A Few Tips to Help You Get From Tee to Green

Here, with help from Director of Golf Jay Colliatie, is a guide to lowering your score and getting the most bang for your buck at Pelican Hill (yardage from blue tees):

No. 1 (par 4, 428 yards)--Stay to the right off the tee and choose accuracy over distance when making approach. Eucalyptus trees frame the green.

No. 2 (par 4, 342 yards)--”If I were caddying, I’d suggest a three-wood, or even a two-iron off the tee,” Colliatie says. They call this one “The Chute.”

No. 3 (par 4, 332 yards)--Don’t be tempted to cut the dogleg here. Hit an accurate three-wood, and you’ll have a short iron to the green.

No. 4 (par 3, 143 yards)--Three huge bunkers on right of two-tiered green will make you aim left. It’s just as important to be long rather than short, though.

No. 5 (par 4, 335 yards)--Feeling strong? The more of Los Trancos Canyon your tee shot crosses, the shorter the hole. But don’t hit over this green.

No. 6 (par 4, 396 yards)--Take an extra club for approach to elevated green. Anything short will roll back down the hill halfway to you.

No. 7 (par 3, 178 yards)--If you’re not mesmerized by lake, rocks or ocean, think about club selection. Up-and-down out of the bunkers in back is tough.

No. 8 (par 5, 550 yards)--It’s going to take you three to get to this green anyway, so stress accuracy and stay between the trees with tight second shot.

No. 9 (par 4, 434 yards)--The most difficult hole on the course. Uphill and into the wind. If you think you need a three-iron for your second shot, hit a three-wood.

No. 10 (par 4, 440 yards)--It takes two very straight, long shots to reach this green set in small hollow, but the front is open so you can run the ball on.

No. 11 (par 4, 348 yards)--There is an undulating, grass-covered crater from hell protecting right side of the green, so ignore the tall grass and aim left.

No. 12 (par 3, 193 yards)--Pin placement on huge green can mean a four-club swing. Then there’s the wind factor. Club selection is everything here.

No. 13 (par 3, 112 yards)--Don’t look at the view of the coast. Ignore the pounding surf. Forget huge waste area in front. Remember, it’s only 112 yards.

No. 14 (par 5, 516 yards)--Put your ego in the bag and pull out a club you know you can hit straight off the tee. And don’t end up on wrong level of two-tiered green.

No. 15 (par 4, 385 yards)--Try to stay a bit left on first two shots. Again, it’s much more important to hit the ball straight than to hit it far.

No. 16 (par 3, 208 yards)--If there are any doubters left, this green will convince them that putts actually do roll uphill toward the ocean.

No. 17 (par 5, 547 yards)--Stay to the left of the bunker complex, guarding the green and concentrating on getting close with an uphill pitch to the flag.

No. 18 (par 4, 418 yards)--Grab what it takes to carry the canyon--180 yards from elevated tee to fairway--and then concentrate on an accurate second shot down to green.