Golf: The lure of the links has proven irresistible to golfing tourists visiting Ireland, and to home-grown golfers; now it is proving irresistible to Nissan, the title sponsors of the Irish Open.

County Louth Golf Club - or Baltray, as it is more widely known - will today be officially named as the host venue for next year's championship, which will be played in the week immediately after the British Open. It will be the fifth different course in six years to stage the event.

Baltray, the traditional home to the East of Ireland amateur championship, has always been considered among the top links courses in the country - and Ireland's leading tour professionals, competing in yesterday's Volvo Masters at Valderrama, fully endorsed the decision to hold the tournament, one of the oldest on the PGA European Tour, at the course outside Drogheda.

"It's a really good golf course, one of my favourites," remarked Darren Clarke, who won the Irish Close and East of Ireland titles there in 1990, before he turned professional. "I played a lot there as an amateur and the greens were always in brilliant condition. I'm glad it is being played on a links course again. The Irish Open should always be played on links. We have some of the best courses in the world and we should be utilising them."

This year's Irish Open was staged at Portmarnock, which created some waves in the run-up to the tournament because of the club's male-only membership policy. In the end, the championship passed off without any major protests - but a decision was taken to seek a new venue for 2004 and, although the new Druids Heath course in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow, was among others in the running, the European Tour has decided to stick with a traditional links.

Ryder Cup player Paul McGinley, who was a junior member at Baltray in his early amateur days, and who won his second Irish PGA title there in 2000, was among those who encouraged the European Tour to select Baltray. He spoke to Ken Schofield, the tour's executive director, David Garland, the director of tour operations, and David Probyn, the tournament director, about how well the course could cope with the demands of staging an Irish Open.

"I briefed them as best I could," said McGinley, "and I am delighted the tournament is going there. Everybody loves playing Baltray, it is one of everyone's favourite courses. Ireland is renowned for its links courses, and I know The K Club and Mount Juliet are great parkland courses, but the players will love Baltray, and that is the bottom line."

Padraig Harrington also praised the decision to move the event to Baltray.

"I think it is fantastic, the players are going to love it," insisted Harrington. "When new venues are selected, I tend to look at things from the view of 'what will my fellow European Tour players think of the course?' and, in choosing Baltray, I simply know they will love the golf course.

"They'll love the whole place, it will have an atmosphere like Ballybunion in 2000. The course is certainly deserving of the right to host an Irish Open. Its greens are among the best in the country and its real strength is the quality of its par threes."

This will be the fifth different course to host the Irish Open in six years. Druids Glen (1999), Ballybunion (2000), Fota Island (2001 and 2002) staged the event under Murphy's sponsorship, while Portmarnock, the spiritual home of Irish golf, held the tournament last year in Nissan's first year of sponsorship. The Irish Open - which was first held in 1927 and revived in 1975 after an absence of 22 years - has never previously been staged at the Louth course.

However, it is unlikely that one of its local sons, Des Smyth, who has enjoyed a successful debut on the Champions Tour in the United States this season, will be able to play as the date immediately after the British Open coincides with the British Seniors' Open, which returns to Royal Portrush next year.

Still, for one professional, there will be the bonus of effectively playing his home course.

"I'll be the local boy from Kilkenny," joked Gary Murphy, who is due to marry Baltray native Elaine Kelly next month.

Their house is "a good four iron," as Murphy put it, from the gates of the Co Louth club. That's one event he won't be missing.