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What can one say about a course that has a history that goes back to the origins of the game. The only question in my mind was - how can one even get onto their sheet and get a game. February is quite a lean season however and the folks at the Old Pavilion just asked me to land up when they open at 7:30 and they would try and get me on at the earliest.

True to their word I was the first to tee off with another single golfer also looking to get on. The course, despite the rains, was perfect - one uses a fairway mat during this time of the year though. I was blow away by the layout which, with the wind factor, means that one has to really play each shot with a lot of thought and planning. The course guide is a great help (you gets a copy when you pay up at the Old Pavilion along with some tees and a pitch-mark repair tool) and a caddy is recommended the first time around.

There is a midway hut after the 9th to grab a coffee and a snack. And the wind to contend with on the way back. The 17th hole was quite the experience that I had imagined - teeing off and taking a line over the Old Course Hotel. And the 18th is just steeped in history with the Swilcan’s Bridge and a great view of the starting and the finishing holes. Hey

If you are a serious golfer, this is a course you must play. I got lucky and when back in a 2nd time in the afternoon and a 3rd time the next morning!!