New South Wales

The skyline 3rd green provides the first real thrill of the round, as well as the first breathtaking view of the Pacific

The all-world approach to the 5th - a combination of setting and architecture that are both first-class

The par three 6th: Aesthetically and architecturally, the green complex could be better. As a golf experience, it's wonderful

The 7th green, set naturally into a dune, has the wildest contours on the course, complete with a fantastic false front

The 9th green sits as comfortably on the land as any green in golf

The removal of a tree down the left of the 10th has made a world of difference, with the left side now worth challenging off the tee for the premium line to the green

A slight upslope just short of the 13th green makes the target even more difficult to find - a shot must be hit deliberately to run on or it will be stopped dead in its tracks

Finding the fairway at the terrifying 15th is far easier if you can hit a draw

Course name: New South Wales
Location: Sydney, Australia
Four Word Course Review: A beautiful, charming monster

New South Wales was a course that I fell in love with during my teens and early 20s. Sydney's only world class course at the time - The Lakes now rivals it - and one I was fortunate to play once or twice each year.

Then I went overseas and saw so many great courses that often in the back of my mind would be: "what if I get home and NSW doesn't live up to what I thought it was?".

Today I got the chance to look at it for the first time with some perspective and the result was that its weaknesses - and some are significant - are more apparent than ever, but so are its standout moments.

It posesses more "weak" holes than many other courses I'd rate alongside it - the new 18th built in 2008 by Greg Norman's design firm is far poorer in my view than the hole it replaced and out of character with the rest of the course, the 2nd green complex is inappropriate for a hole of 185m on a windy site, the 12th is perhaps a bit too similar to the 5th in shot requirement but weaker than its sibling and the drives on 13 and 16 are not all that engaging...

BUT

By the same token it boasts more thrilling shots than many courses of its ilk. The 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th holes all present approach shots as engaging and exciting as any course I have played. A notch below them are the 8th, 10th, 11th, 15th and 17th.

The tee shot on the 3rd has recently seen some clearing on the ridge 50m in front of the tee. Love it or hate it, you can't say this isn't memorable, and the approach shot is one of the best anywhere.

The course is also extremely elastic, with the shifting wind directions all accommodated thanks to the ample width (except at the 15th!). That being so, many of the longer holes could perhaps use a bit more interest on the drive in the form of the waste bunkers that have begun to be utilised around the course.

It would be nice in a few instances (3, 13, 16) to have something a bit less fatal than the native vegetation flanking the fairways to challenge with your drive. And while I enjoy a course having restraint when it comes to fairway bunkering, there aren't the natural features in a couple of spots to render a bunker as unnecessary in those spots.

The waste areas on 4, 10 and 12 add greatly to the course and as fairway hazards offer a greater chance to advance the ball or even go for the green than pot bunkers, which feature in the 1st, 10th and 18th holes - though there is a plan to remove the LHS fairway bunker on the 10th and replace that area with waste, which will tie into the waste on the LHS of the 9th. The waste areas are also a welcome addition aesthetically.

Great golf courses need memorable shots, variety (even within the one hole), challenge (that isn't always built on length) and fun. NSWGC has them all in spades.

Unfortunately it also has more niggling weaknesses and weak holes than you like to see in a course that is said to be among the 50 best in the world. That said, the land and site cannot be beat and I can only hope those wrinkles will be addressed to allow the golf course to be its best in the future.

UPDATE - 6/6/13: I've had the chance to play the new 3rd and 4th holes a few times now and the work there, sadly, is as out of place and unsympathetic to the rest of the course as what was done to the 18th in 2008. The 3rd green as it was (see pic on this page) was one of the great skyline greens in world golf. The new green isn't poor, but it is far easier to hit and much less majestic from the fairway.