The Australian

The par three 2nd features maybe the wildest green on the course, and an exposed tee where the prevailing north easterly is behind you from the right

Viewed from behind the green, the 340-odd metre dogleg left 3rd would be a better hole were the trees on the inside of the corner removed and replaced by bunkers, allowing the better player to flirt with danger for a shorter approach that didn't have to carry the water

Unnatural shaping behind and left of the 6th green detracts from what is an enjoyable approach shot

A grass bunker at the front right of the 10th green is a nice substitute for the ubiquitous sand

The 12th hole is a good example of the "no room for error" theme of The Australian

The long one-shot 15th, which benefited from some short grass around the green

Course name: The Australian
Location: Sydney, Australia
Four Word Course Review: Maths test on grass

"So what's the line here?," I asked my playing partner as I surveyed the opening tee shot of the day. "Straight down the middle is good," he replied.

Five minutes later we're in the fairway and I'm shaping up my approach. "Bunkers both sides of the green?"

"Yep."

It was a discussion that we repeated over every tee shot and approach for a few holes before I got the message: Hit it straight and long off the tee, and if you miss a green, grab your sand wedge (if it isn't on the beach, it will be in two-inch rough).

The Australian is not a great golf course, but there is no question it is a great club, and does what it aims to without equal. Everything is prepared and maintained at the highest standard, the facilities are the equal of any other and the feeling of seclusion is remarkable, given six lanes of Southern Cross Drive flank the 9th and 14th holes and perhaps a hundred thousand people live within a Jack Nicklaus drive and five iron of the property boundaries.

It was Nicklaus in the 1970s who created the course as we know it today. The legendary Kerry Packer, a member at The Aussie, decided he would turn the Australian Open into one of professional golf's biggest events and that Nicklaus - in his prime and well on the way to 18 majors - was the man to redesign the dunesland course at which the tournament would be held (despite being a golf course design novice at the time).

The resulting course is one that you might expect the world's greatest golfer, at the height of his powers, devoid of much design experience, to create when charged with the job of building a tournament course.

Respite is rare, and even the shorter par fours (the 4th and 13th are the only two under 370m these days from the blue tees, which I am told is largely the positioning of the original back tees - about 6500m or 7150 yards) present significant challenge. The opening hole aside, the three-shotters will require three shots for most golfers and the par threes are all flanked both sides by hazards. The greens mostly feature subtle slopes, a must when the greens are set up to run attournament speeds.

One tremendous issue is the over the top containment mounding that flanks many holes, at odds with any shape nature might create as well as with the minimal undulation of the playing surfaces... in short just very much at odds with everything around it and as unsightly a ground feature as I've seen on a golf course.

There is a test at every turn, but that's not to say there aren't some great golf shots (and despite the jokes, not everything requires a fade!). The par three 2nd is eye-catching and also presents a wicked green and exposure to the wind, while the one-shot 5th has a smart angled green that tilts towards the water on its right - making a recovery from the left a nerve-wracking one. The 6th is a fun par four with a blind drive, but there's no risk to be flirted with on the left, which offers the prime line into the green.

On the back, the approach to the benched 12th green is fun, but it would be much more interesting were the bank on its right shaved down to provide an alternate method of approach for shorter hitters or in high wind. The par three 15th for mine was one of the better holes on the course, echoing the fantastic 13th at Worplesdon in London - though this hole far less beautiful - with the sand dominating the eye and the long green requiring precise distance control. At the next hole, an approach to the great green complex is far easier from the left, so why is the drive bunkered down the right?

Almost predictably, the final two greens are nestled against lakes, but at the final hole that feature is well paired with the "par 4.5" length that means better players can drive within range of the green, but may still be best served by laying up.

Variety being the spice of life, there's absolutely a place for a course like The Australian. If courses like The Valley Club, The Old Course or New South Wales are akin to a creative writing assignment, where parameters are few and creativity is a must, then this is a maths test, with set questions that have definite answers and where a mistake on the first part of a question can leave you with no chance to get the second or third parts correct.

That said, more short grass around the greens would allow better players to use their range of recovery skills and seperate themselves further from the pack, and where only one side of the fairway is bunkered, it really ought to be done with consideration to the most favourable approach to the green.

There's talk that The Australian is about to have some changes made to the course as many around it have either recently undergone or are set to undergo improvements. While some long for a return to the native dunesland aesthetic, there is ample potential even if the skeleton of the current course remains.

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, it could be better. As a golf shot, it's wonderful. A cut needs to fly all the way there, but a narrow avenue short right, adjoining the fronting grass bunker, allows a draw to run onto the green

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 softly and naturally 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 - I hear Mike Clayton's new course at The Lakes is in the discussion) 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 on board and the result was the opposite: I have an even greater affection and respect for it than ever before.

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/8th (5th with wind assisting, 8th with wind hurting) in shot requirement but weaker than both 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 and 7th holes all present shots as engaging and exciting as any course I have played. Just as noteworthy are the 4th, 8th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 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 present. 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, 9, 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.

The more great courses I saw overseas I began to doubt - relying on memory - that NSWGC deserved to be spoken about alongside the Royal St Georges, Walton Heaths and North Berwicks of the world, but having revisited it, I'm more certain than ever that it belongs.