Catterick

There are several changes in elevation during the round with a few of the holes sitting nicely into the landscape.

It also has some excellent views of the surrounding countryside.

The course opens with three par fours. The first provides a tough start and is a long, uphill affair. It's followed by the smart dog-legged second and then the climbing third with a green sitting in a shallow basin.

The par five fourth runs along a ridge and although pushing 600 yards from the back tees you are hitting down onto the fairway from high above and it is reachable in two for the longer hitters. There is nothing for short at the par three fifth whilst the sixth is the best hole on the course. At just a smidgen over 300 yards it is not a long hole but it is played uphill with copses of gorse defining the hole. At approximately 250 yards it turns uphill further and to the left where you will find a two-tiered green sitting pretty at the top of the incline.

The seventh is also a nice hole and lets you decide how much of the sweeping corner you would like to take off in order to get closer to the green. Hole eight is a solid enough par three without being exceptional and the ninth is also fairly straight forward with a narrow green that drops away on three sides.

The back nine begins with a hole names 'The Dipper' thanks to its rollercoaster of a fairway. Despite its modest 375 yards the green perched at the top of the hill is tricky to find and slopes from back to front. The 11th is an arching par five where anything right of the fairway will leave you blocked out from having a whirl at the green. The 12th is a good matchplay hole and at 263 yards is within range for many.

The short 13th is easily the worst hole on the course. Its oblong shaped green and penal bunker 20 yards short of the putting surface belong back in the dark ages of golf course design and it would benefit greatly from a facelift.

The final five holes are all medium length par fours but each offers something slightly different.

Catterick wouldn't be at the top of my list of courses to go back to but if you're looking for something close to the A1(M) in Teesside or North Yorkshire this would certainly be a venue to consider.

It should also be noted that the food on the day was of a very high standard and certainly far superior to the majority of golf club food.