The 11th at St Andrews

The Old Course only has two par 3's - the eighth and the wonderful eleventh. It is widely regarded as one of the best short holes in world golf and has been copied by many different golf architects around the globe, most notably Alister MacKenzie.

It measures 174 yards from the back tees and is yet another great example of why length plays second fiddle to good design. Unusually for a championship course, this hole cuts across the fairway of another, the 7th. The main dangers here are the greenside pot bunkers. Everyone knows about the challenges associated with Road Hole bunker on 17, but in my opinion the little beast that guards the front of the green at 11 is much worse. If you are anywhere near the face of 'Strath', you simply have no choice but to play out backwards or sideways. A pulled tee shot will often find another horrible spot - 'Hill' bunker. The trouble with this one is not only the steep face, but depending on the pin location you will need to fly the ball at least twenty yards - one of those really tricky escapes that require a perfect contact. The green itself slopes severely from back to front, with the exception of a little plateau top right. This is one of the many double-greens at St Andrews and shares with the par-4 7th. You can easily find yourself here with a putt in excess of 50 yards. In 1921, the great Bobby Jones was even brought to his knees by this hole. "Confounded and confused", he ripped up his scorecard and walked back to the clubhouse! The course grew on him however, and later in life he would regard the magical links as his favourite track.

If you walk off here with a 3 you can happily wipe your brow and move on to the next tee.