BON MONT REVIEW by John Dean:

200 Kilometres south down the brand new A7 from Barcelona is Bon Mont, a Robert Trent Jones Junior designed course which sits between mountains and sea.

It’s the winter home of the Sussex College of Golf, where 50 students and their teachers take up residence for the whole of February. It really has to be the ultimate school trip – one whole month playing golf every day on a beautiful course in fantastic surroundings. You just couldn’t make it up! I think all we used to get was a day trip to the British Museum, or Chessington Zoo if we were really lucky.

We’re here to cast a jealous eye on the day-to-day happenings of the Sussex College of Golf, shoot some instructional videos with SCG’s Head Pro, Paul Lyons, and have a crack at the course.

With the film in the can, and our heads full of Paul’s instruction, we head out to the first, a relatively benign Par 5. It’s about as benign as the course is going to get, as we are walking into a very fair but very exacting challenge. 

Tim, one of the teachers, gives us something to think about as we step out: “We get a lot of UK visitors out here who play off 10 or 12 at home and come in shooting 24, and then just can’t figure out what happened to them. But it’s a tough course – lots of elevation changes, great undulations in the fairway, plenty of length and very fast greens. “We have been warned.

Tim also briefs us on the greens: “This is Poa Annua grass, not your normal Bent grass. The ball doesn’t make much of a pitch mark, even if you land it in high. And you have to take a different approach to your putting from Bent grass. Pao Annua can be a bit inconsistent, which is why they’ve just dug up all the greens at Wentworth. The likes of Harrington and Poulter just didn’t want to have their confidence wrecked putting on it in the lead up to the US Open.”

In defence of Poa Annua it is well suited to hot and humid climates and they’ve got it at Pebble Beach which must mean something.

So apart from the tricky greens, the undulations, the length, the five lakes, the 90 bunkers and the natural hazards – for this read massive gulleys or barrisados as they are known locally which take the mountain flash flood water down to the sea – this should be fairly straightforward.

Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention; there’s a bit of wind in these parts in February.  There may be perfect blue sky above, and a shimmering Mediterranean out front, but there’s a wind that blows off the mountains that makes playing UK links golf look like a breeze – pun intended.

The front nine doesn’t beat me up too badly, apart from the 5^th, which is as tricky a par 3 as I’ve played.  At 154 metres off the yellows – it was a weekday - I took a five iron and almost made it over the ravine that borders the green. But I was two feet short, and then had to play a lob wedge from the floor of said ravine to have a chance of holding the ball on the tight little green.

The other Par 3 on the front nine is also a bit of an ask. 190 metres off the whites, and 156 metres off the yellows, it’s water all the way. The views may be amazing, but this is not the time for site seeing.

The ninth is one of only two disappointing holes on the course, but it prepares the appetite for the 10^th, where you tee off directly under the watchful gaze of the members in the clubhouse.

We sat at the bar and watched countless players take on this hole, with a wide variety of weaponry.  And there was money placed. If your man got out a driver you knew you were lost, because this hole demands a 4 or 5 iron. It’s all about position off the tee. Bunkers to the fore and right, you just need to knock it into position and let the undulations carry the ball into prime position.

Then you’ve got to hit the perfect pitch shot over another dammed ravine at ninety degrees to your first shot. Apart from that, no dramas.

The back nine is a journey up into the mountains and back down again. 13 and 14 are a bit of a task; up, up and away if you’re lucky. But the 15^th is a gem –  still up hill, but manageable.  A very defined landing area  – keep it left – and then a relatively short shot into the green.

The 16^th is right into the mountain – a lovely par 3.  But it’s just a warm up for the 17^th, which is a beast and the course’s signature hole. We play it off the whites at the insistence of Paul Lyons - which is fine if you’re a former Tour pro. This is now all downhill, and wind behind. But you have to hit the bejesus out of your drive if you’re going to have half a chance. The landing area is almost non-existent, but if you do make it you’ve a chance to go for your eagle - if you can hit a 3 wood over another monstrous ravine, which Mr Lyons duly did.

The 18^th is another beauty. Heading down from a height to the clubhouse, beer and sea, you can get within a nine iron for your second shot. My only disappointment, or perhaps relief, is that the 18^th is quite a private affair. You can’t be seen from the clubhouse – which is also the case with the first. For many of us this is a blessing, but I do think you need to have the scrutiny of the clubhouse to steel your nerves on the first and sharpen your resolve on the 18^th.

And then game over, and the opportunity to sink into a thoroughly modern, relaxed and refined clubhouse, with great views over the 10^th where you can enjoy watching duffers like me pick out the wrong club.