TE AMO
Par 70, 7003. Handicap 78.7 (the highest of the CC season)
White tee yardages but 1 round each on red and green manipulated tees. Both are around 6700 yards.
Red: Holes 4,5,6,8,9 have longer red tee yardages than the white tees.
Architect Quinlan Roche:
"Sitting in a fictional city loosely based off of Mexico City lies an unusual course that weaves it's way through the rolling hills of a semi-arid, semi-tropical valley. Because of slope changes and the greens being this course's primary defense, aiming directly at the pin here is almost always a bad idea. Playing off slopes and using the ground game on every shot is a must as well as knowing when to take on the big risks on some of the shorter holes. Te Amo (Tour) is a modified version of my WCoD course featuring slightly altered greens and 3 Manipulated tee boxes which make the course slightly more friendly than it normally would play."I know this will be a tough week due to further swing changes so I tried to add some strategies to getting around the course instead of just hole descriptions.
Te Amo is a spicy course sitting next to Mexico City. It has numerous defenses created by the land that will have us guessing and second guessing shot shaping choices, and getting accustomed to the bumpy terrain and compensating for undulating fairways on approaches. The greens are of average size but there will be double breaking putts, multi-sectioned greens and severely sloped greens tumbling into hazards. After more swing changes, it's not worth taking many chances here. A handful of 3-wood tee shots and then accurate (sometimes low-loft) irons are required to keep away from disaster - we should know what kind of condition our game is in and then play aggressively/conservatively in accordance because the course can be unforgiving. At most, try to score early with holes 1, 4, 5, and 7 and then hold on for dear life cause it's a rollercoaster without a seatbelt and we can fall out and tumble down a hill or into water. Legend has it that there are underground tunnels beneath the course and perhaps all of the empty Mexico City we see is empty because everyone's living under the course.
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Q: We have a deep network of tunnels underneath the course that we use to observe peop....ahem, nevermind that, we're almost there, just afterwards you can play the course!
Do you rarely suspect the actions of others?
Hiding within what seems to be a normal city park lies an organization known as "Te Amo", little is known about its members who proselytize outside it, inviting onlookers inwards towards an expansive underground facility.
Only recently upon visiting, you find the city oddly empty, what has happened? Dunno, guess I'll play golf---
So if anyone can explain the mysteries of Te Amo, share your info with us!
White tee yardages
1-5-532. I can smell the food from Mexico City sitting to the left of the opening hole. I haven’t had an enchilada in a while – ‘one mild enchilada please!’. I don’t like food too spicy just like I don’t like the first hole too spicy- luckily, it’s not. A way to ease in to our rounds, this par 5 has a spacious fairway cut in two by its horseshoe centerline bunker. Keeping it right off the tee is best. Choose left and the ball will skid further left leaving a heroic 250 yard 60 foot uphill approach over 2 greenside bunkers. Best to layup and then club up on a short wedge. Birdies are available but eagles are valuable and rare.
2-3-212, #2 handicap. I really hope we got birdie on that opener cause Te Amo only te amo’s us for one hole. Looks like the more scenic the hole the more deadly. Any ‘fast’ tempo swing will be wet due to the severe slopes that dive into the water left and short of the hole so if our miss has been left, aim to the right some for safety. The tri-sectioned green allows for run ups and it’s best to go low loft in stronger winds. Club down off the tee except in southeastern winds.
3-4-497. A demanding tee shot best served by a low fade with top spin to the right side of the fairway that won’t get swept up in SE winds that head towards all the water to the left. Without shot shaping, aim a bit right despite the fairway bunker and hope the camber doesn’t bounce the ball into the drink. This hole is visually beautiful but can produce ugly results. Watch the false front as the ball will slide down it like it was a trapdoor into water so being in the fairway and clubbing up is key but without backspin on the approach, our ball will roll off the back of the front-to-back sloped putting surface.
4-4-311. A drivable par-4 surrounded by water with a tee ball that carries water until it connects with a fairway that only accepts shots with a fairway metal, wood or driver. Two draws with hybrid and short wedge will be best to stay safe and dry. The hole tumbles towards the water so going for the green is practically impossible and perhaps only safe once we make the cut or if we’re on a hot streak. Personally, I think it’s best to play conservatively here and with the pitch being affected last week, I’ll leave myself a full wedge to the green sitting on the high on the land’s edge.
5-3-131. If you need the restroom after an enchilada you can use the creepy cave looking one between the 4th and 5th holes. Q hints that there are underground tunnels under the course and this is a way in - perhaps a whole city lives under there since there's no one on the streets. - Q's mystery that I haven't solved yet. Another birdie chance – this is the 3rd of the 5 holes so if we can get to -3 after this hole, it’s the most ideal way of staying afloat later. Club up and wedge away to a green tilted to the right. #2 pin is tough, but we can go long and bounce it off the backboard hill behind.
6-4-370. A hole that leans its dogleg right further right by its camber, by all means go left as much as possible to avoid the rocky rough. Recovery is nearly impossible out of any of the right rough – it’s like a jungle in there. Ride the fairway’s slope from the left with a fade and a short pitch should get close for birdie. I need to work a bit on my pitches after the last update so I’m leaving a full wedge in.
7-5-631. Considering its yardage this could be a second 3-shot par-5 but luckily I noticed somewhere that Q said he likes long par-5’s reachable in two so let ‘er rip twice and we can wind up with something nice – maybe an eagle because of the 82 foot drop from tee to green. The only place to beware of is the tree sitting below the green’s level to the right where recovery will be highly demanding.
8-4-401. Into the wind go with driver, otherwise a wood is fine to stay below the fairway bunker near the 290-yard mark. A wedge into a tolerable green and this should be an easy par and possibly a birdie.
9-4-522. A wide fairway on a long par-4 that heads downhill and to the right, but no matter what, don’t miss off the tee to the right or we’ll have to approach the green from rocky uneven terrain around a row of trees with a fade. The long journey to green can be ruined by any approaches going left since the city sits in OB to the left and behind the hole.
10-5-559. The drive should be easy because of 10’s expansive fairway but the second shot will be heavily affected by camber when aiming for the hilltop green sitting to the right. The last par-5 on the course, it's crucial we get a birdie here because there's no gimmie holes the rest of the way.
11-4-460, #3 handicap. The fairway widens at the 3-wood/driver landing area so go long off the tee but don’t go right as it’s a steep dropoff onto another hole below. Approaches going too far right or short of the green’s porch or it could be Quad City instead of Mexico City. With rocks sitting in tall grass, trees surrounding, this may be the scariest spot at Te Amo. No te amo this #3 handicap.
12-3-172. An iron test off the tee, it’s really a matter of how precise can we be. Going left towards the horseshoe line bunker will result in a blind recovery. Land the ball on the apron or on the right side of the green to let it work its way to the pins left.
13-4-436. The winding fairway will have us questioning what club is best. I’m going with 3-wood and dealing with a mid-iron approach to the elevated green. #2 pin is way in the corner – might be best to hit the middle of the green here.
14-3-245. Here, I hope I can just hit the green at all. A long par-3 off all tees, a long iron, wood, or hybrid will be required for a heroic shot. The green’s slight bowl sloping will cradle slightly wayward approaches hitting the edges.
15-4-522. A long hole that plays long though its wide open, the centerline bunker may be fear-inducing but its worth going driver since the approach will be so long. We can shorten the approach with a shot that rides the slope that leans down into the green from the left.
16-4-401. 100 yards shorter than the last par-4, I’d go wood off the tee to avoid the diagonal line bunker and then up a club to a mid-iron for the 20-foot high squared green sloping front-to-back we need to target. Use backspin to avoid the ball running through the green.
17-3-220. Club down one or two on this par-3 and don’t go right where there’s a steep ledge and water behind. The hole sits on a hill above the 1st hole so stay left where there’s high ground. We can hit a low liner to avoid strong winds but if with a fade (for righties), the ball might skid off the green down the hill- use backspin.
18-4-381 #1 handicap. So none of those were the #1 handicap. Oh boy I better watch out. My enchilada’s not sitting so well in my tummy on this final hole – an acid-inducing stomach cramping, puke in the pond par-4 that uses a line of palm trees left and water right as its defenses when off the tee. The approach heads straight to Mexico City so don’t go long where the OB street or right where the water hangs out. A 3-wood and wedge should be easy. It’s when driver comes out that trouble comes around.
A practice swing occasionally won't hurt and I hope our games are in order this week-play aggressively and an excellent short game will be necessito. (Adding loft and backspin to a splash shot will help if we can't partial it like we used to.) Good Luck.