St Patricks Golf Club, Downpatrick

So this was Golfing in Ireland's first ever course review with camera and tripod in the bag, so there were plenty of teething problems, and plenty of shots (good and bad!) went missing but I captured the essence of the place which is, this is a true hidden gem.

I played here a few years ago and having grown up no more than 35 miles from the club, I must admit I had never heard of it.

But when I moved to nearby Saintfield around 10 years ago a few people were telling me, you need to go and give St. Patricks Golf Club a go, the greens are some of the best you will play...

Well they were not wrong. The greens when I played a few years back in high summer were some of the fastest, truest greens I have ever played and even this week in early May after a pretty wretched Winter, they were in really good condition!

The welcome you get right from the off at St. Patricks is warm, Charles in the pro shop was incredibly welcoming as were the members who pulled up behind me on the first and reminded me I was about to walk off without my camera!!!

Your first tee shot is through, to the first timer, is an incredibly tight gap of trees which does open out into a reasonably generous fairway which, much like the greens are a credit to the greenskeepers as the stripes are in full show.

Highlights of the front nine for me were the par 5 3rd which I had an eagle look, but as the saying goes, never up, never in but it was a kick in birdie on what is a pretty tough up hill hole.

The 5th hole, 464 yard par 4, all downhill, and when I say downhill, I mean off a cliff! You have a marker post to aim at on the brow of the hill before the fairway drops maybe as much as 100 feet to a beautifully secluded corner of the course.

What goes down must come back up again to the very top of the course at the other highlight of the front 9 the tee shot from the 441 yard par 4, 7th which has 360 degree views of the entire County Down countryside, worth the climb for I can tell you!

To close out the front 9 you have the simply gorgeous 155 yard par 3, 8th hole and the relatively short 331 yard par 4 9th which is a great hole played up to a raised green.

The strength of this course is in its short holes, none more so than the 11th, 181 yards downhill over a pond, visually just a stunner of a par 3 and if I lived in the houses off the back of the tee id be out for a cheeky hit on there most mornings!

The longest hole on the course is the 548 yard par 5, 12th which is a challenge off the tee as it rises up from the tee over a crest so if you don't know your line it is easy to make a mess of this hole, luckily for me the big stick behaved and I escaped from this hole only dropping one shot.

I cannot overstate how enjoyable this layout is, unusual as the 10th isn't near the clubhouse and the changes in elevation really add to the experience and no hole is really like any other.

For a round in the region of £35-£40 it really is great value and I will certainly be back!