My dad never liked playing Mapperley… “Too hilly” for him… Lee Westwood ‘apparently’ said ‘It’s one of the hardest courses he’s ever played’… My uncle Rick always liked it though, my mate Coops too… Both decent single handicap golfers… They say if you can get round Mapperley level par, you can get round almost anywhere and do well.

I first played around 15 years ago and frequented it quite a bit during that time, I didn’t mind it as a short hitting and tactical golfer but boy it was tiring.

By the front nine I was just about flagging, the tenth and eleventh relatively short and down-hill gave me the much needed boost to continue and soldier on but two long par fives at twelve and thirteen are most energy sapping and by fourteen my legs have gone, no strength in the arms left, hitting it all of hundred yards just desperate to get home.

By the eighteenth the legs are like jelly, the arms have dropped below the knees, you can no longer walk but instead you crawl up the final fairway to its underwhelming finish… Too tired to enjoy it, but beyond the fatigue, beyond the slopes, there’s more to the course which actually makes you stop and think before you play your shots.

The challenge is tough, getting it right is most rewarding.

I headed over on a cold Autumnal day last month to play a fourball, teeing off with the Chinese Dentist at 2:30.

We were the only people on the course, a cold, drizzly, grey day under the cloudy skies of Gedling Borough. The first hole starts with an elevated tee just up from the club house which is a climb in itself, the fairway sloping hugely left to right where there’s a driving range in the distance, not uncommon for a lot of people to end up on there as the ball continuously rolls down the hill. I’ve seen folk aim too far left too, ending up on the second hole fairway, it’s not actually a bad lie if you can avoid the trees you may still be able to take shot at the green.

It’s a short par four is hole number one, 401 yards off the white tees in total the idea to go slightly left to get a good roll on the fairway which will tee you up with a relatively straight forward chip to the green. But beware, there in two, the greens are fast with minor undulation, you won’t notice until you hit them, some of the hardest to read I’ve played.

The second hole is back on yourself and up the hill. Like eight of the first nine holes a short par four at just 390 yards, a good drive on to a more forgiving fairway will leave you a high iron shot at the green the only issue being it will most probably be blind. Aim for the back hedgerow (if you can see it) and you’ll be almost there.

Don’t forget to ring the bell on your way out, the next hole is a favourite of mine the third hole deep down and back up into and out of the vale of Mapperley.

Tee off next to the idyllic cricket club on the left, for what you know you could be hitting off a cliff as it’s totally blind but trust me hit it straight and you will prosper. Down the hill and into the U bend, you’ll then have an uphill short iron to chip onto the green elevated with the best view of the course.

Another hole I like is the 406 yard 4^th hole which tees you off from an elevated left position. Trees to your left hand side along the Arnold Lane the hole slightly doglegs that way too, a bunker that same side around 200 yards away doesn’t make it easy, go too far right and you’re on the seventh fairway, a bit of left to right fade perhaps won’t go amiss.

Get it right, you again have a nice shot to the green, get it wrong it could be a long old search for your ball.

The fifth hole for me is where the course starts to lose its way a little, not much to it at just 323 yards, I’ve known people to drive it with a bit of a run down the slope, not me. Trees come into play which makes anything not straight become quite tricky but other than that, I feel I’m ready to go through the motions as the course becomes slightly repetitive here on in.

The sixth is back up the hill, aim straight and you’ll have no trouble in reaching the green in regulation, the seventh is pretty much the same but with a huge sloping fairway left to right. Anything hooked you’re back on the fourth fairway, the roll of the dice can be unkind.

Onto the eighth a short par three which starts with an elevated tee and can be reached with a wedge, it’s a pleasant but unattractive hole which offers relatively little effort in backswing. The biggest danger is over hitting which many seem to do.

To complete the front we’re onto the ninth, an uphill drive is just 274 yards long. A relatively straight forward way to finish a front nine not too imposing in distance, but certainly imposing on the calf muscles and hamstrings.

Still have the stamina?

It’s a bit of a walk to start the tenth and depending on the time of day will depend on where you tee the ball from and what par the hole is. Par 4 and believe it or not you start top of the hill with the idea to hit over a road of passing traffic, Par 3 and much more sensible, you tee off the opposite side of the road with a straight hit at a green circled in slopes and bunkers.

Another par 3 is the eleventh, this is the starting point I feel where Mapperley begins to turn into its notorious self again after a few bland and repetitive styled holes. Elevated tea, the green is high up on a hill as your aim is to loft over the deep valley. Go too far left, your ball dances down the 18^th fairway and leaves you a long chip back to blighty, too far right or centre and you’re in the trees. An unforgiving par three for those that don’t reach the green at first attempt.

The twelfth hole is the first of two stunning par fives which bends like an Olympic running track cut in half. Starting with a long drive onto a fairway which slopes right to left and down into the distance. Tree lined either side it’s important to get it right before laying up and chipping in to a slightly elevated finish.

The piece de resistance considered by many is the second of successive par fives and another stunning dog leg 572 yard thirteenth hole that starts with a pretty straight forward drive on to a flat fairway before a challenging second, as the curves become steeper as you aim to avoid laying up into the brook. Avoid it short or long, either way it’s pretty straight forward to the green as you head back up the hill to the fourteenth where normal service of par 4’s resume.

The fourteenth isn’t too dissimilar to the second, the sixth, the seventh, the ninth, as you go back up the hill with your drive to a 400 yard finish to an elevated green, by now I’ve usually had enough… Three to go, still soldiering on… Let’s do this.

Hole number 15 is slightly longer than the previous number with a narrow initial approach onto a widening fairway with bunkers either side of the 200 yard mark. Miss those and you have two more bunkers either side of the green, a good hole that offers more of a challenge to simply hitting the ball ‘uphill’.

As we approach towards the finish line the sixteenth is a dog leg affair that takes you back up the hill. Tree lined either side of the fairway a straight drive to the left will leave you a tricky second around the trees that circle the green, aiming right should give you a regulation shot at the pin but too far over and you’re in the woodlands, a tactical hole that you need to get right with shot number one, fairway position is essential.

The seventeenth is another par three, a long 202 yard hole which I played recently in my fourball with four different clubs used and four similar outcomes. From hybrid to 7 iron the shots from an elevated tee all landed between the bunkers with a short chip to the green, it’s possible to crack it in one of course but you shouldn’t have much fear of over hitting it, hell for leather whatever the club is definitely the going rate.

Finally as if you’ve not climbed enough hills, the eighteenth is arguably the steepest of the lot. Starting from either left or right at the bottom of the valley the aim is to shoot down into the dip and then back up the colossal mountain to the finish.

As eighteenth holes go, it’s horrible. I like the idea of a long straight, wide, perhaps downhill easy par four to finish which backs on to the clubhouse before a swift pint in the 19^th… This does none of that, your first shot needs to be accurate, otherwise the trees on the right or hill on the left will leave you a horrible lie, the second shot is often a desperate last attempt to get home whether or not you have a good position on the fairway, you’ll still have an uphill battle with little margin for error, should you mess it up it will only infuriate you more, should you get up on to the green and putt in less than two, you’ll be too tired to even pat yourself on your back.

Then, after all is done, it’s still a bloody long up-hill walk to the clubhouse, the car park in between, I don’t think I can be bothered to go for a drink after all.

In all it’s tough, it’s unforgiving, the fairways are narrow almost half are dogleg, the course when I played in October was in ok condition, not pristine, the greens I struggled with, quick, little grass, sandy with a lot of movement on even the straightest forward looking putts. You get on them in regulation and there’s still work to be done.

A hard day at the office, there’s certainly some beautiful and some tactically well thought out holes to get you gripped enough, the consistency of par fours on the front nine is a little tedious though and the two big par fives at 12 and 13 however beautiful are energy sapping when you need your energy boost the most… I like the challenge, but I see it as a challenge, and myself when playing golf the biggest challenge is often myself… So adding another challenge on top of myself just makes the game that little bit more bloody harder still.

• Course Looks: 6 out of 10
• Course Quality: 6 out of 10
• Course Difficulty: 10 out of 10

*Article provided by Daniel Peacock (Editor).

*Main image @BlueJayMagpie the 8th hole par three in all its glory.