Carlow Golf Club doesn’t shout. It doesn’t show off. That is not its nature. Here there is a quiet confidence and a restrained swagger. Located on the outskirts of Carlow town, at Deerpark, this is a members’ club that just happens to boast some of Ireland’ best soil and terrain for a golf course. And then there’s the name of Tom Simpson and Molly Gourlay, who updated the established work of Cecil Barcroft in the late 1930s.

There have been no significant changes to this heathland since. Carlow demands many big and brave shots (approaches to 7, 12, 14, 16 chief among them) and the requirement for such shots emphasises the endearing strength of its design.

So, where does Carlow demonstrate its acclaimed attributes? It’s an important question because the holes close to the clubhouse only hint at what is to come. At the heart of the course is a hill with holes weaving across the slopes so cleverly that we barely noticed the rises and falls. Only the acclaimed 8th, driving down through a corridor of majestic trees, displayed just how high we had come. As we discovered during our round there is no weak hole here and the strongest holes are well scattered throughout, with the back nine edging it… if only because the stretch from 14 to 17 is so superb.

From the mortals’ tee the acclaimed 16th is just over 400 yards, climbing steadily upwards between banks awash in ferns and deep rough. It is Index 2 and a brilliant brute of a hole. Its characteristics sum up everything that is so good about Carlow: subtle and sensational.