Nick Faldo's Perfect 18http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ultratravel/9987313/Nick-Faldos-perfect-18-golf-holes.html1. Royal Birkdale, EnglandThe era of the big par-fours has gone, more’s the pity. In my day, this was a narrow drive between sand dunes, followed by a two-iron – some wake-up call on a windy day! In the 1983 Open, I started double-double, and made a 69
2. Augusta National, USAStrange as it sounds, this is a key part of the round. You will often have made a nervy five at the first and will really need a four to bounce back. The green is tough to hit with your second; or you can get in a right tizz trying to decide where to lay up
3. Kingston Heath, AustraliaIn the sand belt near Melbourne, this is one of the world’s great courses, with hard, fast greens and bunkering by Alister MacKenzie, the master of the strategic short par-four. The third calls for a three-iron and a pitch to a small green. It sounds easy, but it can leave you in a real mess
4. St Andrews, ScotlandOn the Old Course, this is quite simply the biggest, strongest brute of a par-four you can find. We used to go way to the left and bomb it over the hills, splitting the difference with the 15th, but now they’ve grown the rough. Drive, four-iron, two putts and you’re happy
5. Augusta National, USAIf you drive to this plateau fairway and miss it, you are 10ft down and all you can see is blue sky. But the real feature here is the unique green, with a ridge running right across it. A lot of great shots have been hit here which haven’t found the green
6. Muirfield, ScotlandThis is a tough par-four over and round a corner, usually with a crosswind; it’s semi-blind off the tee, with a semi-blind second. Miss the drive and you are in the hay, thinking that all you can do is chop it out – but where to chop it? Grind out a good old Faldo par
7. Harbour Town, USAThis one is a lovely par-three with a sliver of a green no more than eight yards wide, an overhanging tree in the left corner and an arty Pete Dye bunker on the other side. It’s a hole full of southern charm, but more dangerous than the alligators
8. Turnberry, ScotlandAnother long, rolling par-four that needs a big drive and a big iron shot. The slope of the fairway takes your ball towards a driving bunker on the right, and there is more sand on the left for the approach. Very simple; very tough. Enjoy the view of the Isle of Arran as you make your way down
9. Augusta National, USASome second shot… From a downhill lie, you are hitting up to a sloping green – and the bunkers get bigger as you get older! I have fond memories of the half-seven-iron I hit to 6ft in 1990. People say the key shots are played down the stretch, but that shot was the key to my round.
10. Riviera Country club, USAA great, short par-four, driveable now – the talk of the town when the cameras come to Riviera for the Northern Trust Open every February. When I won the trophy, it was a two-iron and a pitch. Put the best players 30 yards out and watch them miss the green
11. Augusta National, USAThis was my play-off hole, where I won two Masters against Scott Hoch and Ray Floyd respectively, and made the sweetest long-putt of my life – from 25ft in 1989. Ben Hogan used to say, “If you see me on that green in two, it’s a mistake.”
12. Royal Birkdale, EnglandThe 12th here is a classic links short-hole, with a small green nestled between big mounds, very exposed to the wind. Which club do you take? Probably a three-iron, but this hole really is a beast on a blustery day
13. Wentworth, EnglandThe West Course 13th is always an awkward customer because it turns right to left but the lie of the land goes the other way. Overcook your tee shot and you can be blocked: it needs a late, hooky one around the corner – an interesting shot that you don’t get to play often
14. St Andrews, ScotlandThis is the most wonderful strategy hole in golf, although the new championship tee is crazy – they can’t see a thing from back there. Hell Bunker is not the problem – I used to aim left and play up the fifth, and have never been in. It’s all about knowing where to lay up
15. Kingston Heath, AustraliaIt’s uphill to a tiny green with steep bunkers all around. Miss the green and you’re in a mess. Take an extra club by all means, to avoid falling short, but if you hit beyond the hole, watch out: the green slopes from back to front
16. Cypress Point, USAThere is nothing quite like the walk from the 15th to this most famous of postcard holes, right by the ocean. You never know what the wind is going to be doing. I had two twos there recently, either side of lunch, but it can easily be a seven
17. TPC at Sawgrass, USAWhat, not the Road Hole at St Andrews? Well, with its island green, this is a hole for which you have to prepare yourself mentally; in fact, it may be the greatest example of that. You’re already thinking about it on the Interstate 95 on the way to Jacksonville
18. Muirfield, ScotlandTo put to bed the round, and maybe the Open Championship, two good solid shots are required to a green with any number of twists and turns. I played the three-iron of my life here in 1992, taking the paint off the flag (muirfield.org.uk).
TOTAL 6,847 yards, par 6919. Cypress Point, USAFrom a chair on the verandah at the back of the clubhouse, you look down through the cypresses and have a perfect view of the 16th. Glenmorangie is normally my drink, but at Cypress you drink Sam’s Special. I don’t know the recipe, but I can taste it now, and there’s a lot of rum in it
