Pacific Dunes

The first is a testing par four, owing more to its setting than its length. A winding creek poses trouble from the tee on this opening hole. It snakes along the right-hand side of the hole before cutting across the fairway and trailing off into the left-hand rough. However, the fairway is generous in its width, and there is ample room to land your tee shot. A good drive will set up a real opportunity of making a three, as the second requires only short iron over the creek to a large relatively flat double green (shared with the par three 5th).

The second holes character is noticeably different from the first. The wide open expanses so obvious when entering the golf course and when playing hole 1 disappear as you move into the more heavily wooded the next eight holes are still exposed to the elements and will prove to be quite testing. At 374 metres sheltered part of the site. Don't be fooled though as the second is a mid-length par four demanding both length and accuracy. The hole dog-legs to the right with a large fairway bunker guarding the inside of the turn which should be avoided at all costs. A mid-iron is required to a slightly raised green which is angled left to right across the line of play and which is therefore more easily attacked from the right hand side of the fairway.

This is a tricky little par four which is perhaps the designers favourite. The hole itself requires a sound strategy from tee to green if par or better is to be made. The clever manipulation of contours and the shrewd siting of fairway bunkers combine to make the tee shot look more daunting than it really is. Standing on the tee it is quite difficult to gauge how much fairway you have to aim at. Better players will have to weigh up whether they will use the driver and attack the hole, taking the shortest line over the bunkers on the right, or lay up to the left with a mid to long iron. Taking the latter option, you are left with a difficult pitch to a small, raised green which drops away quickly on all sides. The difficulty in hitting this green is increased by the fact that it has a 'false front' with anything too short rolling back off the green and down to the bottom of a swale, from where a delicate chip shot is required to save par.

Played from the most south-westerly corner of the site, this long par five is quite a challenging hole, especially when played into the prevailing north-easterly winds. Bunkers dot the fairway at both the first and second landing areas, placing a premium on accuracy. If you can avoid the sand on your first two shots, you are then left with an approach to a picturesque green nestled amongst a natural setting of Banksias and Sydney Blue Gums. However, like the sixteenth, you should not let yourself be distracted by this attractive backdrop, as the hole is certainly no push over. The entrance to the long sloping green is narrow, and is protected by traps to the front right and left. Longer hitters attempting to get home in two will also need to consider the close proximity of the surrounding vegetation, which will punish those who stray too far offline.

The fifth is possibly the most difficult par three on the course. This is essentially due to the need to combine length and accuracy from the tee. Any shot short of the large double green (shared with the 1st) may find the water that closely guards the front right portion of the putting surface. Overcompensation for this hazard or through the green you ensure an encounter with one of the strategically placed bunkers. From the sand a golfer is left with a delicate recovery, with the water on the opposite side of the green waiting to swallow up anything played too boldly.

By far the longest hole on the layout, this demanding hole requires long precision hitting if it is to be tamed. However, although it stretches out to 555 metres from the championship tees, it does generally play downwind when the prevailing north-easterly is blowing, helping to shorten its length considerably. Therefore a potential birdie is certainly not out of the question. Assuming you get a good drive away the second shot is partially blind, played over a small ridge that bisects the fairway mid-way between the first landing area and the green. If the ridge can be 'flown' and the second shot land on the down slope beyond the benefit of additional run will shorten the hole considerably. The eventual target is a narrow green closely guarded by two small bunkers to the left and one larger bunker to the right.

Although it is the longest par four on the course, the seventh is a relatively benign hole that will yield its fair share of birdies if played conservatively from tee to green. The hole doglegs slightly from left to right, with the preferred line of play from the tee down the left-hand side. As you would expect this line is guarded by a lone bunker in the edge of the fairway. If you manage to avoid the sand you are left with the best line into the long green, which is protected by two more bunkers to the right and front left. The green itself is relatively flat, ensuring that if the green is reached birdie is not out of the question.

The eighth is an uphill par three that requires a well struck long iron or fairway wood to an enormous green, protected by deep menacing greenside bunkers to the left and short right. However, the vast putting surface does provide an ample target to aim at, and the front of the green has been kept open to allow the ball to be run in for those without the muscle to 'fly' the green. Once reached, a deft touch will be required on the green to avoid three putting if the ball comes to rest a long way from its intended target. The seventh is an attractive hole, with its large green nestled in an amphitheatre of native trees and shrubs.

The ninth hole is a tough par four, which makes for a challenging and memorable finish to the front nine. A huge bunker is strategically located on the inside of the dogleg, tempting longer hitters to take it on in favourable conditions. The bunker should be avoided at all costs though, as their steep faces make a successful recovery a difficult prospect. The second half of the fairway narrows significantly about 90 metres short of the green, before widening back out to reveal a large elongated green framed by two greenside bunkers on the left. The open front of the green accommodates running shots, which will be required by many to get home in two. A par here would indeed be a pleasing result.

The tee shot on this short par-4 requires a carry over a winding creek that bisects the fairway approximately 160 metres from the tee. This creek continues up the left-hand side of the hole to the green where it widens out to guard the front of the green. A generous fairway awaits a reasonably struck tee shot from where a deft pitch is need to reach a shallow green hugged by water in front and a copse of trees behind. If attacked, a birdie is a real possibility, which may be the catalyst for a great back nine, however a substantial error could result in a bogey or worse. How much of a gambler are you?

The 11th is the first of two par fives on the back nine. Strategy on this hole is dictated by several water hazards of considerable size, the first of which stretches for some 80 odd metres down the left-hand side of the first landing area. Although set back from the fairway, its presence is enough to make you question your line off the tee. A pond on the right-hand side extends into the fairway narrowing the landing area significantly at around the 240-metre mark, placing a premium on accuracy for longer hitters if the green is to be reached in two. Really though, only the very brave would be foolish enough to take on this right side pond. The second shot doglegs slightly to the right, where a lone fairway bunker on the left and water to the right guards the intended landing area. Having avoided the water from the tee, longer hitters will have to weigh up whether they will take the water on again and go for the green in two, or play conservatively and lay up and rely on an accurate pitch or successful long putt for four.

The only significant trouble off the tee on this straightaway par four is a small pond on the left-hand side of the fairway which for most is probably too far out to contemplate. Assuming the fairway is found, accuracy is the key on the approach shot if par or better is to be made. At best a mid to long iron will be required to reach a green heavily guarded by hazards, with bunkers short and right and water to the left and rear. However, to favour the shorter hitter the front of the green has been kept open, which provides the opportunity to run the ball onto the green if wind dictates that this is the best option.

The thirteenth is a distinctive par 4 which is bordered by water on the right-hand side of the fairway for the entire length of the hole. Although generous in its width, the landing area is protected on the left by a large bunker set into the edge of the fairway. This bunker is cleverly positioned to punish tee shots that have overcompensated in an attempt to avoid the water on the right. Like the twelfth a mid to long iron is required on the approach to a green guarded closely to the right and rear by the ever the present water hazard. Anything left of the green is fraught as two more bunkers guard this side of the green leaving the task of making four particularly onerous.

At 161 metres, the fourteenth is a shortish par three which needs a well struck mid-iron to reach he green. A high degree of precision is required from the tee to avoid the surrounding bunkers, the most menacing of which guards the entire left edge of the green. As one of the largest bunkers on the course, this huge expanse of sand can be particularly intimidating from the tee, especially if the pin is cut behind it in the rear left portion of the green. Also the length of the green means that club selection can vary significantly depending on where the pin is cut, and this decision can be made more difficult if the wind happens to be blowing from the north-east, which it typically does. Par here will be a rewarding score.

Orientated northward, the fifteenth is a medium-length par four yet it's the open nature leaves it exposed to the prevailing winds from the northeast, which on certain days can lengthen it considerably. Accuracy from the tee is a prerequisite as the drive leaves a narrow avenue of trees with the landing area guarded by water to the left and sand on the right. Once these hazards have been successfully negotiated, you are then left with an approach to a demanding green set at the base of a hill. Par here, is a real possibly and would set up a storming finish to the round.

The back tees for this hole are elevated, which affords the golfer a great view of the fairway that snakes its way between two large lakes. Negotiating these lakes can be a gruelling challenge, especially if crosswinds are blowing. The second-half of the fairway doglegs left to a green nestled amongst a group of majestic angophoras, which pose like a natural cathedral in the afternoon light. But don't be fooled by the beauty of this setting, as precision is required when playing the approach if a four is to be made. The green drops away quickly on all sides into rolling swales, ensuring that if the green is missed on approach, you will be left with a delicate up and down for par. To add to its difficulty the green is also protected by bunkers to the front right and left, set back from the green to catch any short misdirected approaches.

At 200 metres from the back markers, the par three seventeenth is a stern test of golf. Angled slightly right to left across the line of play the huge green has an open front and is shaped to accommodate running approach shots, which in all likelihood will be required by many to reach the putting surface from the tee. If the green is reached in one shot, par is not guaranteed as the sheer size of the green means that three putting is a real possibility. Bunkers right and left combined with some ever-present water, combined with the length of the tee shot and huge putting surface ensures that a three on this hole will be either well earned or otherwise lucky.

At just a tick under five hundred metres, the eighteenth is a golfing gamblers delight but also a testing par five to close out the round of golf. Water is again a feature on this hole and helps dictate strategy from tee to green. A large elongated lake is situated down the right-hand side of the hole, which is the shorter and therefore preferred line of play. The lake is positioned so as to enforce the dog-leg, and a strong drive flirting with the lake is required if players are to attack the hole in the hope of getting home in two. The hole is made even more difficult by the tall avenue of trees framing the entire left-hand side of the hole. The large lake continues across the front of the green, pinching the fairway into a narrow opening to the left-hand side of the green. This configuration ensures water must be carried if the green is to be hit in two. For those who decide to lay up a deft pitch is required over the edge of the lake to a large undulating green, protected by bunkers to the left and rear.