The par 3s on the front nine are not among my favourites on what is mostly an enjoyable layout. No 4, with four tees varying from 179 to 107 metres, offers the exciting challenge of playing over water to a raised green fronted by a steep bank. But tee shots have a tendency to spin back towards the water as the green slopes that way. The ball then lodges in wiry grass on a precipitous slope. Unplayable, so you must walk back to the drop zone. The safe shot therefore is to always go high and long. Tough for low-ball golfers. The par-3 eighth, built next to a residential road, is the blandest hole on a course which doesn’t really do bland. No attempt at creativity here with its vast green.