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Golfers from around the world will descend on Christchurch next week for the $US600,000 New Zealand PGA at Clearwater.

Among them will be Kiwis Steve Alker, and a former big time winner in the United States, Grant Waite. The event is part of the United States Nationwide Tour, a competition which throws up some of tomorrow's best golfers.

Entry to the event (Thursday through Sunday) is very cheap ?a gold coin, which will be donated to the South Island Ronald McDonald House.

Today, Clearwater's director of golf Colin Hunt outlines to the Christchurch Star the holes that will cause the golfers most pain...

There is enough rough and water on the Clearwater course to claim victims and make scoring difficult.

But history shows that from the previous three tournaments, the same holes each year feature as the most difficult and always have a significant bearing on the outcome of the tournament. The winner in this year's event will, during the course of four rounds, negotiate these holes relatively unscathed. The previous three winners have kept big numbers at bay on the holes. The eighth and ninth holes at Clearwater will test the mettle of even the most seasoned tournament professional ? a shot played without total commitment on a day when the prevailing northwest wind blows almost invariably finds a watery grave to the right.

The eighth at 372m from a slightly elevated tee is guarded entirely down the right side by water, not to mention the scattering of deep fairway bunkers to collect the overly cautious. Downwind, this hole will cause little grief, but as soon as it blows into and left to right the carnage begins.

The ninth, at 188m, is one of the most intimidating par threes in the country, again with a large expanse of water to the right and the prevailing wind blowing left to right.

Anything but a purely struck shot is futile. It is not unusual to see players of this calibre reaching for a one or two iron and perhaps even a fairway metal when the wind gets up. Once safely on the green putting is also tricky with a large tier at the back third of a very deep green.

On the back nine the 13th is a very demanding par 4 of 413m with water this time entirely down the left hand side. This tee shot again can be very daunting in the wind with little or no margin for error. A narrow landing area is also framed by a somewhat controversial tree that encroaches the left side of the fairway pushing tee shots into a fairway trap on the right. The green is particularly narrow and sloping and would appear to be better suited to a far shorter second shot than is usually the case.

The 16th, 17th and 18th holes are again fraught with danger and should three pars be needed to win on Sunday afternoon, skill and composure are a necessary prerequisite!

The sixteenth, as with all of Clearwater's par threes, features a considerable water carry, and many proclaim this the "signature hole". At 180m of which 170 is water carrying to a huge and sloping green, par is always a good score. Who will forget 2003's runner-up Andre Stolz's stunning ace during Saturday's round that pitched some seven or eight metres short of the pin before tracking unerringly and with perfect pace toward the cup?

The 17th, again, is a very strong 376m par 4 from an elevated tee to a narrow fairway that almost sits at right angles and is protected by heavy rough and hazard to the left and cavernous fairway traps to the right. The green is a very severe affair with a huge swale at the front leading to a narrow and very firm elevated surface. Last year's winner Gavin Coles made a clutch three-metre par putt before ensuring victory with a mammoth birdie putt across the eighteenth green.

The 18th is a fitting conclusion at the end of 72 holes and a hole which has claimed many victims in the past.

Stretching 407m, with out-of-bounds right and water left, this is no place for the faint hearted in the heat of battle. The key to the hole is definitely the tee shot which must be struck with precision and authority before leaving a mid to long iron, depending on conditions, to a large but relatively tame putting surface. The 18th was ranked the sixth toughest on the Nationwide circuit last year.