Committed golfers like to think of themselves as recession-proof, war-proof and waterproof. Which may go some way towards explaining the steady increase in their numbers coming to this country, through periods of civil strife, economic uncertainty and decidedly variable weather.

But as head of the New Jersey-based travel company Celtic Golf, Gerry Quinlan believes that we have very much more to offer the golfing tourist, particularly from the US. Indeed, the Irish package is so attractive that he expects business to be up by 20 to 25 per cent this year.

"In my view, Ireland is now established as the world's premier golf destination, because of quality of product, cost, hospitality and accessibility," he said. "As a result, my customers will be enriching the Irish economy by £1 million this year, for their spend on golf alone."

But from Celtic Golf alone, the overall figure, of course, will be considerably greater than that. As Paddy O'Looney, the chief executive of SWING explained: "When factors such as transportation and accommodation are taken into consideration, the figure that Gerry mentioned can be multiplied almost 20-fold. And that it from only one tour operator."

Granted, Quinlan's is the biggest US company specialising in golf tourism to this country. And he enjoys the role enormously, not least because of the strong ties he feels through his Mayo-born grandparents.

"I caught the bug as an 18-yearold when I was working for TWA who flew to Ireland at that time: Flight 876 from New York," he said. "As a perk of the job I found myself as a passenger on that flight and I simply loved what I saw at my destination. Then, 10 years ago, the die was cast in terms of my business future.

"My mother decided she would make my father a retirement gift of a golfing trip to Ireland. So she asked me to make the arrangements - and Celtic Golf was born. We also do trips to Scotland because many golfers want to take in both countries. But Ireland is very definitely the prime destination."

Quinlan is highly complimentary of the work done by Bord Failte in selling Irish golf. But the biggest factor, in his view, has been word of mouth. "Golfers tend to believe fellow golfers," he said. "There's a sort of honourcode whereby you're not going to give a colleague a bum steer."

Celtic Golf and SWING have prospered in tandem and both companies have come a long way from humble beginnings. Back in 1986, Denis Brosnan, the managing director of Kerry Group, conceived the idea of a golf co-operative marketing company involving the premier clubs in the South West region, hence the acronym.

It originally consisted of five clubs - Lahinch, Ballybunion, Tralee, Killarney and Waterville. In 1987, its first full year in business, SWING directly booked a decidedly modest 750 rounds of golf for those clubs. By 1994 it had expanded to nine clubs with the addition of Dooks, Ceann Sibeal, Shannon and Dromoland Castle and bookings had increased to 14,500 rounds.

Swing's principal markets are the US, Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and Australia. In fact O'Looney was in Australia before Christmas as a guest at the Australian Open at The Metropolitan, where he was made aware of a huge interest in golfing holidays in this country.

By comparison, Celtic Golf brought 55 people to this country in 1990. Last year the figure had risen to 2,000. "The percentages keep going up by an average of about 25 per cent each year," said Quinlan. "And there is no indication of any fall-off in the market.

"If anything, business is very much in the other direction right now, due to the dollar's favourable rate of exchange with the punt and a thriving American economy. Then there was the launch on March 1st of another trans-Atlantic route for Continental, whose daily flights from Newark to Shannon and Dublin offer us an extra 300 seats.

"This is a particularly important development due to Continental's link-up with inner-American cities. There is also an attraction for Americans in flying out of Newark, a very user-friendly airport.

"I believe this is going to be a boom year. At the outset, it was a case of trying to educate the American golfer as to what was on offer in Ireland. Now, they all seem to know about the product and it has become a question of putting together an attractive package."

From his own standpoint at the helm of SWING, O'Looney pinpoints a number of factors as contributing significantly to the current boom. "The growth in coverage of European tournaments on the Golf Channel in the US has been very helpful," he said. "It has familiarised Americans with venues like Mount Juliet, The K Club and Druids Glen while making them generally more aware of golf on this side of the Atlantic."

He went on: "Repeat business is always a strong indicator of a quality product and I'm delighted to say that we get a very positive feed-back from our clients. We find that visitors like the way they've been treated here, leaving them anxious to return.

"From that sort of reaction, it's a fairly safe bet that we're getting it right. Killarney is the biggest earner, with accommodation a key factor. And it will become an even stronger venue when the third course comes on stream. Meanwhile, there is tremendous value to be had at Dooks (£20 greenfee), Ceann Sibeal (£21), Shannon (£22) and Dromoland (£27)."

Swing are primarily concerned with the courses in their group but it's in the nature of the tourist business that clients want a broad choice. So it is that patrons of Ballybunion, Waterville or Lahinch, will also want to be booked into leading parkland venues such as Mount Juliet, The K Club or Druids Glen, all of which are considered world class.

As a consequence, the Kerry operation will actually generate income of about £200,000 this year for other Irish clubs - all of it strictly overseas business.

In this context, the Old Head of Kinsale, which is a truly spectacular layout, is expected to be a major, new attraction this year. "I must compliment them on their marketing," said O'Looney. "They have put together an excellent video which had a terrific impact when it was aired in the US."

Then there has been the recent launch of Midland Golf Promotions whose slogan is "Golf in the Heart of Ireland." This is a group of seven clubs from Offaly and Westmeath - Glasson, Esker Hills, Birr, Mount Temple, Delvin Castle, Castle Barna and Tullamore - who are determined to prove that the Midlands can offer an admirable choice to the discerning tourist, at highly competitive rates.

But there is no doubting the American preference for links terrain. Which is why O'Looney believes that from a tourism standpoint, the Ryder Cup in 2005 should be at a links venue. "It's a perfect way of putting our primary product into world focus," he said.

Quinlan shares that view. "Americans are extremely excited about the idea of the Ryder Cup going to Ireland and there has been much speculation over here about the venue," he said. "My preference would certainly be for an old-style links like Portmarnock."

Meanwhile, a reflection of the current boom is that Quinlan's third annual Father and Son tournament, based in Killarney and set for the links terrain of Tralee, Ballybunion and Waterville on April 28th to 30th, has been oversubscribed. At $1,300 per person, he set a limit of 72 teams but could have had many more.

Taking a broader view, I wondered if mistakes had been made here in attempting to attract Americans to parkland venues not unlike the terrain they are used to at home? "Absolutely not," replied Quinlan. "That's a fallacy that has been put about by people who don't understand our industry. Sure, there's a clear preference for links courses but my clients want a broad menu of venues, which means visits to the newer developments."

He went on: "For instance, everyone we've sent to Druids Glen has loved it. The hospitality and accessibility are considered to be of a very high standard. But we need to be doing more to promote such venues as Rosses Point, Enniscrone, Carne and Ballyliffin, which are not getting the sort of business they deserve."

Irish enterprises are sometimes seen as being reluctant to work together for the general good, but this is a criticism that cannot be levelled at golf tourism. Under the umbrella of Bord Failte and the co-operation of Celtic Golf, the combined efforts of SWING, Golfing Ireland, Midland Golf Promotions and West Coast Links, are set to deliver a bumper harvest.