The Lakes is a top Championship course and is unusual in that it has two very different nines, the front nine is mainly sandy duneland while the back is dominated by lakes.

The holes also range from fairly straightforward to very difficult with the strength of the wind being the key factor. We played on a gusty day with the wind fluctuating wildly almost from one hole to the next.

The modern world has not been kind to the Lakes in that there are now busy roads surrounding the course so quiet it is not, and this coupled with heavy weekly maintenance on the Monday we played, did not allow for a peaceful ambience. Course signage was also quite erratic, a strange feature at many Australian courses, so external factors did not back up the excellence of the course.

Nevertheless we enjoyed playing the beautifully manicured layout which uses the undulating terrain to good effect creating some testing golf, particularly with the approach shots to the large greens.

The course starts strongly for the first hole is a classic with water down the left and bunkers to the right, see photo 1, and is followed by sandy links-like holes of a high standard, with the best of some ordinary par threes the uphill 7th, followed by the lovely par five at 8, see further photos.

The back nine begins with a tremendous short par four before the longest par five around the lake at 11 and continues with some very demanding holes. A rousing finish with the straight 16th, see final photo, and par five at 17, both requiring water to be carried twice, then ends strangely in anti-climax with a routine par three in front of the large clubhouse.

The Lakes provided a fitting climax to my two month golfing safari in Australia, a country rich in diverse and thrilling golf challenges.