St Andrews Beach

If the opening tee shot doesn't get the juices flowing, you may as well head back to the car

The first real temptation comes at the 2nd, with the gren well within range for many, especially downwind, but plenty of sand looming for the mis-hit shot, whether off the tee or on the approach

A punchbowl green awaits behind the severe bunkers right and closely-mown slope short left at the par three 6th, and with a bold slope at the back of the green off which to work the ball, there's no need to flirt with being short

Viewed from the right-hand side, the boldness of the 7th green is evident, and to a back pin it's great fun to land a ball on the front of the green and try to run it up the slope

A drive that challenges the fairway bunkers at the 9th sets up the prime line into a fearsome bunkerless green hidden behind a steep slope

I'd love for the 13th green to fill more of the bowl it's set in

Where the 2nd hole asked for a draw if you wanted to go for the green, the 14th rewards a fade, and the lay-up must be played well left if it is to stay on high ground. Anything that errs toward the centre will feed down to the low right-hand side of the fairway, leaving a blind pitch to the green over a deep bunker

If you can nestle your drive near the centreline bunker at the par five 17th you'll be in range of the green (visible over the LHS bunkers), which although blind from the driving zone is a tempting proposition with the land to its right feeding the ball toward the hole

There's a massive benefit for cutting the corner at the final hole, with a kickpad hidden over the rough-covered RHS bunker adding a good 30 metres or so to your tee shot

Course name: St Andrews Beach
Location: Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
Four Word Course Review: Design accentuates superb land

What's the best value golf course on the planet? I've come across a few of the candidates in my travels: £55 for a midweek day ticket at Silloth-on-Solway (but even the £45 you pay for 18 holes at the weekend is a bargain!), £40 to play Woking after 4pm in summer, £50 for a day ticket at Brora, even $130 to play Barnbougle Dunes all day long is great value.

Right in with all of those is the value of paying just $55 to play St Andrews Beach.

St Andrews Beach would likely be a lot more well-known - and probably a lot more expensive to play - if it hadn't been launched as an ultra-private club before going broke and closing for a period of time.

But of course it's only such great value because the course is so full of great holes, rolling terrain and exciting shots. While the greens are the least dramatic set I've seen from Tom Doak and his crew (who designed the course in partnership with Mike Clayton's firm), they're no less interesting for their subtlety.

The variety of St Andrews Beach immediately comes to mind when I think of how much I enjoyed it: varieties of length in the par threes and fours, variety in the land on otherwise similar holes (the driveable 2nd and 14th holes, for example), variety in greensites - some atop dunes, some benched into dunes and others hiding behind dunes.

While the bottom of the flagstick is unlikely to be visible from the approach area on at least 10 holes, that's largely a function of the rolling land. In very few cases is the shot significantly uphill. Some golfers will complain about such a high level of "blindness", but I don't share their misgivings.

What was driven home as I recounted my round was the number of different shots I was able to attempt into the greens: relatively short aerial approaches at 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14 and 15, long irons and hybrids at 3, 4, 13 and 16 and the option of using the ground to work the ball toward the hole at 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 17 and 18.

The terrain and vegetation feel extremely Australian to me and I like that the routing takes the golfer across the dunes on a number of holes, while also providing respite from the drama at regular intervals, where the holes run parallel with the ridges and valleys. In both cases, the holes fit the land and feel draped over rather then forced on the land. Very little earth was moved to build most of the holes - even by Doak's standards - and  that's evident in how natural the course feels.

I'd like to see the 13th green, recessed in a near-punchbowl, expanded to fill more of its amphitheatre, which dwarfs it currently. For the scale and boldness of the hole - which starts with a blind, uphill drive - the green seems undersized.

As the weakest link, I'd choose, without need to pause for thought, the 16th. I wasn't surprised to hear it was a late addition to the course to fill a hole in the routing. While it provides something different to the other one-shot holes, that's really all I could say in favour of it. With the slope fronting the green and the firmness of the surfaces, the ball seems destined to finish long or left (which is purgatory) if the player makes any kind of bold play for the green. On a course where longer walks from green to tee haven't been avoided, I'd have preferred a far shorter hole to take its place.

I really do think St Andrews Beach is better than it gets credit for being, and given it currently places 10th in Golf Australia magazine's list of Australia's best courses, that's no mean feat.