Craig Osborne

We played after a week of heavy rain and the course was in remarkably good condition, with greens looking exactly that and running true. It's not a particularly long course but with water in play on numerous holes and some severe doglegs you have to plot your way around to get a good score. A fair challenge and worth a visit.

Trent Park is open to the public and as such is open to abuse, but I have to say it is currently in fine condition. At this time (April 09) the fairways and greens would grace any private members club. This must be one of the best public course in the SE. We teed off at noon and got round in a very respectable 3 1/2 hrs. Give it a try, but avoid shool holidays and weekends unless you have plenty of time.

Played the Abbotsely main course on a perfect sunny spring day and it was looking beautiful. It was in lovely condition although the greens could be a little better. Varied holes, plenty of rises and falls and great scenery thoughout. Will definately fit another round in here soon. Only disappointment was lack of practise facilities- even the putting green was out of use as it had just been relaid. Driving range etc all at the 2nd course a short car drive away.

We played the Woodland Course on what was a chilly overcast February day. Was doing ok until we discovered the course designers had obviously run out of land after 9 holes and opted to set 4 consecutive holes clockwise around a large, tree lined hill. Forget aiming at anything remotely looking like a fairway- if you hit it your ball will still run off into some unplayable lie against a tree- just trust to luck and hope to find your ball after each blind shot. Took the chance in golf to a new level. Holes 13 onward nothing special but okay but by then who cared?

Southern Dunes provides test to all levels of golfers. It has 4 tee options to suit your level of play, from 5633 yds through to a long 7227 yds. It's fairways tempt you to hit long but are lined with bunkers to catch and punish an offline drive. The greens are large, undulating and fast. Unusually for a Florida course there are plenty of elevation changes. Southern Dunes is consistently rated in the top 10 courses in Florida and top 100 in the USA. If you're in Florida don't miss it. I'm already planning another visit.