Vicars Cross

A short par 4 to start the round. But beware the pond on the dogleg and the tall trees that block out any shot down the left. Longer hitters might take on the challenge of drawing a ball over the trees to get on in one but any mistake and it could be a disastrous start to the round.

Best approach is to lay up just short of the bunker on the right side of the fairway and take a short iron into the green.

A dogleg right with a tight opening drive through the avenue of trees. Second shot encounters a stream running across the fairway. An elevated green with a tricky shot if the pin is on the front slope.

Long hitters can cut the dogleg and drive over the trees on the right of the fairway - but any mistake will lead to a loss of at least one shot.

The fairway has several severe undulations in the dropping area for most drives which makes for a second shot being taken off a slope. Longer hitters can take on the bunkers and get onto the flat. The shot onto the green needs to be long enough to avoid the right side bunker. Always best to approach the green from the left side of the fairway.

A fairly forgiving landing area for your drive. Second shots need to account for the fairway sweeping anything down to the left. Take account of the two tier green on your approach. A pin at the front will mean a very fast putt down the slope if you are on the top tier. Out of bounds all down the left. Anything off the fairway usually means your next shot will be blocked off by trees.

A slight dogleg left with bunkers on the right and a grassy hollow on the left to catch any long wayward drives. Right side of the fairway offers the best approach to the green. A bold second shot could end up in pond on the back left of the green and a bunker awaits anything slightly off to the right.

A long par 4 that threads between trees off the tee. An uphill approach to a large green protected by 3 bunkers. A ditch crossing the fairway 100 yards short of the green will catch any misjudged second shot.

This dogleg right is well shielded by trees all down the right. A good drive is needed to get a clear view of the green for the second shot. To add interest, the shot will usually be taken off the sloping fairway that awaits beyond the marker post. A ditch crosses the fairway on your approach and another ditch is to the left of the green. Plenty of challenges on this interesting hole.

First of the par 3's, the large two tier green presents an inviting target. Putting across the slope is a challenge, so get on the same level as the pin. The front Bunker will punish any short shot and long shots will run off the green down the slopes off at the back leaving a tricky chip.

A short par 4 which is easily reachable for the longer hitter. However, looks can be deceiving and if you wander off course either left or right you could pay the price. No less than five bunkers and a hollow protect the fairway while a stream and yet more trees threaten the mishit drive.

If the pin is at the back, then drive down the right to open up the green. If the pin is at the front, then drive short of the bunkers down the left to take out the front bunker on your second shot. Anything long will run off the back and leave a difficult pitch to a heavily sloping putting surface.

A long par 4 with a ditch running across the fairway to catch the shorter or mishit drive. Trees guard the approach to the green on both sides of the fairway. Water also awaits an over-hit shot at the back of the green.

A pond on the right and trees both sides will punish any poor drives. The green is narrow and slopes up and then drops off severely towards the back. A straight forward hole, but with bunkers either side the approach shot has to be accurate.

A shortish par 3 but well protected and some subtle and not so subtle slopes. Out of bounds all down the left so any pulled or hooked shot is a goner. Anything long requires a delicate chip back.

A fairly longish par 5 with a reasonably generous fairway. But a pond to the right and out of bounds on the left will catch wayward drives. With a ditch cutting across the fairway and trees on the left, its best be on the right with your second shot to get a clear final approach into the green. The slope of the green tends to cause balls to run left to right.

The approach is narrow with a large tree dominating the right side which tends to make players push their shots towards the left green side bunker. Going over the tree is an option if you can get height with distance, But at some 200 yards length it quite a challenge.

Another tight driving hole with out of bounds all the way down the left and a large copse on the right. The uphill drive is followed by a downhill approach to a heavily sloping green guarded by a bunker on the left. The green has “Makenzie” running down the middle front to back with the higher side of the green being on the right.

A dogleg left par 5 with out of bounds on the left that gets tighter as you near the green. A drive down the right makes the second shot a lot easier and avoids having to take a shot over the corner trees. If the drive is long enough then you get a clear view of the green some 200 yards away. A bunker 20 yards short of the green has to be carried and putting will generally follow the slope left to right.

A short par 3 in front of the clubhouse to finish. The steeply sloping green means you have to land on the correct tier. Anything long means one of the hardest 'up and downs' on the course.