I recommend facing Morty/Max to start off. The mountain course is the easiest imo. Then Donald and Goofy. I don't know if it's just me, but I find the tropical course the hardest for match play.

I do NOT recommend giving up on Par 5's. The AI is too consistent on Par 3's and Par 5's are their worst by far. Losing 2 holes on a course would be grounds for a restart anyway, and there's always two Par 5's in the first 9

Shopping, I recommend trying to at least pick up Level Up Silver and Protein Silver. If you have 39 coins left over, grab Easy Shot, as the advanced AI loves to inflict you with Random Shot

On the combination match, just barely drive off the tee on non Par 3's. Your partner will almost always butcher the approach

For the Near pin, if you get around 800 points, you can just barely tap the ball to not risk an errant bunker or water shot

The two run killers are the Long Drive Contest and Combo Match. Basically the Combo match makes the run, it's by far the biggest time save