Saunton Golf Club (East course)

Saunton Golf Club (East course): Saunton's much celebrated East course occupies a wonderfully open and natural area of coastal duneland. This scenic and absorbing out-and-back layout is home to an abundance of excellent links golf holes that thread their way between good-size dunes. Between you and the ocean is a stunning area of even bigger sand hills, which thankfully provide some protection from Atlantic winds that blow in from the southwest.

The East course at Saunton is undoubtedly one of England's national golfing treasures. A classic, unadulterated and challenging links course from first to last. The number of blind drives demanded by the layout is kept to a minimum. Most of the time it's reasonably clear what's required from the nicely elevated tees, simply a matter of executing the shot! The greens are firm and true, as good as any in Britain, and the overall standard of upkeep on both Saunton's courses is usually excellent.

Assuming your objective is to score well, you'll definitely need to hit the fairways on several long par-4s. You'll not get much 'run' on the ball if you mess with the ball-grabbing rough and fine array of bunkering. Alternatively, you may simply want to enjoy the unspoilt naturalness of this glorious coastal gem. In which case a few journeys into the nether world beyond the crisp, undulating fairways should not be an undue worry.