Stepping onto the first tee at Silverado Resort is an experience, and with the right strategy, you can turn that feeling into a great score. This isn't just about swinging well, it's about thinking your way around a classic golf course designed to test every facet of your game. This guide will give you a complete, play-by-play strategy for navigating Silverado’s tree-lined fairways and treacherous green complexes, helping you play smarter and shoot lower.
The first thing to know is that Silverado Resort is home to two 18-hole championship courses: the North and the South. While both are fantastic tracks, the North Course is the star of the show, hosting the PGA Tour’s Fortinet Championship each year. Our strategy will focus primarily on the North, but these principles apply equally to the South Course, as both share the same design DNA from renowned architect Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Silverado is a classic, "second-shot" golf course. You won’t find many forced carries or gimmicky hazards. Instead, its challenge comes from mature, towering oak trees, strategically placed bunkering, and a set of masterfully designed greens. It rewards precision and planning more than brute force. Thinking a shot or two ahead is the name of the game here. Power will help, but placement is everything.
The fairways on the North Course can feel generous, but don't let that fool you. Where you place your ball in the fairway is often more important than how far you hit it. Those beautiful old oak trees aren't just for scenery, they're chess pieces that dictate your line of attack for the next shot.
Consistently landing your tee shot on the correct side of the fairway is the first step to scoring well at Silverado. Before you even pull a club, walk to the side of the tee box to see the angles. Look at where the pin is located on the green. A common RTJ Jr. design feature is creating a preferred angle of attack.
Being in the rough on the "good" side is often far better than being in the fairway on the "bad" side. Make this your primary thought on every par 4 and 5.
Because position is so vital, the driver is not always the automatic choice. Several holes on both the North and South courses reward restraint and accuracy. Ask yourself what the ideal distance is for your second shot. Is hitting driver going to bring a set of fairway bunkers into play? Does it run the risk of putting you behind a tree?
For example, a short par 4 might look tempting, but a 3-wood or even a hybrid that guarantees you a spot in the fat part of the fairway, leaving a full wedge in, is a much smarter play. Eliminate the big number before you even step up to the ball.
If there’s one part of your game that Silverado will test relentlessly, it’s your iron play. The green complexes are the primary defense of the golf course, and managing them successfully is the difference between a round of pars and a round filled with bogies and doubles.
The greens are large, slick, and full of subtle and not-so-subtle undulations. The single most important concept to grasp is this: think of each green as being divided into quadrants or tiers. Your goal is not just to hit the putting surface, but to hit the specific section where the pin is located.
Every bunker at Silverado has a purpose. They are positioned to penalize greedy shots and mis-hits that stray toward the pin. When deciding on your approach club, always take the bunkers into consideration. If a front-pin position is guarded by a deep bunker, consider taking one extra club and playing to the back of the green. It will leave you with a long downhill putt, but that's a much better scenario than being an automatic bogey (or worse) from the sand.
To put this strategy into practice, let’s look at a few signature holes you'll face on the North Course. This is where a good game plan can save you several strokes.
This is a stout par 3 that can play over 210 yards, often into a breeze. A pond guards the entire left front portion of the green. The clear and present danger is obvious. The hero shot tries to flag it, gets unlucky with a gust of wind, and ends up wet. The smart play is to completely ignore a left pin placement.
Your Strategy: Aim for the right-center of the green, or even the fringe just to the right. The bailout area to the right is huge and leaves a relatively simple chip. A par here is a fantastic score, a bogey after finding the water is a momentum killer.
This short par 4 is the ultimate risk-reward test. At just over 300 yards for many amateurs, going for the green is incredibly tempting. But the entrance to the green is narrow, flanked by an army of deep bunkers, and the green itself is small and tricky to hold. For every eagle attempt, there are nine double bogies waiting to happen.
Your Strategy: Take the big score out of play. A simple long iron or hybrid played safely down the middle will leave you with a mere 80-100 yards for your second shot. From there, a simple wedge will give you a great look at birdie. You remove all the risk and give yourself a high-percentage chance at a 3.
This beautiful closing par 5 features a creek menacing the entire right side of the fairway and cutting directly in front of the green. It's a classic three-shotter for most players.
Your Strategy:
Finally, we get to the putting surfaces. The greens are predominantly Poa Annua, a type of grass that can get a bit bumpy in the afternoon as it grows throughout the day. Understanding this is vital.
In the morning, the greens will be smoother and quicker. Later in the day, especially on sun-drenched afternoons, expect them to slow down and for putts to wobble offline more easily. The key adjustment is to be committed and a little more firm with your stroke later in your round. Hit your putts with purpose to hold the line. Reading the speed and break is crucial for success.
Given the size and contours of Silverado's greens, you will face many long putts. Becoming proficient at lag putting is non-negotiable. Don’t focus on trying to hole every 30 or 40-footer. Instead, change your mindset: your goal is to get your first putt inside a three-foot "tap-in" circle. Concentrate on dying the ball near the hole. Excellent speed control will save you countless strokes by eliminating three-putts.
Playing Silverado is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one. Success comes from respecting the design, creating smart angles, playing to the fat parts of the green, and executing a sound short-game strategy. Avoid the temptation to be a hero and focus on consistently avoiding the big numbers.
While this guide gives you a solid blueprint, every round presents unique situations that a written plan can't predict. That's why we built Caddie AI. Imagine getting instant, on-course strategy perfectly suited for any hole at Silverado. If you find yourself with a tricky lie behind one of those famous oak trees or unsure about the best play, you can snap a photo, ask for advice, and our AI caddie can help you navigate the challenge. We designed it to take the guesswork out of course management, helping you play any course with more clarity and confidence.
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