I FIND it as difficult to choose a favourite golf course as I do to hole in one. What is meant by favourite? Most difficult? Most atmospheric? But I can name the courses that I like playing more than any others, the ones I find testing without being too challenging, visually appealing, and fun to play. Here they are:

1. Nefyn (01758 720218, www.nefyn-golf-club.com). This is on the north of the Lleyn peninsula in North Wales. The old inward nine, laid out on a peninsula, are great fun to play, particularly in a wind. It is short, testing and sporty.
How much is a round? £33-£40.
Where to stay? Nanhoron Hotel (01758 720203, www.nanhoronhotel.com), a ten-minute drive away, has doubles from £72.

2. Royal Porthcawl (01656 782251, www.golf-in-wales. com). This is my home club in Porthcawl, Mid-Glamorgan, and has arguably the most atmospheric clubhouse in the world. Every hole has a sea view. In a gentle on-shore wind it tests every aspect of play.
How much is a round? £80-£100.
Where to stay? Fairways Hotel (01656 782085, www.thefairwayshotel.co.uk), a five-minute drive away, has doubles from £90.

3. Royal West Norfolk (01485 210223, no website). The Royal West Norfolk in Brancaster combines stunning views with fine holes that use the marshland skilfully. It is full of character: the drive through the marshes to the course is eerie when a mist hangs.
How much is a round? £70-£80.
Where to stay? Briarfields (01485 210742, www.norfolk-hotels.co.uk), one mile away, has B&B doubles from £90.

4. Swinley Forest (01344 874979, no website). This course in South Ascot, Berks, contains a sequence of holes that easily satisfies my limited ambition: a short par 5, a par 4, a par 3, a tricky par 4, a driveable par 4. As much golf as I can handle in five holes.
How much is a round? £125.
Where to stay? The Royal Berkshire Ramada Plaza (0845 7303040, www.ramada jarvis.co.uk), three miles away, has doubles from £139.

5. Wentworth (01344 842201, www.wentworthclub.com). The West course at Wentworth, the venue for two major professional events, is rightly hymned. It has sublime examples of how short par 4s can be as difficult as long ones. But I think the 11th on the East is the hardest par 4 in Britain.
How much is a round? £285.
Where to stay? Wentworth has doubles from £130.

6. Rye (01797 225241, www.ryegolfclub.co.uk). Bernard Darwin, the former golf correspondent of The Times, described the second shots to the short holes at Rye in Sussex as the most difficult in golf. Rye is a delight, winter and summer.
How much is a round? Visitors must be invited to play by a member.
Where to stay? The Rye course has twin-bed rooms from £50.

7. Ballybunion Old (00 353 68 27146, www.ballybunion golfclub.ie). This course in Co Kerry has just what a links needs: towering dunes, springy turf, and the sea adjoining as many holes as possible.
How much is a round? £74-£101.
Where to stay? The Nineteenth Lodge (00 353 68 27592) is next to the course, with doubles from £70-£105.

8. The European Club (00 353 404 47415, www.theeuropeanclub.com). In Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, this course has some classical links holes, but I favour it more for proving that one family can build and operate one of the most testing links courses in a country with more than most.
How much is a round? £54-£101.
Where to stay? The Grand Hotel (00 353 404 67337, www.grandhotel.ie), in Wicklow Town, a 12-minute drive away, has doubles from £64-£91.

9. Turnberry (01655 331000, www.turnberry.co.uk). The Ailsa course at Turnberry, in Ayrshire, is unrivalled in its majestic setting and the back tee on the ninth is among the most photographed in golf.
How much is a round? £150-£190.
Where to stay? Westin Turnberry Hotel (01655 331000, www.turnberry.co.uk), adjacent to the course, has B&B doubles from £159.

10. St Andrews (01334 466666, www.standrews.org.uk). History hangs over the Old Course at St Andrews in Fife. Use your brain and the course can be mastered even by a mid to high handicapper.
How much is a round? £50-£120.
Where to stay? Old Course Hotel (01334 474371, www.oldcoursehotel.kohler.com), by the 17th fairway, has B&B doubles from £220. All hotels are recommended by the golf courses chosen; many offer golf and accommodation packages.

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