Royal Wimbledon

The par three 13th, with the very similar 17th sitting in the background

The par four 15th is a thrilling hole, inviting you to flirt with the fairway bunkers from the tee to open up the angle into the green. It's also remarkably picturesque

Course name: Royal Wimbledon
Location: Wimbledon, London
 Four Word Course Review: Repetition diminishes the fun

The risk when you are seeing so many really good/great courses, certainly the amount I have been lucky to see in the past few months, is that when you go through what you thought of them, you either just list all the things you didn't like or rave like a maniac.

So let me get down that Royal Wimbledon was a bit repetitive. On a macro level, 3, 15 and 16 (and to a lesser extent 4) are effectively the same hole - par four from a high tee to a well-bunkered or otherwise defended valley fairway to a plateau green set at 45 degrees and bunkered/defended on the side to which the green angles. Likewise 5, 13 and 17 - slight uphill one-shotters, bunkered at the front set into the side of a ridge.

So that grated a little, but both "templates" are great holes, so who can blame Colt for banging them in where they fit before retiring to the Fox and Grapes down the road for a feed and a pint?!

What I did like was how few flat lies there are around the greens. Even on the safe side, it was rare to find a kind, level chipping area. It added a lot of interest to missed greens because the dips, ridges and grass bunkers weren't too severe, but significant enough that you had to think hard about the best route to the flag.

I liked the reachable par fours at 6 and 9 - all the more that 6 is about 235m tee to green as the crow flies, yet defends itself without using a single bunker.

The property is a great one for its undulation and wild look. I have long enjoyed a walk in Wimbledon Common, across the fence, to relax, so introduce a really fun golf course into that walk and what's not to love?

The clubhouse really is something else (Colt wouldn't have to go down to the F&G these days!), with its sprawling lawn dotted with picnic benches overlooking a practice putting green that must have about 30 holes cut.

When I arrived in the early afternoon there were women, men, children and dogs all around, many enjoying lunch and a pint while the kids played putting games and the dogs lazed in the sun.

It seemed a really friendly, well-utilised club, and in such a beautiful part of town it's not hard to understand why. In a crazy, busy place like London it really did feel like a sanctuary.

Like Woking and New Zealand, Royal Wimbledon is a great members club. The house feels like a big, welcoming living room, not to mention a refuge from the busyness of the city and the office, while the course challenges without overpowering and gives you enough chances to make that birdie or two to share the tale of afterwards with your mates.