When Donald Steel, in his capacity as a leading golf writer, was compiling his fine book Classic Golf Links of Great Britain and Ireland, he made predictably glowing reference to Royal Co Down. But if not a sting, there was a gentle barb in the tail of the piece, especially with regard to the 18th hole.

Identifying it at 547 yards as the longest on the course, he wrote of the manner in which it was flanked by gorse on the left, while the shorter, neighbouring Annesley Course acted "as a safe haven for those nursing a good score." Not any more.

Since the book was published in 1992, Steel has been back to Royal Co Down, wearing his golf course archirtect's hat. And one of his key assignments was to reshape a finishing hole which would be more in keeping with the celebrated quality of the remainder of the course.

The result of Steel's labour is now set to become a crucial element of major events to be played on the majestic links this year, starting with the British Amateur from May 30th to June 5th and culminating in the Men's Home Internationals on September 22nd to 24th. Suffice to say that for competitors nervously protecting a lead down the last hole, there will be no sanctuary down the right.

But the improvements go some way beyond that. And after little more than a year since much of the 18th fairway was bare earth, the expertise with which these changes have been worked into the original terrain, is virtually seamless.

A distinguished and long-standing member of the club, John Boston, likes what has been done. When I met him there, he said:

"The changes to the 17th and 18th mean that everything down the left is now brought into play, which heightens the challenge. But I wouldn't touch the 16th, other than to let the rough get up."

On that recent visit, it was late afternoon and angry clouds were gathering over Slieve Donard as our fourball headed towards the finish of what had been a delightful round in almost constant sunshine. By that stage, we had observed bunker refinements which tightened in the right side of the 17th fairway, before the idiosyncratic, triangular pond came into view. Greenside bunkering has also been tightened.

The change to the 18th, however, was nothing less than dramatic. The cross-bunkers had disappeared but instead of the inviting flatness of the right-hand side, there was a seemingly endless run of cavernous bunkers, starting at about 220 yards from the medal tee.

Steel would have been pleased. Of our four tee-shots, two were in sand while another was dangerously close.

On a previous visit, about 18 months ago, the turf further down the fairway had been stripped away so as to eliminate the hogs back which blocked a view of the green in the distance. Now, the obtrusive area starting at a distance of about 300 yards from the tee, had been lowered by as much as four feet. But the uninitiated would never have known, so well has everything grown back into place.

Further along towards the green, the hole is now clearly defined by mounding and more bunkering along the right. And the overall effect is sufficiently intimidating to make the gorse on the left a lot more inviting than it once was.

With typical, Northern Irish husbandry, all of this has been achieved at a ridiculously low cost, certainly in the context of the country's high-profile parkland developments. Less than £50,000 was the figure indicated by the club secretary, Peter Rolph.

Other, agronomical work through the winter is expected to deliver fast, true greens and it seems that Royal and Ancient officials, who have visited the course preparatory to the staging of the Amateur, are "very happy" with what they've seen. The club council also considered reducing the 16th to a strong par three, but eventually decided against the change. And they were in no way influenced by the fact that Ernie Els happened to lose a ball there, while attempting to drive the green on a visit last year.

So the 276-yard 16th, where the carry from the back tee is 221 yards to the ridge fronting the green, retains its status as one of golf's most charming, par-three-and-a-half holes. As it happens, driveable par fours are becoming increasingly popular among modern architects, notably Tom Weiskopf.

Either way, Royal Co Down seems destined to remain largely a matchplay course, where major competitions are concerned. And in that context, the element of gamble presented by the 16th and 18th is to be welcomed.

Meanwhile, the perennial argument goes on about the blindness of the course, especially when leading professionals such as Gary Player, Bob Charles, Nick Faldo and Els drop by. And typically, the club take it all in their stride. As Rolph observed with a gentle smile: "I suppose the pros feel obliged to make some sort of comment after they've been here."

The only one taken any way seriously was Player's observation that the 13th might benefit from a lowering of the lip of the bunker guarding the apex of the dog-leg. This would facilitate a clearer view of the green, especially when the pin is to the centre or on the right. But nothing has been done.

Royal Co Down remains the most stunning piece of links terrain on this island. Whether it is the best or not, is strictly a matter of opinion. As for its blindness: the great Tommy Armour liked to remark: "There is no such thing as a blind shot to any player with a memory." Just so.