OVER the last seven years, Close House’s Colt Course has been graced with plenty of star names. Whether it has been for a charity golf day, a European Senior Tour event or just by members such as Alan Shearer, its 18 holes have made an impression.

This week some of golf’s biggest players will be walking the 6,906-yard track on the banks of the Tyne Valley competing for the £3m prize pot which the British Masters supported by Sky Sports carries with it.

While the grandstands and hospitality tents were being constructed recently, golf writer Paul Fraser got the chance to test his own game on the greens and fairways Rory McIlroy and Co will be hitting.

PAUL FRASER’S COURSE GUIDE

1st hole, par 4, 398 yards

This would normally be the fifth for members, and it’s an uphill and challenging start – particularly if the wind is blowing. A new tee box has extended the hole by 40 yards but the green is attainable providing you find the fairway rather than the long rough, the hazard on the right or some dangerous bunkers.

2nd hole, par 4, 445 yards

It’s safe to assume there won’t be too many golfers this week who don’t clear the wall on the left hand side, unlike my scuffed drive from a new tee box. Once over it there is plenty room to hit the fairway on a beautiful hole.

The wall carries on down the left to provide the boundary and the pros will be aiming to hit a second shot to a green which has a bunker nicely placed at the front right corner. It’s a real tester.

3rd, par 4, 483 yards

Members normally have more room for maneuvre when it would normally play as a 488-yard par 5; not this week. Instead it’s a really long par 4 and a walk uphill, where there are plenty bunkers to catch people out.

4th, par 4, 447 yards

The fourth is the first hole not to have had anything changed and it’s a downhill drive to a split fairway, where a decision has to be made whether to have a longer approach but a simpler line in.

The green has a hazard directly in front and there are also a few bunkers to cause problems, unless you play it like me and land on the green in two (unusually!) from the yellow tees.

5th, par 3, 206 yards

It would have been wrong to have changed it. This is a brilliant hole. Just when you think you have made the perfect approach over water, it’s so easy to roll off the back.

If you do you end up close to the wall – suddenly hopes of a birdie can end in a four or five like I did. Even if you avoid the wall, you can still roll right and require a cool chip.

6th, par 5, 497 yards

The best thing normally about this hole is that you normally get an enforced 10-minute break in the academy for a drinks in the PGA Academy. The pros won’t be getting that, though.

Instead they will head straight up this mammoth incline, where you look to avoid a bunker on the tree-lined left and a hazard on the right. If you’ve still got your breath by the time you reach the green at the top, you’ll have done well to make par.

7th, par 4, 399 yards

The stretch of holes across the top provides some breathtaking views of the Tyne Valley once you have got your tee shot through a tight opening between two sets of trees.

The long rough is typical Colt and if you’ve missed that then the approach to an infinity green is a challenge, but stunning once you’re there – and you stay on.

8th, par 3, 198 yards

Heading back west on this challenging par 3 should cause plenty of unexpected problems even for the Tour guys. There is fescue all over the place ready to cause problems for anyone who misses the dance floor, even if it has been widened for the British Masters.

9th, par 4, 462 yards

The elevated tee crammed inside trees provides one of the best looking tee shots of the day. Looking downwards to a split fairway, with the River Tyne in the background, it is one of Close House’s signatures.

A bunker has been taken out for the occasion, but you’ve still got to avoid three other huge bunkers that seem to have the fairways running in to them (three of our fourball ended in there).

10th, par 3, 175 yards

This is another little stunner, with the green surrounded by trees and arrives just after a dip to make sure it is not straight forward.

The green has been extended and a new bunker placed on the right, but the main challenge is to stay out of the stuff at the back. Pin placement will be crucial.

11th, par 4, 373 yards

No matter how good you are, the challenge facing you is to keep thinking nice thoughts as you stand on the tee box staring at a narrow gap between trees to the fairway – ignoring the fact there is also a pond directly in front of you.

Even if you make it through the chute, there’s every chance you will be reloading if you pull left and there isn’t even that much freedom right either.

12th, par 4, 457 yards

Another corridor of trees to contend and a huge dog-leg left. If you can carry around the corner then you’re in with a chance. Otherwise, good luck. The banks run down into the green if you’re clever enough to use them properly.

13th, par 5, 540 yards

The wind is often a problem as you drive into it from this tee box, which has also been extended by 15 yards if it wasn’t long enough anyway. The big hitters should still be able to shoot a good score, though, and they will be unhappy just to make par. There are oak trees to avoid as you approach the green, while the dangers around the sloping putting surface are back and right.

14th, par 4, 443 yards

Normally this would be the closing hole, with the clubhouse behind the green. It has been given a new tee box to extend it by 20 yards. Its key features are the narrow stream down the right and the small wall that guards the front of the green.

15th, par 4, 435 yards

This is normally a nice little opener to the course, provided you don’t go left where you are likely to need a reload because of a slope towards the trees and thick stuff.

The new tee adds 45 yards and makes it an even greater challenge, but if McIlroy and Co can avoid the trees and land left on the fairway then the green should be attacked.

16th, par 4, 392 yards

Two new bunkers in the middle of the fairway and at the back left of the green have made this a different proposition, plus it’s been extended for pin position. The tee is set right back in the corner and is a challenge uphill, while the green is one of the Colt’s trickiest and most undulating. Just for the record, I made birdie here!

17th, par 4, 350 yards

This should tempt the gamblers out there to take a chance from a repositioned tee box and attack the green from the elevated starting point. It provides a great birdie chance with the driver, but the task is to avoid dropping into the thick fescue on the left; right there are bunkers and deep rough.

18th, par 3, 221 yards

What would normally be the fourth, and looks completely different with the hospitality boxes on the left and the grandstand surrounding the rest of the green, could be a masterstroke to finish here. It should guarantee a real party atmosphere and, with a trophy on the line, the putting surface sloping away from front to back should certainly increase the pressure.