The Coast

A rise short of the 3rd green obscures the putting surface from the approach area and creates the first really interesting shot of the round

Playing over an ocean inlet, the 4th could be even better hole if the green were shifted even closer to the cliffside

The 14th is the overall highlight of the course, a par four varying between 385m and 285m, and just as interesting and enjoyable from either length, thanks to the coastline guarding the prime angle in to the green, which is set behind the rocky, bush-covered rise down the right

Course name: The Coast
Location: Sydney, Australia
Four Word Course Review: Fantastic value, regular highlights

There's nothing better than being surprised by a golf course that you weren't expecting much from.

I'd never made The Coast a priority, perhaps because discussion of the course among those who knew it always seemed to centre on the bizarre lay-up 90-degree dogleg at the 11th hole, and that left me feeling that this was a course I didn't need to play.

But in looking for a cheap and cheerful midweek afternoon round that wouldn't break the bank ($30 after 1pm), I decided to give The Coast a go, not least of all because of its seaside locale and the fact that I'd played the other three courses that neighbour each other along the cliffs between Malabar and La Perouse (Randwick, St Michael's and New South Wales), so I figured I may as well complete the set.

As with most courses on the seaside, many of the best holes were those that flanked the water.

It's at the 3rd green that you first reach the coastline and it's also where The Coast's occasional quirk first comes into play, the green completely blind on the approach but far easier to hit that it appears thanks to a downslope short of the green - though that slope can easily help your ball run to the back of the green, leaving a tough downhill putt if the pin is cut at the front.

The mid iron par three 4th is another highlight, playing over a rocky inlet, though it's disappointing the green isn't set closer to the cliff, making as wonderful architecturally as it is aesthetically. And with a good 60 metres of unused land behind the back tees, there is an opportunity to create a heroic long par three or short par four where you're torn as to whether you take on the carry or play safely around it. But to be fair to the club, that would mean significant change to the 3rd hole and the loss of its wonderful greensite.

Away from the water, the 7th is an interesting and elastic par four whereby the back tees are set to make the most of a diagonal creek through the driving zone, before a mid or short iron to a green set beyond a pond that eats in from the right. But from the front tees, the hole is driveable and the greenfront pond becomes a factor on the tee shot. It would be fantastic to see more holes that can play so different from day to day and are genuinely interesting from either set of tees.

After a couple of forgettable par threes and an unfortunate lengthy walk enforced by the awkward shape of the property, the development of land for housing might actually have helped the course, as the lamented hard-left dogleg at the 11th is gone, the old tee area set to become someone's living room. An alternate tee that crosses the 10th fairway is now in use permanently (it was always there but rarely used due to the perceived safety issues of playing across another hole) and from there the 11th is a genuine highlight of the round, with the drive across an areaof native vegetation that shortens the approach the further left you play, before the fairway rises steeply to a green set at the highest point on the course.

Highlights are fewer on the back nine, and it's also where the land is used in some interesting ways to make the course work. In that way and in terms of the setting and style of holes, The Coast did remind be somewhat of Crail (Balcomie) in Fife, Scotland. Holes such as the short par four 10th, mid-length "ski jump" 16th and seaside 17th could all be described as awkward or forced, but they do create some fun and interesting shots in the process.

But in the middle of the closing stretch, the 14th is probably the best hole on the course, a par four that utilises wonderfully both the coastline and a rocky rise down the right covered in native scrub. With the green tucked in behind that rocky area, there is tremendous benefit to a drive that flirts with the cliffs, and as you reach the green that becomes even more evident, as the back of the green is not too far from another steep drop and distance control is crucial -- far easier with a clear view than when playing blind over the native bushes. And like the 7th, this hole is a different prospect from 385 metres than from 285 metres at the front tees, but a brilliant hole from either distance.

There are flat spots throughout the round, but very few glaring flaws that upset the flow, other than the walk from the 9th to 10th and the regrettable home hole, which plays through a deep valley and up a steep ridge before turning hard right at a rough-choked neck towards a green set behind a dam, and with internal out of bounds mandating that you have to play through that severe valley.

This isn't world class golf like you'll find a kilometre or so down the coast at NSWGC, but with the same money buying you five or six rounds at The Coast or a single loop of NSWGC the value here is undeniably fantastic, and the course's shortcomings are more than worth putting up with for the likes of the 3rd through 5th, 7th, 11th, 12th and 14th.