let’s see if I am right on, or I missed the mark here.

Last year it was Savannah 17 – without question the toughest hole in the game and perhaps the toughest hole of all-time. While Heather Pointe fans may have a bone to pick with that, there’s plenty of holes in GT history that have become famous with the challenges they present.

Flash back once again to ‘09, which sounds odd but you know what I’m getting at. It seemed like no matter what I tried, including a 4-hybrid chip and all sorts of horrendous cut shots, I got wet on Savannah 17. Usually my next shot would go in the hazard as well, and suddenly that potential –23 turned into a –16. Just like that.

Tilt. Say it with me, fellas… TILT.

While these challenging looks can be frustrating, they are also what make the game great. They forever go down in GT lore as the true round busters, but when you play them perfectly it makes it all worthwhile. They also force us to be creative. Who would imagine using a 4-iron on a 75-yard shot? I mean really?

A perfect example of this is Monument Valley 17, which leads off this mini-series as my fifth hardest hole in 2010. It gives players an amazing look, but it can be a black eye on the ol’ scorecard if the ball doesn’t roll your way.

17 is a par-3 that has tee boxes surrounding the hole on pretty much all sides. The distance can range anywhere from 95 to 160 yards.

The green, which might be one of, if not the toughest in the game, has a ten slope that can vary in direction depending on which tee box you are placed. There is a bunker surrounding the back, front, or side of the green, (once again depending on placement).

This hole provides a true challenge because the green is really tough to stick at all angles. And even when you do stick it, there’s the possibility that you’ll still have a very missable putt for birdie. The potential to really blowup is there as well. End up in the water and you’ll have a drop that is far from easy. Well, maybe not for you pros out there, but certainly for us donks.

If you have a good club with a nice out or cross wind then the birdie opportunity is very possible – but this easy opportunity won’t be there often. I highlighted 12 games I played on the hole and I got exactly 36 strokes, for an average of 3 strokes per time played. Not bad, especially with a few doubles in there.

Everyone out there has probably played and seen all the new courses and holes in 2010, so I put the question to you. Is Monument Valley 17 one of the top five hardest holes in the game?

Comments as always are welcome and appreciated. What do you think?

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]]> http://blog.goldentee.com/toughest-looks-in-10-monument-valley-17/feed/ 6 http://blog.goldentee.com/holegate-2010/ http://blog.goldentee.com/holegate-2010/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:39:36 +0000 By "Duffer" Dan Schrementi http://blog.goldentee.com/?p=883 Attention Fans of Golden Tee Golf: there’s a possible scandal among us, the gravity of which is unfathomable.  I present to you the following communication, which was intercepted by Incredible Technologies’ Information Observation Team (aka, ITIOT) on October the first, year two thousand and nine.

Great Wall #3

This hole is definitely a rip-off of my design-a-hole entry “star maker/star breaker” which got an honorable mention on GT.com on the 15 designs that didn’t make the cut for voting. WTF….

…yes it is the plnwheel green par 3, I have no pics, my design was drawn on paper with no copies made. My green was star shaped with the pin placement at the ends of the arms of the star requiring a shot in the middle of the green for any chance of a birdie.

Author: MOCHEEZ

Source: Let’s Talk Golf Message Board

*chk* black helicopter 1 to base: requesting profile information on subject, MOCHEEZ, over. *chk*

East China? Coincidence?

PROFILE: MOCHEEZ

Goes by Doug Smalley.  Claims East China, Michigan as his home. Database confirms,  2009 Design-a-Hole Contest semi-finalist.  Known as a “hardcore” member of “Let’s Talk Golf”.  Once shot a -27 on Bonnie Moore to win $2 and was last quoted stating “I’d be a banger if I could hit ‘em straight.”

*chk* black helicopter 1 to base: Roger.  East China, Michigan? hmmm Sounds fishy…  Requesting further profile information.  One James Zielinski, over. *chk*

Grilled Cheese - MOCHEEZ? Coincidence?

PROFILE: JIM ZIELINSKI

Goes by “Jimmy Z.” and known as the co-creator of Golden Tee Golf.  Noted as the game’s virtual course architect and has designed every hole, including Great Wall #3.  From the Chicago area and has been featured in dozens of magazines and TV programs.  Also an acclaimed creator of food and drink, including Golden Tee Grilled Cheese and the creme’ de menth/Goldschlager concoction called the Golden Tee Gulp.

*chk* black helicopter 1 to base: Roger that.  Requesting further details on the scandal…  And aaaa, can we get some of those cheese sandwiches up here? Over… *chk*

THE SCANDAL: HOLE GATE 2010

Doug “MOCHEEZ” Smalley claims that James “Jimmy Z.” Zielinski ripped-off his Design-a-Hole entry “Star Maker/Breaker” when designing hole #3 of The Great Wall.  MOCHEEZ goes on to claim that not only did Jim Z. glean design ideas from him but from other non-suspecting Design-a-Hole Contest semi-finalists. Jim, a proud artist, vehemently denies borrowing any ideas, be them conscious or subconscious.

*chk* black helicopter 1 to base: Roger, dodger.  Requesting further evidence…. and… aaaa… base – those sandwiches please? over.*chk*

EVIDENCE A: STAR MAKER/BREAKER

EVIDENCE B: GREAT WALL #3

*chk* black helicopter 1 to base: 10-4, base but aaaa… where in the hell are the trees and the dirt mounds? And did you say sand – was that sand, base?  This is INSANE.  IT’s black helicopters have WAY more work to do than this – I’m out…  And – aaaaa – screw those sandwiches.   I’m going to get one of those Golden Tee Gulps… over and out.*chk*

YOU TELL US…

Thank you for your cooperation during this critical time.

- ITIOT Agent Duffer Dan Schrementi

ps: we love you, Doug.