Type of course? Parkland

Pleasant staff? Very nice

Best hole? The 10th, purely because you have to tee off over a lake.

Après golf? Nice cup of tea (with a biscuit!) before our round.

Nice round? It was a practice round for Charlotte’s upcoming County semi-final. We’d played a foursomes comp in torrential rain that morning and the weather was gorgeous by the time we teed off at 5:16pm, so yes, great round. Lots of doglegs, which is quite unusual and requires a bit of thinking.

Special memory? Looking back on the 16th to see that the sky had caught fire. Amazing sunset. Also going back to our bags after teeing off on the 10th and seeing that Charlotte’s bag had been vandalised by an unknown criminal (squirrel? crow?) in search of a quick snack.  

Must play again? Hmmmm no. Nice course, very well looked after, but not enough variety for me. Parkland courses just aren’t my favourite.

Type of course? Steep downland

Pleasant staff? Nice pro

Best hole? The 7th because you get to drive over the hill and then, as you walk up, a massive wind turbine slowly comes into view. Quite spectacular even though it’s not as close as it appears at first.

Après golf? It was our second 18 holes after playing a medal in the morning, so we threw our clubs back in the car and went home.

Nice round? It was a practice round for Charlotte, who’s playing in the quarter final of Division 4 on Friday. The sun was shining, the views over Lewes were amazing and the South Downs and we both played well. Wonderful.

Special memory? Hitting the ball really really nicely and playing my best golf ever on the front 9, until I reverted to my usual smattering of average/mediocre shots.

Must play again? Even though it’s a fun course in spectacular surroundings, I got a bit annoyed with so many of the greens being at the bottom of a very steep hill. The approach shot is inevitably a “hit and hope” job, as it’s impossible to assess how much run the ball will get depending on where it lands. So, probably not.

Type of course? Undulating parkland

Pleasant staff? Lovely

Best hole? The 10th. It’s 299 yards and all downhill, so it’s very satisfying to see a good drive sail towards the left of the fairway, catch the slope and settle just a short wedge away from the green.

Après golf? It was the women’s Open, so we were treated to a great buffet.

Nice round? Opens are rarely anything but a brilliant day out and I love the “best two scores out of four” format. My excellent long game was sadly let down by a complete ineptitude to read the greens, so I scored badly, but hitting the ball well and hanging out with your buddies always makes for a nice round.  

Special memory? Lining up to take my chip just below the green on the 17th and knowing that I must score because my teammates were all in trouble, thinking “It’s just as well that I’m chipping really well today, we might rescue a couple of points” and duffing my chip into the bank. And they say confidence is everything.

Must play again? Yes. It’s beautifully looked after, the trees are nicely spaced out and the surroundings are beautiful.

Type of course? Links as it’s right by the sea, but not really according to this definition. Too much lava, not enough sand.

Pleasant staff? Very lovely and chatty, in perfect English of course.

Best hole? The 10th looked really tricky, with a ditch and cliffs to negotiate in order to reach the green.

Après golf? Excellent fish and chips and burger from the gorgeous, modern clubhouse overlooking the course and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Nice round? Time to come clean: we didn’t play. We just popped in because we couldn’t help ourselves. But the course looked great, in a sublime location.

Special memory? Chatting to the lovely young woman behind the bar and marvelling at the fact that a group of women plays every night at 10pm at this time of year. But then I guess that as the course is only open from May to September, Icelandic golfers need to make the most of the sun when it’s out.

Must play again? Golf in Iceland is a high-risk strategy because of the crazy weather, but there are five courses within easy reach of Reykjavík, so a golfing holiday wouldn’t be out of the question if I ever won the lottery. How amazing would it be to play golf at midnight in stupendous surroundings?

Type of course? Links

Pleasant staff? Nice and welcoming

Best hole? The 18th because it was the last one

Après golf? Nice pre golf tuna sandwich in the company of the two ducks who come every day for their lunch.

Nice round? Horrendous. One word: shankytown.

Special memory? Chipping onto the 6th elevated upside-down saucer green, only to see my ball dribble over the edge and end up at the bottom of the slope. Four times.

Must play again? It’s really hard to be positive about a course when you have a horrible round. Objectively, it’s a classic, very well-maintained, interesting and difficult links course. I probably would have loved it if it hadn’t been for all the shanks. Still a bit traumatised, actually.