West Sussex

The long par three 6th, will all kinds of trouble looming

Looking towards the 13th green, defended at the front and right by deep bunkers remeniscent of the Melbourne sandbelt

Rolling terrain, beautiful bunkering and ample heather come together at the par four 17th

Course name: West Sussex
Location: Pulborough, West Sussex
Four Word Course Review: Perfect rolling golf terrain

Climbing out of the car next to West Sussex Golf Club's practice range, clubhouse and 1st and 18th holes, you'd never believe some of the world's most perfect golf terrain is sitting within a couple of hundred metres.

But walk off the first green (and the opening hole, the only par five on the course, is far from pedestrian despite its flatness) and you enter Nirvana, except this one smells like heather, pine trees and - at times - the smell of raw fear.

After some gentle yet challenging par fours from the 2nd to the 4th and a picturesque if not ball-breaking one-shotter at the 5th, you stroll onto the sixth tee without a care in the world to be confronted by a green 200m away down a steep hill, over a lake and with heather to its left, sand to its right and thick woods over the back.

There are certain parallels to the 16th at Cypress Point (especially in its combination with the 5th, just as 15/16 at CPC are often mentioned as a package) in that a wide bail-out zone sits safely to the side, but something about that green almost ordains that you must have a crack.

From then on it's time to buckle in for some awe-inspiring golf amongst the heather, with pines and other trees framing the wide fairway corridors. Doglegs unguarded by trees tempt you to go for glory, but a heathery end awaits anything misguided. Or at least it should: on the 430-odd-yard par four 7th, I blocked my drive into the pretty but deadly bushes, for reasons best known to myself hit a hybrid out and got lucky as it sailed to within 30m of the green, from which point I pitched in for a birdie. But the vagueries of the heather became apparent on the 14th as a seven iron from the heather flew just 20m!

The 10th and 11th each dogleg over fairway bunkers that, depending on the day's wind, are either there to be bombed over or a sturdy defence. The 11th green particularly, with its steep green-front upslope, is much easier to access with a wedge than a six iron.

The 13th has one of the most fiercely-bunkered greens around, and the most major putting surface slopes on the course, while the 16th has no bunkers at all, but two seas of heather short of the green and another two flanking the driving zone ensure it doesn't want for intimidation!

The greens are quite tame, but after what you face getting to the putting surfaces, that seems reasonable. What's more, the par 68 course measures under 6300 yards from the tips, so there's plenty of time for 36 in a day with a relaxing lunch in between - just the way golf should be played!