EVERY year, as the clocks go forward, a little treat is pencilled into the diary as a reward for enduring another long, dark winter. The Inaugural Spring Break, now in its eighth year, is, much like Augusta, the most eagerly anticipated few days of the year given its place on the calendar.

Clubs are polished, bags rearranged, new gloves unsheathed and new balls purchased.

The past couple of years have taken in Fife and south Wales. This year, to square the circle, a trip to the south of England was laid out with the best that Dorset and Hampshire had to offer. Ferndown would be our first port of call.

This is where Peter Alliss learnt the game, his father Percy was the professional at the club for 28 years, and it is no wonder the great man quickly fell in love with the game. Not overly long, at just under 6,500 yards off the white tees, the Old Course - there is also the nine-hole President's - is a beauty with not a weak hole on it.

Within a hole you are away from anyone and anything and into a secluded world of tranquility and calm where the chance to score comes on the three par 5s, all around the 500-yard mark. 

However given that the course has played host to tour events for the men, women and seniors there is plenty to undo a round, whether in the form of heather, the slick and undulating greens or clever bunkering.

Eight miles away lies another heathland gem, Broadstone. Harry Colt redesigned it in 1920 and the course plays pretty much as it was set out then.

Bernard Darwin described it as the 'Gleneagles of the South' and, even at the end of March, it is easy to see why.

Five holes in you have worked your way up through the heather, pine, gorse and rhododendrons to be presented with magnificent views of the Dorset countryside and this is where the course really begins to impress and the need for accurate driving, and often long, becomes more essential.

For difficulty the 7th is the standout hole with an approach of something around the 200-yard mark required for the second and the run towards the 15th is as spectacular as it is challenging. All four par 3s are glorious, the 8th being the best, where picturing the shot is straightforward enough, but pulling it off less so.

We are staying at the Dorset Golf Resort, which offers great-value accommodation with bar and restaurant facilities on-site, not to mention its 27 holes of golf and a driving range.

Day two and 10 minutes after the last sausage has gone down we are on the 1st tee at Dorset Golf and Country Club. 

Three loops of nine are on offer with the Lakeland and Parkland, both surprisingly linksy in parts, providing the most testing challenge at a little over 6,600 yards.

As the name suggests water comes into play at 11 of the 18 holes, sometimes courtesy of a stream, otherwise via a lake and if anyone walks away unscathed by the 5th and 12th then they will be having the day of their lives.

Marriott Meon Valley, over the border in Hampshire, requires solid hitting from the word go. Four of the first five holes measure over 400 holes and if you can come through these without too much damage there is the opportunity for a good day as the course gently opens out.

The back nine is noticeably shorter - the 12th, played from an elevated tee over water, will hold your attention until your ball has found dry land - and less reliant on the driver though there is scope for taking on two of the last four while the best hole, the 467-yard 16th, requires two pearlers to find the green.

Day three and this was always going to be one to remember - Liphook and North Hants. The former had been recommended by plenty and lived up to everything that had been promised. To be a member here must be a dream. 

All that is heard is a shot from a nearby fairway, or county - the superb 13th begins in West Sussex and ends in Hampshire - as you wend your way between the pines and the heather for four of the most relaxing hours of the year.

You are almost immediately spoilt with two of the most picturesque par 4s anywhere in these Isles coming in the first four but the level is maintained throughout and even raised a notch at the last where a sweeping par 5 up the hill towards the clubhouse presents a more than fitting finish.

The final stop would be North Hants, home of the Hampshire Hog and Hampshire Rose, and this is where Justin Rose learnt the game, quickly establishing himself as a leading amateur light in the game.

Like Liphook it opens with a long par 3 and, similarly, it enjoys magnificent turf, undulating fairways and brilliant greens as you might expect from an Open qualifier.

 

Other than a couple of blind shots the course is played as you see it - it would be a waste not to. The holes are beautifully defined by silver birches and, if any hole was to be singled out, it would have to be the par 5 3rd. 

It was probably the best of any course we played which, given these six jaffas, really is saying something.

 

 

 

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