Moonah Links (Open Course)

The course opens with a relatively short par four. Yet is asks for a good tee shot and a not so easy approach to the green perched amongst the Moonah Trees. Then there is the first acquaintance of the depth of bunkers? and speed of putting.

Now starts the course proper and it is evident what one is in for. In this case a long par five along a flat corridor, past six fairway bunkers, plus a deep one the the green gate. The green is on a natural ridge, with an easy run-up but severe fall-away at rear.

This can be a beast of a hole depending on the wind and your strength. It needs a long high drive to make it to the plateau, from where the green is in view, otherwise it is a dangerous blind second uphill.

Here is sheer beauty to gaze at but a hard one to play. Par fives on the Leviathan are all huge, but this one is often downwind and therefore easily reached in three strong shots. But a gauntlet of deep bunkers bar the way. Sheer joy.

This is the first of the four par threes, completely natural. It was 'sitting there' in nature, waiting to be discovered so that it just had to be smothered. Three hugely deep bunkers are the principle features. An inspiring long shot across a delightful valley.

Few players can reach this par four in two shots, but it is designed to sort the best from the worst. The green is bunkerless, but a severe slope on the front makes up for that!

Here is a classic par three of medium length on the highest point of the course which means more wind, usually across. A green to test one?s skill.

A par four of maximum length with punishing bunkers along the way. Few will reach this hole in two with its raised green. The best will do it though and the rest will have to watch.

I like to call this one a ?bit of Irish?, as it reminds me of one of the holes so natural one wonders it if was brought from the Emerald Isle. Par fours will be well earned. Small green and some undulation.

This can be awesome, as it turns to the Southwest and climbs to a high green. The tee shot is not a faint heart nor the second shot a less than well struck solid hit. The green has two levels across.

It calls for a full blooded wallop at 200 metres, but there is bunkering only short right and high back left, leaving a wide entry route short and left. The green is a piece of fun too. Two putts not so automatic.

Looking more formidable than it really is, the drive is into a wide basin so that everything ends in the fairway and the green ahead is a shelf without any bunkers. But don?t be deceived. This hole can bite you.

A huge par five that can be seen from the tee all the way to the green, as it twists through bunkers into a vast hollow that was once a vineyard, before it ascends to a green half up the massive ridge.

Unique. Only found in places like Ballybunion and Lahinch. A drive over a large rough height into a low basin, from which the forward approach is upward to a small green. A respite though before a deluge to come.

Here is an almost-par five and on many windy days barely reachable by the power hitters in two. And it's a good old fashioned blind drive over a transverse ridge. That is not all. The green is still a distance yet with two deep bunkers standing like stone lions to guard the gate. The hole is a test of power mostly.

A long par four. The task is to get the second shot onto the upper deck a la St Andrews. Just like The Old Course, this green is not always receptive. Yet there is only adventure here for the stout hearted.

This ranks with the world's greatest par threes. For one thing it has a tantilising length across a valley and the green slopes sharply so that any shot too strong will be in serious trouble. Being short is equally punishing as the apron slopes even steeper. There are so many possibilities of a high score here. It should be totally fascinating to watch shaky leaders confront this penultimate hurdle. I leave it a puzzle.

Longest, as it should be, perhaps exhausting, a minfield of danger from the first shot to the last. There are eleven bunkers waiting along its length to catch the unwary or careless. This is designed to be a spectacular finish. It should make a grand arena of wide viewing and entertainment.