John O'Sullivan visits the Horse Racing Ireland-owned Leopardstown Golf Centre to see what an investment of €7 million can do

The car park is three-quarters full even though it's an abbreviated working day at the Leopardstown Golf Centre. A race meeting that evening at the Leopardstown track means the centre must shut the doors at 3pm. It is an occasional intrusion for the golfing facility but rarely a handicap.

Business is thriving. The changes are discernible from the moment the entrance is reached via Foxrock village. The newly tarmacadamed car park, the revamped 18-hole golf course, the pristine, 74-bay - 10 outside bays due to be constructed shortly - driving range, of which 19 have the fully automated ball dispenser and the carpet putting and chipping facility complete with sand bunker.

It's still a work in progress as evidenced by several landscaping projects, yet the contrast to the old, jaded, run-down operation could not be more pronounced. Those who frequented the centre under the previous regime will harbour their own memories.

There was the 18-hole par-three course and its nine-hole sibling that fully encapsulated the essence of the golfing idiom "wide open". Hazards were few and far between on the nine holes, a testosterone-laced challenge for those who craved driving par fours and a hooker's nightmare on the par-five eighth that hugged the racecourse for the length of the hole.

There were the distinctive yellow-logoed balls that occasionally fell out of bags in more salubrious golfing venues - they were ideal for pitch and putt in that they didn't bounce much - and the concrete-core open grass bays that nestled against the old car park. Only the strongest of wrist could take a divot there in summer.

The regeneration of the Leopardstown Golf Centre was funded and driven by a close neighbour, as general manager Joe O'Connor explained: "The old driving range closed down in April 2005, with the new one opening last November. The total input financially from Horse Racing Ireland (the owners) was just under €7 million. That included the 22,000-square-foot clubhouse, driving bays, all-weather practice facilities outside, retail units (let to M&M Academy) and Golfino, an Italian company with outlets in Harrods of London and Milan.

"They concentrate on ladies' apparel but also do men's. They offer very high-grade clothing apparel, but don't do sundry equipment. The Teaching Academy is run by Michael Kavanagh and Michael Allan, who also run the shop and offer custom fitting.

"There are two meeting rooms that can be hired by companies who might favour a more relaxed environment whereby golf or tuition is available along with restaurant facilities. Part of the reconstruction includes a 100-seater restaurant."

The food franchise is currently out to tender but judging by the numbers dining there on the morning in question it will prove a lucrative outlet for the successful applicant. There are panoramic views of the facility from the second floor dining area and it's open seven days a week.

The M&M Academy - named after the two Michaels, Allan and Kavanagh - includes a couple of second-floor, specialised teaching bays, complete with the latest computer equipment.

Those who come for lessons will be able to view their "technique" on video, thereby exploding the conceit that they swing like Ernie Els.

There's nothing quite so sobering as realising that the Tasmanian devil with the club in hand is actually you. On a more serious note, the state-of-the-art equipment allows the two professionals to better explain the rudiments of the swing rather than asking someone to mentally visualise what's been suggested for improvement.

The tuition isn't just about grip, stance alignment or the swing, as the latest technology has been utilised to improve a golfer's putting. Like most developments that are effective, it's a simple premise that monitors alignment and ball striking for putts.

Information is relayed via a computer screen that provides a comprehensive analysis of every aspect of the stroke, from the point of impact on the putter face, through the trajectory of the putting motion to whether the club face is open or closed at address.

The academy offers the complete overhaul for any golfer and is currently working with several schools in the locality under the AIB-sponsored Junior Golf Ireland programme. Lessons are €40 for half an hour, though there are discounts for those purchased in clusters.

Michael Kavanagh is a former "Irish clubmaker of the year" and offers a comprehensive custom-fitting service, with the added novelty of being able to watch him at work building clubs - its possible to get an existing set regripped or reshafted - through a glass window that separates his workplace from the professional shop.

The revamped driving range is now two-tiered. O'Connor explained: "We kept the prices at the same levels they were when we closed for the refurbishment, at 6, €7 and 8 for the small, medium and large baskets. There is also a deal offered from Monday through Friday mornings from 8am to noon where we charge just six euro for the large basket (110 balls).

"We have 25 societies (there are three men's societies in total that play on a Sunday morning) averaging anywhere from 80 to 130 members, which would give us about 2,400 lady members. They can play six days during the week and could come back and play with husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends or children for a reduced green fee of €10 during the afternoon.

"The ladies subscribe to their respective societies and we then charge them for a slot on the timesheet. They pay €600 for two hours. The normal green fees, midweek, are Under-16 (€10), Student/OAP (€15) and Adult (€20). At the weekend it's €25. Lady members can brings visitors for €10.

"We're going to invest €400,000 in the golf course on top of a very expensive irrigation system, which has cost us €300,000. There will be planting, rebuilding the greens and general course manicuring, including improving the bunkers and putting in mounding to make it more aesthetically pleasing. The design work is being done in-house by our professionals. We will also enlarge the greens.

"In terms of the driving range we purchased 100,000 two-piece golf balls as recommended by our professionals, with 50,000 in use at any one time. The footfall here per day is from 300 to 600 (golfers). The amount of waiting that has to be done is minimal: five minutes. You buy tokens at reception and put it in the machine. I want to raise the bar all the time."

One project in the pipeline is a membership at a cost of about €350.

"That would entail unlimited access to the practice all-weather chipping and putting facility 12 months of the year (it currently costs €15 for 45 minutes) and a discount for the balls on the driving range."

It's a superb facility, a one-stop shop for sundry golfing needs.