Harpenden Common golf course has eleven holes set on the Common and a further seven holes which were designed by Ken Brown in 1996. As you will see from the course planner, the first is a par 4. This runs past the clubhouse parallel to the 18th.
As you move round the course each hole has its own character.
The second looks straightforward but the green lies just over the lane, which makes it easy to misjudge the distance of your approach.
The third crosses the oldest cricket pitch on common land in England, so if you land between the wickets, please drop away but don't go too tight to the left if you want to get on in two.
Then two par threes back to back - the fourth, the club signature hole, whilst the fifth plays over gorse to an upturned green so picking the right club is vital.
The sixth hole is the first of two visits onto the newer holes which were incorporated into the course in 1996.
These seven holes were designed by Ken Brown who was a junior here and is now an Honorary Member. His two sons have followed in his footsteps through the Junior Section.
It has been a pleasure to see the ‘Jockey Field’, as it was known, mature in just over 15 years into an interesting and testing series of holes for all abilities.
The young trees planted in the early stages include a variety of species. They are growing well and a programme of moving and replanting some of them has already started and provides some new contours to the more open fairways.
The seventh hole has a pond which attracts a variety of wildlife and also golf balls if you have a wayward shot to the green.
Hole eight - this 464 yard par 4, takes us back towards the clubhouse and the large stand of trees behind the green is called the Paddock and used to be the parade ring when horses were raced on the common  in the last century.
Hole nine takes you past the modern changing rooms which have won an award for the way the materials help it blend in to its Common surroundings. Again the drive that crosses the fairway foreshortens your approach.
Through the trees to the straightforward SI 18 tenth, and the eleventh is downhill to a sheltered green.
Holes twelve to sixteen are situated in the newer part of the course in an area called The Jockey Field, which is where the horse races used to set off from.
The sixteenth is a harmless looking par 3 but a sneaky wind and out of bounds on the right can catch you out.
Hole seventeen is back towards The Enclosure and then eighteen which is a 160 yard par 3 with the clubhouse directly behind the green.