I cannot remember previously playing a course where after hitting every fairway with my tee shots, I didn’t hit an iron shot until the par-3 fifth. This is an unusual feature of the East Course, yet perhaps a typical experience for many golfers who use the club tees (6465m). No 1 is a par 5 (463) where after a good drive a fairway wood or hybrid second shot will get you close to or on the green. No 2 is a 211 par 3, and I used a hybrid to a back pin, as I did again at No 3 (403) and 4 (411). The East’s par 4s are stately holes, none being weak or easy to par. The shortest is the uphill 17th (348) and after overnight rain the course was playing long. Front pins were if anything trickier than those at the back.
