My favourite hole/Number 18: For Ballyliffin GC professional Francis Howley it is the 7th at the Adare Golf & Country Club

Adare Golf & Country Club, 7th, par five, 537 yards

It's a banana-shaped hole with the lake guarding the right side of the fairway and the green. It's a classic risk-and-reward scenario. If a player wants to go for the green in two then he will have to risk flying the water all the way on the second shot, an especially difficult assignment if the pin position is tucked into the right corner of the green.

I love the hole for several reasons but a primary one would be that I like to fade the ball and that is ideal here, both off the tee shot and also when aiming for the centre of the green, say, and allowing the ball to drift just a little right. I'd normally hit driver and then in reasonable conditions either a three or four iron.

It does require a steady nerve to take this green on in two and a total commitment to the shot. I also believe this is where the golf course really starts; from the seventh to the 18th it is a magnificent course.

Francis Howley is the professional at Ballyliffin GC. As am amateur he was a senior interprovincial with Connacht and an Irish panellist. Since turning professional he has twice qualified from the Tour school (1996, '98) and was beaten by Padraig Harrington in a play-off for the Irish PGA title at Powerscourt GC.