Wow! The ultimate golfing experience.

I'm tempted to leave it at that and not go into any more detail... I'm also conscious I can't rank anything higher than 10, when in reality a higher score is warranted in order to create the right level of daylight between Augista National and other courses with relatively high ratings.

So, where to start? You can't enter the grounds until your host is on site and you have to produce photo ID to the nice man at the well guarded front gate to gain access. From that moment on you're treated like royalty - nothing is too much trouble and attention to the minutest detail is simply the expected modus operandi.

The lodge accommodation is understated in a classy, luxurious way but perfect for its intended purpose. Want some hors d'oeuvres before dinner or a glass of chilled white? In about 30 seconds a waiter will be at your door to do your bidding. Gone to the golf course? In about 30 seconds someone will be at your lodge to make up your bed, change towels and generally check everything is perfect. You get the idea...

The restaurant is superb. I had the best NY strip I think I've ever had. At breakfast, you're asked "what would you like"? The answer isn't "I don't know, can I see a menu? " - there aren't any menus, you can genuinely have anything you like! (Well, except Haggis - I thought I'd try and catch them out and succeeded!). The staff perfectly tread that fine line between been welcoming and hospitable, but not over familiar. A bit like old retainers at gentlemen's clubs I guess. We had a full tour of the clubhouse and memorabilia - a truly special experience. We also toured the wine cellar. They have 17,000 bottles, and visit the top European wineries regularly to secure supplies of top vintages. They are also one of the few "off winery" sites anywhere in the world to age their own wines. I hate to think about the market value of all that wine, many millions...

The main event is obviously the golf. The course is quite wide with no rough to speak of, just the pine straw. In many respects, it's not that difficult compared to other high ranking courses such as Pine Valley or Shinnecock. Losing a ball (unless dumped in the water) is very difficult and once you get to know it, it's actually quite playable with the proviso you simply have to not short side yourself. That's a big proviso!

The greens' slopes are the course's main protection, and boy are they slopy... on my first round I had more putts than shots on the front 9 - I can confidently say that's never happened before in my golfing life. The flag was up on the plateau back right on 6. I hit the left side of the green and walked off 5 putts later with a 6... Without hitting a really bad shot my putts on the first 6 holes from hitting 5 greens in regulation were 3,3,3,3,2,5 a total of 8 over hitting 5 of 6 greens! Once I figured out where not to go it got easier, but I now understand when they say you need Augusta experience to win the Masters, that's so true.

Again, they say it on TV, but the slopes are severe. $ iron into 10? Try hitting it off a 15% downslope and holding the green. 180 into 18 up the same slope? Play your 210 club. It tests your patience, concentration and thinking on every single hole. Truly special.

We also played the newly redesigned par 3 course. They've redesigned the first 5 holes to allow more spectators to watch and for better TV. In my view they've made these holes slightly worse than the old ones - 6 to 9 are however truly special and any one of them could be on the big course and wouldn't diminish it. Great fun.

Downsides? The size of my bill in the pro shop from "retail therapy"! Being serious, and churlish, the greens were slower than i expected, running around 9. My caddie was also useless. Neither of these minor gripes spoiled by the ultimate bucket list golfing experience.

Truly a once in a lifetime experience, unless I can find a way to get invited back of course...!

Social media is frowned on at Augusta National (and there are some amusing stories of eminent pros being asked to take down messages and delete photos), and pictures are absolutely banned, so whilst I'd love to post lots of photos, I owe it to my host not to, sorry!

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