On our last meeting, a few short weeks ago in Sea Island, the heat index was so high that it really would have been feasible to crack open an egg and fry it on a stone.

On this occasion, though, Peter McEvoy was able to make some use of the Walker Cup jacket that was about as useful as a lighthouse in a bog in the Georgia sun.

And, yet, standing on the cliff-top course that he has designed in Ballymoney, Co Wexford, there's a different sort of beauty - and immediate appeal - about the location of this, his latest addition to Ireland's golfing heritage.

Course architects will tell you that the land that is given to them very much dictates the end product. In that context, from the moment when McEvoy first drove through the gates of the 170-plus acres parcel of land by the sea just north of Gorey, he knew that he had come across something special.

The end result is a design that is effectively and unusually created in three distinct segments and gives the golf player a taste of parkland, heathland and seaside golf in the one round.

When Seafield Golf & Country Club officially opens for play next June, it promises to be a genuine experience for the golfer.

In this day and age of increasingly long courses, it is also to McEvoy's credit that he has produced a course that measures just 6,447 yards and, yet, is one that will require virtually every club in the bag to be used.

The vista of the sea is the over-riding image.

Although the horizon can be glimpsed through the woodland of the opening few holes, from the sixth hole onward it is a constant companion - and nowhere as spectacularly as the view that accompanies the player off the 17th tee-box and, then, after being hidden from view by a hedgerow on the first part of the walk down that fairway, it again hits you with stunning impact on approaching the double-green that is shared with the short 11th.

McEvoy, clearly, has tremendous enthusiasm, and affection, for what is unfolding at Seafield.

"It's not very often you get the opportunity to design a course on such terrain and with such spectacular views," he remarked, of a project that is being constructed to USGA specifications.

Killian Poynton, one of the growing breed of Irish greenkeepers to learn his craft in the United States, in his case at the renowned Penn State University, has been appointed course superintendent.

All of the early holes that take in the woodland are now completed while the second segment, that which will resemble heath, is nigh complete.

What effectively needs to be done on this tract of land that has the imposing Tara Hill as a physical presence, is for the gorse to be planted.

The third piece of the jigsaw is all about a seaside effect - overlooking as it does Ballymoney Strand - with pot bunkers and tall fescue grasses and, at this moment in time, the heavy plant machinery is working like there is no tomorrow.

Within weeks, the final greens will be seeded and all that will be left for the winter months is for the cosmetic touches of tidying up the ponds and constructing the nice railway sleepers effect in those areas, similar to the job that has already been completed at the second hole.

Although kilometres of irrigation pipes have been laid, McEvoy's attempt to get the traditional seaside effect on the back nine where the Irish Sea acts as a constant backdrop, will mean that a considerable amount of top dressing with sand - no more than a quarter of an inch at a time - will be required over time. "I want to get that dry divot effect off the clubface, where the earth crumbles on impact rather than smears," insisted McEvoy.

The opening few holes are typical parkland and will act as a gentle introduction.

The first hole is what McEvoy refers to as an "easy start, in the classic traditions of the game". It measures just 325 yards with the approach to a green nestled into the hillside while the second is a 487-yard, par-five from an elevated tee.

Low-handicappers will consider this a possible two-shotter, although the second shot must carry the edge of trees over a pond that guards the green.

"The very first hole I saw when I visited the site," is McEvoy's comment on the third, another short par-four, measuring 320 yards. "It's emerging as a delightful hole," he insisted.

And, indeed, it is framed by mature woodland with a pond and a stream adding to the natural appeal. Once on the green, it is possible to hear the sound of water tinkling close by, while the fourth is the first par three to a well contoured green surrounded by trees.

That short hole ends the parkland feel, and from the fifth hole there is a change to a heathland texture. The idea for holes designed in a heathland context came from the presence of gorse bushes in this area of the land, but there are plans to plant large tracts of gorse over the coming months to accentuate that feel even more.

It is here, too, that McEvoy has designed what he believes will be "the toughest hole on the course". He is referring to the 460-yard, par-four sixth hole which, after the comparatively gentle start, is "one that is due".

Off the back tee, the drive must carry a lake and thread itself between fairway bunkers and the out-of-bounds on the left.

For the second shot, a tree that dominates the middle of the fairway becomes an added factor. Yet, after such a demanding hole, McEvoy gives the golfer a chance to regroup by providing another short par four, measuring just 330 yards.

It is similar to the 14th at Loch Lomond in that really big hitters will fancy their chances of going for the green in one, while mere mortals can use an iron off the tee and show that course management, and a wise head rather than brawn, can be just as effective.

That last of the heathland holes is the eighth, and now the sea is in full view for the remainder of the journey.

The second par-three is the ninth, measuring 200 yards, and is dominated by a lake that will also include the railway sleeper theme similar to the work already performed on the second.

There are two magnificent short holes on the back nine, the 11th - measuring 180 yards, although it seems longer from the tee-box that is perched just yards from the cliff top - and the 16th, which measures 202 yards.

This hole is played into the backdrop of the Irish Sea, but it is the water in front of the green that is the danger and this has the potential to emerge as the course's signature hole.

Indeed, the finishing stretch from the 15th to the uphill 18th back to an area that will be dominated by the clubhouse (which is due to commence next year) is one that McEvoy describes as "one of the toughest finishes around. . . . given the location and the sense of place, I believe that Seafield will become a much loved golf course with that special ambience that makes one want to come back again and again".

Preferential share membership is currently on offer at £13,500 and McEvoy will be on-site for a walkabout on the course on October 6th and 7th.

preid@irish-times.ie