Crowborough Beacon

Great use of the natural contours at the 2nd, where a gouge in the land is used to protect the green from a running approach on the downhill approach shot

The brawny and brave can go straight at the 6th green, almost 200 yards away, but it's far wiser to use the slope of the land to run your ball onto the green

The par five 10th is one of a few off-camber doglegs, a sole bunker short left of the green providing sufficient strategy

The final hole has perhaps the strongest healthland link on the entire course

The club's most famous former member served a year as captain in 1910

Course name: Crowborough Beacon
Location: Crowborough, East Sussex, England
Four Word Course Review: The perfect village club

It's astounding just how many golf courses there are in England - many hiding in country towns and next door to the big names - that you've never heard of but upon which you would gladly play out your days.

Crowborough Beacon is one such course. It makes great use of a steep site, reminding you of Walton Heath at its best, though some holes are built on land that's just too steep for golf. That said, the good moments far outweigh the bad and are the holes that stick in the memory.

Holes such as the par three 6th across a gorge, narrow par five 10th, long par four 12th interrupted by heather-filled broken ground in the driving zone, off-camber dogleg left 16th and gently uphill final hole are worth the journey to the South Downs alone.

Crowborough Beacon Golf Club may not be famous, but the same cannot be said for a certain local resident and longtime member who captained the club in 1910: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the book and film character Sherlock Holmes.

A corner of the clubhouse celebrates the star attraction, and I thank this year's captain - filling the role 100 years after Doyle - who generously showed us around the club after our round, continuing the great welcome given by the professional when we arrived.

One regular feature of a club like Crowborough Beacon is quirk. Here, it's the roads. Not only are they a feature on three or four holes, with six crossings in total, but they are integral parts of the course, so if somehow your ball comes to rest in the middle, you better hope for a break in the traffic!

And any golfer knows that if he chooses to play a course from the back markers he is taking on extra risk, but walking back to the medal tee on the first hole you're shocked by just how close the road is to the tee box. Passing traffic is no more than 10 or 12 feet behind you as you make your first swing of the day. All the more reason to play forward, I think!

Fun golf, a warm welcome, gorgeous views and the kind of clubhouse balcony you can all too easily spend six hours on with mates. Yep, I could easily spend my remaining golfing days atop Crowborough Beacon.