AS FARMERS, Jim and Ruth Hurst Vose appreciate the thinking behind the old maxim of only reaping the benefit of what you sow. Which explains the detailed planning that went into a life-changing project for the couple from Ormskirk. When they decided to give their farmland over to golf, leading designer Donald Steel was called in to conjure up a rolling parkland course. At the height of the transformation at the beginning of the 1990s, a convoy of trucks ferried thousands of tons of new earth to the site, which sits alongside the Ormskirk to Southport road at Scarisbrick. The result is a beautifully scupltured layout that blends so well it is difficult to imagine it being anything other than natural contours. Bunkers are used sparingly, and not all will come into play for every player, but the most potent weapon at Hurlston Hall is the water features. The first hole leads away from the impressive clubhouse, which has an arrow-head shape to allow viewing of the first and 10th tees as well as the ninth and 18th greens. A generous enough fairway is followed by a turn to the right to find the green. The best line in requires a tee shot that flirts with the trees and brook that runs down the left-hand side while the left side of the green is guarded by a solitary bunker. It is a theme that pervades Hurlston. Teasing and toying, the greens will open up if you take on the areas that harbour the most potential danger. The second offers the first real sight of water with the course's largest pond and Hurlston Brook both sitting between the tee and green on a short par 3. The shot is straight enough, but the hole runs up the hill away from you with the green rippling its way up the incline. Again the target is ample, but the size and subtle dips of the greens throughout the course give plenty of scope for different pin positions to offer another slant on playing the course next time around. And while you won't need to be able to bend your putts like Uri Geller, careful reading of the hollows and rises are a requirment to plot and pace a succesful course to the hole. The third green, too, is protected by a small lake which makes this short par 4 not as straightforward as it seems looking down from the tee. Again, staying left reduces the amount of water to be cleared with your second shot, but it's a tight squeeze. On four the brook cuts across your tee shot, where position is important to open a green that kicks left. By five you are left with the impression that the brooks are going to stalk your every move around Hurlston. Here one takes a bite out of the right-hand side of the fairway. Big hitters may be tempted to clear the danger, which also includes two big trees. The rest will be left trying to avoid the trees, find a narrow strip of safety and then make the best of a longer shot into the green. The brook is back on the course's first par 5, insisting you rein in your tee shot as the narrow valley falls towards the water. It's then uphill to the green, with trouble lying in wait on the right in the form of two bunkers. A two-tiered green adds a final twist to the condun-drum. The water may have dried up temporarily on seven, but the course is beginning to stretch its legs. This par 3 weighs in at 200 yards and the tree in midfairway demands a little more invention from the tee. There is little respite to follow on a course that has a reputation for favouring the longer strikers of the ball. Certainly from the competition tees it nudges 7,000 yards, but that drops to a more comfortable 6,555 from the more forward starts. The par 5 eighth tops 500 yards and by now it's water, water everywhere. Diglake Brook crosses the bottom of the valley once more to cock a snoot at your tee shot, and as you line up your second a small lake and a bunker bar your way to the green. Go too far left and Hurlston Brook awaits the wayward. On nine Hurlston Brook is determed to prevent you escaping lightly. A sharp dogleg left and there is the brook, rammed up against the green to ensure only the bold are rewarded. Ten takes you away from the clubhouse again with a tee shot that needs to be threaded past the first pond and trees, but brought up short of the second to leave you a good shot into the two-tier green, flanked by a huge bunker. The brook dissects the par 5 11th, where your final two shots will be uphill on a hole that extends past 500 yards again. And then dry land, but little let-up. The par 3 12th again breaks the 200-yard barrier before a run of holes that pose veiled challenges from narrow tee shots, curving fairways or undulating greens. But after being haunted by the water hazards at the outset, it wouldn't be right to finish without a final flourish. Hurlston Brook again traverses 17, with another tee shot into a confined target area that broadens out once you pass the brook and trees. And one final place to avoid making a splash. The 18th is the longest hole on the course and a small pond has been positioned smack bang in the middle of the fairway. Do you have the energy or nerve left to take it on with your second? So plenty to make you think. And there are plans to make it even more of a puzzle. Discussions continue about a new bunker strategy, different tee positions and, whisper it quietly, more water. Last summer the rough was allowed to grow longer, highlighting the need to stay on the straight and narrow. Hollow tining of the greens has now been moved to March from October, and with the putting surfaces showing a quicker recovery and better growth patterns it is a switch that has paid dividends. Jim, Ruth and their team are certainly determined to tend their crop with care. FINAL VERDICT A course that can favour the longer hitters, but with enough subtlety to present a challenge to players of all abilities, who will relish the battle. FACT FILE Address: Hurlston Lane, Moorfield Lane, Scarisbrick, Ormskirk. SSS: 72 (Out 36 In 36) Yards: 6,746 Ladies: 5,974 yards. SSS: 75 Description: Undulating parkland course criss-crossed by two brooks and featuring other water hazards Contact Details: Telephone 01704 840400 Pro shop 01704 841120 Club manager: Malcolm Atherton Professional: John Esclapez Visitors: welcome by arrangement, handicap certificates may be required Cost: Summer weekday £35, weekend £40. Winter weekday £22, weekend £27.50 Societies: Registered societies welcome by arrangement. Pack-ages range from £37-£55, including catering. Catering: Full clubhouse facilities Dress code: No tracksuit bottoms or jeans; shirt with collar and sleeves; proper golf shoes. Website: www.hurlstonhall.co.uk/ * Details correct at press time | 
