A hole in one at the golf course

AUCTIONEERS don’t normally describe the property they are charged with selling as a hole - but that is exactly what Peter Cave of Hamilton Osborne King has up for sale.

He is in the unusual position of selling an individual hole on a golf course, and knows he is tee-ed up for a tirade of golf puns.

However, par for the course is the fact he can look forward to viewings and walking the property, and if he gets a demanding bidder, he might even have to compare the attributes of the 17 neighbouring ‘properties’ as well.

The planned sale of the fifth hole at Muskerry Golf Course, on the north-west shoulder of Cork city’s hills and valleys, could keep him out of the office quite a bit in August as he drives on interest for the club and the members/vendors.

The Muskerry club is over 100 years old, and has its fifth hole across a public road, and having players carting clubs and driving buggies across the increasingly busy roadway was increasingly unacceptable.

So, having developed several new holes, the club is able to discard the 5th hole as surplus to requirements. It is on about six acres of tended grounds, with as a particular feature a circular 4” diameter recess in one portion.

A new owner might take a view that the hole, and surrounds, is worth buying and hope to get a finely-sited house on - it seems the likeliest option of any in a tightly-controlled planning environment with ‘local needs’ carrying a higher priority than wardrobes of Pringle sweaters.

If, or when such a planning comes through, there’s a ready-made garden on hand. Fringed with mature trees, and level, it also has pretty good lawns, and not only is water laid on, there’s even a stream on the boundary.

The €400,000 price guide with HOK may prove to be no handicap to keen bidders.