At St Andrews Beach. (Reprint from last time)

1st - The green is behind the bunkers on the left. I know it looks like maybe it goes around to the right. Trust me on this. They even have a sign on the tee about this.

2nd - You can see everything as you stand on the tee of this short 4. Make your choice.

3rd - If you are long enough then try to hug the hill on the right for a look at the flag. If not, consider playing short of the gap and making the up the down from there.

4th - Right is dead, dead, dead. The green does not go as far left as you think but it is a better place to miss.

5th - On the shorter line down the left you can see less for your second shot. Right is longer but more open.

6th - There is more green on the right than you can see. The backstop is pretty handy.

7th - Centre left - fairly straight forward.

8th - Take note of the line to the green as you tee off, you are unlikely to see anything with your second shot. Heaps of room to go long at the green.

9th - The green is quite precarious. Missing long is the best choice with a hill to hold you.

10th - Even more precarious green. At least one person in your group will be trying to chip up from the million divots at the bottom of the hill on the left. Try to make this not you.

11th - Do not miss left. DO. NOT. MISS. LEFT!!

12th - Don't try to cut off too much of the inside right line and you should be fine. Green is big and has a lot of movement.

13th Pay attention here There is an aiming post halfway up the hill here. Use it. Anything more than slightly left of this post and your ball will never be seen again. The blind landing area is pretty wild and you could end up 80m away from where you thought you were. The green is bunkerless so the long second shot you will have is not too terrifying. I will donate $20 to Ozgolf for every birdie made on this hole.

14th - A miss pin high could easily turn into a sword fight with the green. Take care. 13 and 14 should be considered a par 8 as a pair.

15th - Up the hill. Fairly straightforward.

16th - Dog's breakfast. Missing left is possibly less dead if they have started clearing out for the second course. Landing short right and running it up is the best chance. The greenside bunker on the right can be putted out of. The one of the left will need crampons.

17th - Flatter down the left but you can't see as the green is hiding behind a big pile of trouble for the second shot. Right hand opens up the view but you will have to deal with side slope.

18th - A strong drive over the bunkers on the right can get a good kick along, but there is heaps of room left for those that need it late in the day.

Now take a deep breath and head back up the hill. Cart drivers might consider coming back and picking up the handful of walkers to save their weary legs.


Cape Schanck

1st - Centre Left is the safe drive. Not many pars made from the hill on the right. The green sits pretty high above so make sure you get there.

2nd - Everyone bar Shazza should be going over the first bunker on the right. Only the biggest hitters will be anywhere near it for 2. You will find the theme of the greens begins here rather than the 1st where it has several zones defined by ridges and putting from the wrong zone can be really tough.

3rd - Fairly long 3 that drops a long way down from the perch of the tee. If you can't hold the green - Pin high left is not a bad miss for a left pin. A right pin is accessible from the front right trap.

4th - A much shorter 3 but the pin in the middle needs real precision of length to be in the right zone. Short or long are easier to get right.

5th - The pin is frequently in the back right which is best approached from near the left fairway bunker. Other pins can be gotten at from almost anywhere.

6th - It is a long iron or short wood to the corner. The green is 50m long with 3 distinct zones and sits in an enormous bathtub amphitheatre. You can get away with a lot on the approach here.

7th - The water is always in play on the third par 3 of the front 9. Safe is better than being a sucker, you will not hold on to the edges of the green.

8th - I haven't seen this hole since they re-did the left hand side but that used to be the side to aim in from. Reachable for most as a rule.

9th - If I'm hitting it well I always aim over the bunker on the inside right corner of the slight dogleg. Green can be really hard to find from the left hand side.

10th - It is reachable, but I only tried once and vowed never again as it seems a fools errand with the very steep drop offs all around. Safety irons are my recommendation.

11th - A wonderfully massive and slopey green. If you are too close to the inside corner you will have to deal with the big cypress tree. No real harm in heading out right other than a bit of a hanging lie on the hill.

Inbetween hole - It can be fun to flip a wedge down on your way to the 12th.

12th - A bit of an odd duck from the entry gate. Missing right is dead, dead, dead. A 220m shot at the bunker on the left will leave you a safe shot in to the green but it is over a ridge and down into a valley so you are unlikely to see it. Ending in the correct zone on the green can therefore be a bit of a lottery. Not my favourite hole.

13th - Pretty easy straight up hole. Just measure your approach to be on the correct front or back zone of the green depending on the pin.

14th - My favourite hole on the course. L shaped green with 3 very distinct tiers. You won't make a birdie from the wrong tier. Look out over The National and up the Peninsula. Fun.

15th - Tough. If things have not been cleaned up much then left is very dead. Right is OOB. Short of the bunker you can see and then turn the corner and go up about 3 stories to the green. Take a few deep breaths on the green as you are only half way up the hill on the way to the 16th tee.

16th - That's The National Old over on your right. (This 9 used to be part of the same course). A left miss is not the worst in the world but this green is not the hardest.

17th - Almost a C shaped par 5. Trying to cut the corner on the inside right is a good way to score an 8 or worse. Head out left and then consider cutting a bit of the right hand corner off on your way to the green.

18th - A very short finisher Centre right fairway with no more than a 3W will still only leave a wedge in. Going too far will put you down the hill with a long way back up so play a bit smarter and give yourself a good birdie chance.

This is a not a very long course but the greens are large and divided up and so if your approaches are off a bit you will have some tough putts. I would not be surprised to hear of someone having more than 40 putts if their approach game is off.

More detailed guide is here:
http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/conne...df?MOD=AJPERES

I don't have much to tell you about Vic. I've only played there twice.