It was one of those delightful recent days which were borrowed from high summer. With nature more than anxious to display the fruits of renewal, it would have been difficult to find better surroundings for a relaxing game of golf than the new course at Headfort, Kells, Co Meath, which will have its official launch on June 16th.
This is where Christy O'Connor jnr, to his great credit, succeeded in applying his considerable architectural skills to excellent effect on a wonderful site. The outcome is that Headfort can claim to have probably the best 36 parkland holes in Irish golf, better even than Killarney.
How long things will remain that way, is likely to become the subject of serious debate. But there is certain to be formidable competition from The K Club, when their second course comes on stream in 2003, and also from Carton House, when the Mark O'Meara and Colin Montgomerie courses are complete.
In the meantime, Headfort have reason to feel rather pleased with themselves. And they can be satisfied that the fourth Marquis - whose land they have put to such splendid use, certainly from a golfing standpoint - would have approved. This is the Marquis (1878-1943), who drove the first ball in competition for the Headfort Cup which he presented at the official opening of the old Navan Golf Club on November 23rd, 1907. Sadly, the club was to last only about 15 years before the landowner, a Ms Swan, showed them the door in 1922.
Interestingly, Killua Castle GC was formed around that time, with the Marquess as the first president. Indeed he was also honoured with driving the first ball there, and as a further distinction, he was captain of Co Louth GC in 1908.
So, The Irish Field of August 1905 was on the button when it reported: "The Marquis of Headfort, who has been greatly fascinated by the Royal and Ancient game . . . has a private links laid out at his seat in Co Meath." This was some time before Headfort GC was founded in 1928 - it was extended from nine to 18 holes in 1956 - and would suggest part of the land given over to the second 18 may have witnessed the meeting of hickory with wound rubber, almost a century ago.
My guide during the recent visit was the club captain, Gerry Renehan, whose sporting talents saw him play Gaelic football and hurling for Meath at all levels from minor to senior. And he plays a decidedly useful golf game off eight. Indeed it was almost a pleasure to part with some cash to a player who could cover the new 18 in a two-over-par gross 74, and that was off the medal tees which provide an overall length of 6,729 yards.
The old course at Headfort has always been a joy to play, because of its setting in classic parkland. From a championship standpoint, however, a modest overall length of 6,300 yards made it understandably vulnerable to quality practitioners.
This certainly proved to be the case in 1980 when the superb, short-game skills of Des Smyth saw him produce the blistering score of 261 - 27 under par - in capturing the Irish Dunlop Tournament. A measure of Smyth's dominance on that occasion was the fact second-placed Peter Townsend was no fewer than 16 strokes adrift.
It can be said with some confidence that the bould Des won't be producing comparable heroics on the new course. Separated from the old course by the Slane road, it measures 7,137 yards off the back tees to present a very serious challenge. Apart from the overall length, there is the way O'Connor has used water and mature trees to testing, strategic effect.
The Galway man has not done better work than this. He knew what it would require to give the club a course worthy of the terrain when, after being invited to look it over in 1997, he recommended they buy an additional 30 acres of woodland.
When the club agreed to an overall investment of £560,000 for 230 acres - knockdown value at current prices - O'Connor signed on the dotted line. He knew he would need the additional acreage to achieve two loops of nine, with the first hole, the ninth green, the 10th tee and the 18th hole, all on the clubhouse side of the River Blackwater.
In a conventional mix of four par threes, four par fives and 10 par fours, split evenly between the two nines, he has produced a design without any obvious weakness. Sure, one could argue for some tweaking here and there, and no doubt he will make changes as the course matures. But there are no obviously weak holes, only good, better and brilliant ones.
As we have suggested, the terrain was a designer's dream, but it still required skill and confidence to bring it to life, in a golfing sense. Where trees were sacrificed in certain areas, there is to be more than ample compensation in the planting of 20,000 replacements.
Meanwhile, indicative of the maturity and quality of the site, is the bridge over the Blackwater to the second tee. Known quaintly as the New Bridge, it was built in 1726 to a design by Thomas Cooley, when the traffic would probably have been a pony and cart.
On the third, I found myself stopping to take in the full detail of a relatively short par four, measuring 363 yards off the medal tee but with water to be avoided on the left and in front of the green. Here, as throughout the course, the putting surface offered a sane, gently sloping challenge with the option of several attractive pin placements.
The short fourth, with its stone-faced tee, is played over water to a generous green where a lone oak tree stands on the right. It is at this point one temporarily leaves the so-called Large Island, as the front nine opens out from the trees into a sequence of delightful holes, culminating in the par-four ninth where the tee-shot is played over the Blackwater.
The homeward journey begins with a par-four of similar length, again with the drive over the river, but in the opposite direction. This gentle dog-leg to the right is a particular favourite of resident professional Brendan McGovern and one can appreciate its charm, as the medium to short-iron approach is faded towards a well-bunkered green.
From the 10th, one progresses to a stunning par three measuring 179 yards off the back tee. As it happens, the short 11th, where the river runs behind the tee, is the only hole on the Small Island and is highlighted by a view of Headfort House on the hill in the distance behind the green and a burial plot to the right.
This is also the home of the renowned Headfort Pinetum. As a keen horticulturist - he was president of the Royal Horticultural Society from 1915 until his death in 1943 - the fourth Marquis planted one of the most complete collections of conifers in Britain and Ireland. In their leafy shade, he, his wife and two sons are buried and a little further on towards the river, is a headstone commemorating Bill Krugar, who bought the estate from the Headfort family in 1982 and died 11 years later.
On from there, the course gradually builds to a worthy climax. I especially liked the long, 561-yard 14th which doglegs to the right before rising to an elevated green on the highest point of the course. Then comes the challenging, 438-yard 15th, followed by the 558-yard 16th and the 167-yard 17th over the Blackwater, until finally, the drive to the 430-yard 18th carries a picturesque bend in the river. By this stage, the 11th hole on the old course is in full view on the left.
The new course represents an overall investment of about £2.5 million which has been partially offset by taking in 300 new members, each at an entry fee of £5,000. Meanwhile, projected green-free revenue of £300,000 for the current 12 months, is expected to increase by about 50 per cent next year.
Then there is talk of staging an important tournament, some way down the road. With a splendid new clubhouse having been completed in 1994, the club have reason to be proud of their facilities. Indeed in his island grave, the fourth Marquis might well think that his former estate has delivered a golfing home beyond the wildest dreams of his generation.
