Caddie's Role: There is something about the Montgomerie Course at Carton House that has got people's attention. Is it the location? Is it the condition? Is it the design? Is it the challenge? It is a new venue on the European Tour and it has got the professionals talking.

There is always expectation about new destinations on the tour. The only person the tour players could consult on the new Irish Open venue was the designer himself, Colin Montgomerie. What could he say, but that he thinks his creation is a good one.

It's a barren looking course surrounded by trees on the outside. Lush, verdant fairways are divided by long, wispy beige fescue grasses. It has been described as an inland links. In other words despite being inland, the design is such you should be able to play it like a links and bump and run your way around the course if you choose to.

When I suggested this to some players , they replied "rubbish". With most of the greens at Carton you did not have the option to run the ball up the front because of the severity of the upslopes on the front of the greens.

So is it like an inland course where the ball stops quite abruptly on the fairways? No, because despite the course not being fiery as a true summer links should be, the ball was releasing and not just pitching and stopping.

Likewise on the greens. The ball was not grabbing and sucking backwards as we so commonly see on inland courses.

The course then seems to be a true mix of links and inland. What a nice option for golfers to have, two styles of golf on the one course. There is no doubt the competing Monty was going to be under scrutiny not just for his golf but for his expertise in course design. Before the tour descended on the Carton demesne Monty was confident it would be received well.

There are always questions about how much a named player has contributed to the design. With Carton House there seems to be little doubt the Monty mark is well and truly stamped upon the course.

Klas Eriksson shot a four under par first round and admitted that virtually every hole required a fade shot off the tee. The course did not fit his eye off the tee, but somehow he managed to get the ball around. In other words, he likes to hit the ball right to left off the tee. Monty, as the world knows, likes to shape the ball left to right.

There is a term in course design that the famed designer, Alistair McKenzie, refers to when you look at the line off the tee. The line that your instinct leads you to is the line of desire. The line that you should take is the line of reason.

When you stand on most tees at Carton House you are presented with this challenge. Which line to take is rarely obvious. This is a vital feature of links golf. The optical illusions of the rolling terrain that, unless you have your homework done and you are mentally disciplined, will suck you in to taking on the riskier line of desire instead of opting for the more conservative line of reason.

The Montgomerie is a drivers' course where there is a considerable advantage for accurate tee shots. Under normal conditions the course constantly asks you the same question off every tee. Can I just squeeze a little more off the corner?

The fairways are normally quite wide at Carton. When the European Tour takes over a course for their event they tend to set it up in a uniform way. This is in order to try to make the playing conditions as equitable as they can for all competitors and also to make it look pretty on television.

The tour narrowed the fairways considerably whereby the "fairway" bunkers had rough between them and the fairways. So, rightly, many players suggested they did not really have much of a fairway target off many tees. This is what happens at major events like the US Open. The original course design, tempting the golfer into the more aggressive line off the tee, is negated by narrowing the fairways and having such punishing rough that your only objective is to try to hit the fairway and not choose the optimal side of the fairway to hit.

Those who set up a course don't necessarily understand the subtleties of the original design. In this sense I think Monty's course was erroneously altered. The fairways should have been left at the width of their original design. Stan Eby was Monty's course architect. Despite the course being largely his creation, Monty was consulted and had a hands-on involvement with the finished product.

Each player over the weekend had a challenged look on their faces while playing the course and discussing its merits. There were comments about the course being too long. However, some of the tees were sensibly moved forward last week for the tournament.

Some said the greens were too severe for the length of club you were hitting in for your approach shots. The greens, they said, are like up-turned saucers and run away on all sides. The response is that a well-struck shot will react well on the quality of greens that you have at Carton.

However, I struggled to get any competitor at the event to say the course was unfair.

There is something special about the Montgomerie Course. It should appeal to a player as the most stern and fair test of golf that any modern course will present.