This week the London Golf Club in Kent hosts the 2008 European Open.

The Heritage Golf Course at the London Club, designed by Jack Nicklaus in 1994, plays 7,208 yards from the Championship tees.

The course is built on a large open area with four large lakes bringing water into play on six holes.

The fairways have been narrowed and a six foot swath of 35mm semi rough separates the fairway and the rough set at 75mm. Players will have no difficulty advancing the ball from the rough although occasionally they might get an unpredictable release.

The borders of the rough are lined with tall fescue grass which will only trouble the very wayward off the tee.

The greens are mixture of Bent and Poa set to 10 ½ on the stimpmeter. The greens are generally flat with open fronts and many are flanked by deep bunkers.

The course resides on one of the highest points in Kent and is over 500 feet above sea level. It is always the subject of windy conditions and this week will be no exception. In practice on Tuesday a steady one-two club wind was blowing.

With winds of up to 25mph forecast on Thursday and Sunday and some scattered showers one might not expect the players to struggle but with the wind blowing from the South West all week the players will know what to expect.

The way the course is designed the wind is generally 'your friend'. The longer holes play down wind and the shorter ones into the wind with only the second, fifth, sixth, seventh, eleventh and eighteenth playing with a cross wind.

The course is in excellent condition and they have done a great job in creating a course that will look good on television.

As with any club golf course holding a professional championship, the promoters want the viewers to see the players scoring well so that they will be enticed to attend.

There will be very low scores this week. The four par fives are all reachable with a drive and a mid iron.

In practice Sergio Garcia had only two hundred yards for his second shot on both the fifth and the eighth and hit both into twenty feet.

Despite the forecast wind the winning score should be the high teens and expect some players to shoot in the low sixties.

Below is the scorecard with provisional hole rankings.

The course opens with two short par fours and after a three wood or long iron the players will have a wedge in their hands. The fourth is another short par four which uphill into the wind is driver wedge.

The two par threes on the front nine, third and seventh, both have water in play. On the third the water will only catch out those going aggressively at a back left pin.

On the seventh the water runs right across the front of the green and any one trying to attack the front right pin could end up in the water.

The sixth hole could prove the most difficult hole on the front nine as a long drive is required between two Oak trees to a narrow fairway and the two tiered green looks very tricky.

The two par fives are easily reachable in two and offer very realistic eagle opportunities. There is a lake in front of the fifth but players can bail out left or into one of the run off areas at the back of the green.

The closing hole of the front nine can be played with hybrid mid iron or a good drive over the bunkers on the left will role down the hill leaving only a wedge.

The water running down the left hand side of the tenth will not be in play with the wind off the left but the uphill second shot to an exposed green will not be a formality.

The two par threes, eleventh and seventeenth both require a mid iron to a downhill green.

The two par fives, thirteenth and fifteenth, are easily reachable in two with the later offering the best opportunity for eagle.

The fourteenth requires an iron off the tee to lay up short of the water leaving only a small wedge and there will be birdies aplenty.

The par four fourteenth is no push over uphill and into the wind with a second shot to a multi-tiered green.

The final hole could prove decisive come Sunday but only a badly hooked ball will find the water on the left although the wind will push balls in that direction. The approach shot is a mid iron to a large raised green where a three putt is a possibility.

This is not a demanding golf course for professional golfers. With light rough, receptive greens and very few hazards in play expect a birdie barrage.