Fota ready to tee off in style for Irish Open
THERE’S a tiger in the woods, but it’s got no known links to golf. The new tigers at Fota Wildlife Park will enjoy some of the best action of the 2014 Irish Open at Fota Island Resort in Cork this week — their compound is 100 yards from the fourth fairway.
All roads leading to the East Cork golfcourse and clubhouse complex are pristine; even the grass is particularly lush following plenty of rainfall in recent weeks.
There’s a comprehensive Garda Traffic Plan in place for an expected 100,000 spectators, many of whom will travel by rail to arrive directly at the golf course.
Of the 156 competitors in the Irish Open, roughly one third will stay at the five star hotel or its adjoining lodges for the prestigious tournament from Thursday to Sunday.
The tented village is positioned right in the middle of the course, in between the 2nd and the 8th and close to the 14th, promising a real buzz of activity.
At Fota, 80 additional staff have been drafted in to join the existing 210 to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Rory O’Neill, Fota Resort’s operations manager, worked at Pinehurst during the US Open in 1999, when Payne Stewart won the event with a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole. Four months later, Stewart died when the private jet he was travelling in lost cabin pressure and crashed, killing everyone on board.
“On the Sunday, I got to sneak onto the 18th to see Stewart win. That was pretty cool. Only a few months later he passed away,” O’Neill says.
“It was the first time Pinehurst had hosted the Open in a few years, or possibly the first time. There was a lot of work done in getting the Open there and then the focus switched to making it a big success.
“It was neat. There was a lot of energy, excitement, it was pretty cool for me because I’d just moved to the US in 1996 and I got to see the likes of Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington in action.”
Originally from Johnstown Bridge, Co Kildare, O’Neill has a wealth of experience preparing for big sports events in the US having worked in a ski resort, an American football stadium and at Pinehurst.
“We’ve been working on the course (at Fota) since November. Five new tees have been added in the interim to make the course a little longer and add a different dimension. It’s seamless. And the rain hasn’t hurt, there’s been plenty of growth here,” he says.
“The European Tour do a lot of the work and what’s made this relatively painless is the emergency services and the council, they’ve have been exceptionally helpful,” he says.
Club members have shown great patience too, for which they will be rewarded with special passes as VIP guests for the tournament.
“Everyone in the region got behind it and have been really supportive. Because it’s not just for the resort, it’s for Cork. An opportunity to show off what a great county and country this is,” he says.
Security will be heightened, with a 24 hour presence.
“You have to for an event like this. It’s going to be busy. But I’m still hoping to sneak onto the green every once in a while,” O’Neill says.
In the kitchen, executive head chef Dan Leahy, from Knockanore, Co Waterford, has selected the best local produce he can find. The focus is on traditional Irish fair, with new choices for players and guests each day. Leahy has a team of 20 staff in the kitchen to make sure everything runs smoothly.
“In the mornings we’ll be serving up the full Irish, with Clonakilty pudding, O’Flynn’s sausages, fresh juices, granola and cereals and homemade breads and scones,” he says.
See you very soon @Graeme_McDowell @IrishOpen2014 it's going to be a great week!
— Fota Island Resort (@FotaIsland) June 15, 2014
During the day, guests can select from a salad and sandwich buffet, with local cheeses, homemade relish and charcuterie.
The evening menu features a different choice each night, ranging from braised beef and Murphy’s casserole to shank of Irish lamb, traditional Irish stew, roast free range chicken and honey-glazed loin of bacon.
Leahy, who joined Fota Resort plans to put in a series of 14 hour days to oversee the tournament, arriving for work at 6am.
“There’s no doubt this is the biggest thing I’ve ever undertaken. It’s important for us to showcase the quality of products that Cork and Ireland has to offer. There’s a lot of work involved, but we’ve a great team here which makes all the difference,” he says.
In the hotel’s luxurious spa, manager Melissa Jones will be busy smoothing any lumps and bumps the golf WAGS might need help with.
“These women are coming from a certain background; they are fashionistas used to treatments at high style spas and they’ll be looking for five star treatments. I expect we will get some of the golfers coming in too, for specialist sports massage catered specifically for them. The women will be coming for pampering, while the men will be coming in for recovery,” Jones says.
Jones, from Ballyvolane in Cork, describes the latest signature treatment on offer, a high content cocoa indulgence treatment that sees clients covered head to toe in chocolate.
“We use real chocolate, which comes in from the kitchen, where it’s melted down and we do the treatment with it. It’s our latest signature treatment, created about eight weeks ago and it’s really taking off,” Jones says.
Clients sip peppermint tea and nibble on a selection of chocolate truffles, while therapists apply a cocoa bean foot scrub and soak, followed by a full body massage using the melted chocolate and finally a facial.
“This is a real feelgood factor treatment, because dark chocolate improves serotonin levels, but its also a natural exfoliant, so skin is left silky smooth,” Jones says.
She and her 30 staff (between the spa and fitness centre) are off to a winning start, having picked up the People’s Choice Spa Award from Irish Tatler magazine last week.
Fota Resort head concierge Sean Collins will be on hand to welcome guests and ferry them around to local attractions in the hotel’s eight-seater Transporter. Collins knows the resort like the back of his hand, having worked there since 2006. “It’s going to be exceptionally busy, it’s a huge event for us and we go out of our way to look after our guests with whatever they need.
There’s a great buzz about the place. What a tournament to be hosting,” he says.
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