62 fairway, offering golfers a clear choice of route. What I liked about the hole was that the choice was in no sense clear-cut. Go right, the ostensibly easier tee shot, and the ground rises ten yards short of the green, creating visibility problems. Go left, though, and a small mound at the front of that side of the green makes the approach shot – even if only a chip – rather perplexing: should you hit a lob wedge above the trouble and attempt to bring it to a stop near the hole, or should one try a running shot up and over the contour? It is a hole that will take several plays to determine the better option – which will vary from golfer to golfer. The long par-three fourteenth, as well as some beautiful bunkers short and right of the green, features a French version of the famed Devil’s Asshole at Pine Valley (where Hanse is a member) at back left – Le Cul du Diable, perhaps? It isn’t as deep as the original (though these things never are), but it’s certainly hazardous enough to make anyone who knows it is there steer well clear of that side of the green. The par-five closing hole features one of the few substantial water hazards on the course (a definite separator from the Old course). Though I can normally take or leave water holes, I did like the way the diagonal nature of the lake that protects the green offers golfers a range of choices, even if they have to lay up. We should not finish without a mention of the ten-hole Wild Piglet par-three course. Such facilities have become a popular amenity at destination courses in recent years, a Photo: Les Bordes Gil Hanse describes the New as “perhaps our most ‘lay of the land’ golf course”
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