Fota Island: hole-by-hole guide

1ST Hole 409 Yards Par 4: An uphill opening hole, which dog-legs slightly to the right. It requires a good drive to the crest of the hill, leaving a short iron approach to a generous but well-bunkered green. The penalty for missing the fairway is heavy rough.

2ND Hole 461 Yards Par 4: An extremely difficult hole, with a tight landing area. Fairway bunkers on the right await any loose drive while anyone intimidated by the complex of sand and hitting the tee-shot too far left can be blocked out by a large oak tree. Another tree blocks the green on the left, and the approach to a narrow green must be precise.

3RD Hole 165 Yards Par 3: The water guarding the front and right of the green looks benign, but has the potential to wreak havoc. The shallow green also has more protection with a large bunker on the left.

4TH Hole 548 Yards Par 5: Two trees in front of the tee-box put the onus on an accurate drive, probably a fade, to a landing area that slopes left to right and has a copse of trees on the left and a bunker complex on the right. The bigger hitters will be tempted to go for the smallish green in two but anything long and left will run away from the green.

5TH Hole 544 Yards Par 5: The tee-shot is all-important here. Long and to the right-hand side of the fairway and the player will have the chance to make the green in two; finding the left, though, will force the player to lay up as the route to the green would then be blocked out by trees.

6TH Hole 376 Yards Par 4: Most players will opt to use a long iron or possibly three wood off the tee to a narrow fairway landing area. The approach shot is to an elevated and undulated green that is guarded on the right by a series of pot bunkers, with a prerequisite in finding the same level as the pin position.

7TH Hole 179 Yards Par 3: A reasonably straight-forward short hole, with the onus on the player to find the putting surface as the green is heavily guarded by deep bunkers left and right, and a pot bunker at the back.

8TH Hole 478 yards Par 4: A long, tough hole which demands a tee-shot down the left, as close to the fairway bunkers as a player can risk. The approach to the narrow green also requires accuracy, as water lurks left and bunkers guard the right.

9TH Hole 424 Yards Par 4: Some players will opt to use a three wood or long iron on this hole, which dog-legs slightly to the right. The tee-shot should find the top of the hill, leaving a downhill approach in to a very shallow, plateau-styled green.

10TH Hole 500 Yards Par 5: The brave drive is down the right, to give the player an opportunity to find the green - which has a roll-off into water at the back - in two. Any tee-shot down the left will most likely force a player to lay up, as a heavy belt of trees lines the left-hand side.

11TH Hole 168 Yards Par 3: The water on the right shouldn't really come into play off the tee, but the swirling wind in this part of the course makes club selection critical and the difficulty is added by a green that has different levels.

12TH Hole 428 Yards Par 4: A difficult driving hole, with water running all the way down the left while anyone not committed to the shot and going right will find themselves in thick rough and blocked out by trees. The green has a severe slope, which puts the onus on an extremely accurate approach to the right level.

13TH Hole 208 Yards Par 3: A good par three, with water on the left and a bank and bunkers on the right. The green, angled right to left, is generously proportioned.

14TH Hole 417 yards Par 4: This hole calls for a brave tee-shot. A large oak tree hugs the right-hand side, so the desired tee-shot is down the left. But players must avoid the bunker complex there before an approach shot to a narrow green protected by bunkers on the right.

15TH Hole 476 Yards Par 4: The desired tee-shot should carry the bunkers on the left of this dog-leg, as anything on the right will likely run out of fairway and into heavy rough. The approach is a mid-iron to a generous green guarded on the right by a large bunker, while anyone missing on the left will face a tough up-and-down.

16TH Hole 417 Yards Par 4: The drive is important here, with bunkers on the right and rough on the left for anyone who fails to find the fairway. The green is elevated and relatively small but severely contoured and requires a precise approach.

17TH Hole 222 Yards Par 3: A long par three, with players probably using a two or three iron off the tee, to a green that is angled left to right. Anyone missing the green faces an extremely difficult up-and-down.

18TH Hole 507 Yards Par 5: The tee-shot is through a tunnel of trees, but a good drive sets the player up for the possibility to find the green in two. A run-off area at the back of the green has been added this year, which may make a player think twice about going for the green in two and instead preferring to lay up and chip and putt for birdie.