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This #TipTuesday brings you an insider’s tip on how to play the 4th hole at The Ocean Course at Hokuala from golf writer Mike Dauplaise of Prime Golf Destinations.

How would you play it? (Image courtesy of Mike Dauplaise)

The Ocean Course at Hokuala No. 4 – Par 4 (506/500/470/380)

This short par -5 offers perhaps the best opportunity for birdie on the Ocean Course at Hokuala, with the green reachable in after two solid shots for longer hitters. The best angle off the tee is over the corner of a long bunker down the left side to a fairway that angles from right to left. The trade winds blow from left to right, accentuating a right- hander’s slice toward the fence line. The long green angles from left to right, and mounds short and right make back-right pin positions nearly blind. Several bunkers also guard your target, leaving short and left as the safest place to miss.

This #TipTuesday brings you an insider’s tip on how to play the 16th hole at Poipu Bay Golf Course from golf writer Mike Dauplaise of Prime Golf Destinations. How would you play it? (Image courtesy of Patrick Koenig)

Poipu Bay Golf Course
No. 16 – Par 4 (501/472/432/410)

Course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. describes the signature hole at Poipu Bay as the “Pebble Beach of the Pacific.” Even with the wind, the length of this hole still packs a punch for a par-4 and contributes to its No. 1 handicap ranking.

The downhill tee shot must avoid a bunker on the right and the stone heiau walls on the left. The sacred heiau areas play as lateral hazards and may not be entered. The hole doglegs left and heads uphill to a green perched at the edge of the bluff overlooking the ocean.

The right side of the fairway is the preferred angle for the second shot, leaving a more open line of attack. Anything left off the tee leaves you with a carry over another heiau that sits tight along the left side of the fairway and the green. There is zero room for error left of the green.

A series of bunkers encases the green from the right side around the back. Combined with the hazard to the left, the only safe miss is short and right. Luckily, Jones has given us the largest green on the course for our target. Par here is an excellent score.

This #TipTuesday brings you an insider’s tip on how to play the 14th hole at Princeville Makai Golf Clubfrom golf writer Mike Dauplaise of Prime Golf Destinations. How would you play it? (Image courtesy of Mike Dauplaise)

Princeville Makai Golf

ClubNo. 14–Par 4

(338/292/288/269)

Finally, an easy hole–and one that comes with an incredible view as a bonus. OK, maybe “easy” is a little generous, since opportunities for death and destruction abound, but there’s a reason this gorgeous hole ranks as the easiest on the card. With a favorable wind, driving the green is a possibility for the bigger hitters. The question is, is it worth the risk? Take it from someone who kissed a perfectly good round goodbye here, being greedy is fun when it works, but stinks when it doesn’t.

Course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. placed a bunker directly in front of the green for players intent ongoing for the glory from the tee. There are narrow run-up chutes on either side of the bunker, but they are skinny targets indeed from back on the tee. The tee shot crosses a gorge in the coastline and a series of cross bunkers on the opposite side before opening to a sufficiently generous landing area 100 yards short of the green. There is more room between the cross bunkers and the sand trap on the far side of the fairway than appears from the tee. Notice how Jones designed the cross bunkers to resemble the waves breaking below.

A tee shot aimed safely left of the ocean sets up a short iron to the green and a good birdie chance. Even a safe 3-wood for many players will result in nothing more than a pitch or flip wedge for the approach. Anything right is gone, with the cliffs following the hole all the way to the green. Be careful with your approach, too, as a shot struck too firmly can find its way over the green and off the cliff to a watery

This #TipTuesday brings you an insider’s tip on how to play the 15th hole at Wailua Golf Course from golf writer Mike Dauplaise of Prime Golf Destinations. How would you play it? (Image courtesy of Mike Dauplaise)

No. 15 – Par 4

(434/434/416)

You may think you’ve been momentarily transported to the mainland from the look of the trees framing this fairway. This strong par-4 rewards a right-to-left tee shot around a gentle dogleg from an elevated tee that plays downwind.

Trees line both sides of the fairway, but they are much thicker down the right side. A sharp hook around the left brings an irrigation pond into play, but it is elevated and usually does not pose a problem.

Your approach shot into one of the more challenging greens to hit must carry all the way up to the long putting surface. Bunkers guard both sides, and what amounts to a three-foot earthen wall in front of the green puts the brakes on most shots that come up short.