Cleveland Golf Club

Cleveland Golf Club: the county of Yorkshire's oldest golf course serves up a classic links layout, which shelters behind a row of North Sea facing dunes. Renowned designers like Old Tom Morris, Harry Colt and Donald Steel have helped fashion a layout that effortlessly glides across the open duneland terrain ... and no longer with a sprawling steelworks looming large at its western end.

A testing par-3 starts proceedings, and a good-length rolling par-5 rounds them off. In between you'll be treated to an enjoyable links layout, shielded from the sea (and sea views) by a line of impressive sand dunes. Beyond the good-width fairways and second cut of rough lies much deeper and fiercer rough. And beyond the course, industrial noises may be heard as much as the slapping of waves against the seashore.

There's not too much elevation change or undulation in the layout, which predominatly features straightaway holes on the front-nine. The spire of Coatham parish church rather handily provides a target line as you tee-off on several of the east facing holes, not least the par-3 9th (Turn), and par-4s at 10 (Coatham), 12 (Dog-leg) and 17 (Crater). The more interesting holes tend to reside on the back-nine, with doglegging holes at 10, 12, 17 and 18. However, the sea views remain elusive throughout, even at the slightly elevated par-4 13th tee.

The green sites are not particularly elevated, and typically defended by two revetted front bunkers - one left, one right, with chip-and-run available between them. The putting surfaces themselves are firm, fast and subtly sloping.

Pick of the holes: perhaps the most indelible impression is left by the nicely undulating par-5 18th (Majuba). The hole drops down into a bowl-like green, behind which stands the solid, functional, modern clubhouse.