The Castlemartyr Resort in Cork has been acquired for close to €14m by British businessman and hotelier Martin Shaw, who also owns a significant golf resort called Old Thorns Manor House in Hampshire, near London.

ONE by one, Munster’s jewel resort hotels are finding appreciative new owners and investment: now, the stunning, five-star Castlemartyr Resort, in east Cork, may join the changing of the guard of ownership, having been developed at a cost of €70-€80m in the mid-2000s.

A five-star hotel, opened by then-taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2008, which was developed at a cost of €70m, is now priced for sale at €13m.

It will not just be Fota Island Resort inviting Irish golf to party in two weeks’ time, the Irish Open hosts’ fellow Corkonians are also getting in on the act as a nation of golfers descends on the county for the prestigious European Tour event.

TRAVELLING a long distance for a family weekend break runs contrary to logic.

John O’Connor’s vision of a premier golf course paid off, says Dan Buckley

Robert Trent Jones Sr, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus; Sun City, Gleneagles and the Old Head.

Many of Cork’s leading golf clubs will forget their etiquette as they scramble to invite former US president Bill Clinton for 18 holes next month.

YOU could be forgiven for thinking you’d walked on to a movie set — say, the Great Gatsby — when you pull up at the entrance to the Capella Castlemartyr Resort: it is a set-dressed timepiece and package, aimed at the wealthy and those seeking to unwind, and prepared to pay for the privileges.

Unrivalled in terms of the magnificent beauty and setting of the site, Old Head Golf Links continues to take the golfing world by storm.

TYPICAL. You wait for years for a tourism project like a five-star hotel and golf course, holiday lodges dotted along the fairways, plus a spa...and then two come along almost at once.