18th hole, Palm Meadows Golf Course, Queensland, Australia

Par: 5

Architect: Graham Marsh

Back tee*: 572 yards  / 523 metres

Joe Average tee*: 549 yards / 502 metres

Green fee: AUS$89 (approx. £46)

How she looks

If you're familiar with the 6th hole at Bay Hill, whose fairway doesn't so much dogleg as curl around one half of a circular lake, this fine closing hole on North-West Australia's Gold Coast will strike a chord.

Described by one architect as "one of the most dramatic, strategic/heroic holes in Australia," it epitomises the essence of golf course design.

Hit both your tee shot and a long approach over water if you're risk-inclined and keen to reach the green in two. Alternatively, hit two shots hugging the left side of the fairway if you'd rather not take on the lake from the tee and prefer to tackle the water in front of the green with a short iron approach for your third shot.

Bunkers on the outside of the elbow and left of the fairway just before the water crosses in front of the green, keep those playing the safe line on their toes, however. Ensuring that golfers of all abilities have cause for satisfaction if they complete Palm Meadows' 18th with the same ball they started with.

While the green slopes towards you and is generally receptive, there's just enough tilt to reward an accurate approach shot, which should ideally leave your ball below the hole.

Island Hole, Himalayan Golf Course, Nepal

Par: 5

Architect: Maj. RB Gurung, MBE

Back tee*: 550 yards

Joe Average tee*: 550 yards

Green fee: $50 (US).

How she looks  (The tee is to the right of the lower of the two greens in the foreground. The island green is visible at the top of the photo.) The image above right shows the hole from behind the green.

*Distances taken from club website or, if unavailable there, from Swingu.

There's a saying that good ideas don't care who has them, so maybe we shouldn't be too surprised that a course scoring 11 out of 10 in Tom Doak's merciless Confidential Guide to Golf Courses series was designed by a Sandhurst-trained ex-Ghurka.

Maj. Gurung created one of the game's unlikelier outposts in a water-gouged valley with a 250ft. drop from the clubhouse to the valley floor, where the best of the course's nine holes are situated.

Not only do the drop-offs from certain tees to the greens, set against a Himalayan backdrop, make this an unforgettable experience but budgetary constraints have also made it a step back in time.

Coarse grass, cropped by sheep, and boulder-dotted fairways evoke golf's early days, before country club beautification turned it into a French poodle. Enjoy the walk, play it where it lies, and no griping.

And the star turn is the Island Hole. I'm leaving numbers out of it, as various sources I've read seem unsure whether it's the 4th, 5th or 6th hole. What it definitely is is a fine par 5. 

Your drive must clear the Bijaypur River and avoid exposed rock outcrops that dot the fairway. If you flirt with the river and leave your drive on the left side of the fairway, you open up the green and bring it more within reach of your second shot. 

Believed to be the world's only island green set within a river, it is fronted by a generous tongue of fairway to tempt such a bold approach.

Those unsure of their long game, meanwhile, can play further up the main fairway, leaving them with a short but challenging pitch across the river for their third shot. Because of this escape route, the Island Hole gets a pass that I don't give to all-or-nothing island greens (see 'Perception' 6 here).

If you do decide to go for the green in two, you should know that some players believe the sheer valley side and majestic mountains in the background can affect your perception of distance.

A purely coincidental architectural quirk, you might think, although given Maj. Gurung's vision in putting this incredible course together, you wouldn't bet on it.