Christy Jnr and Faldo take aim on the Algarve

THE Irish developers of one of Europe’s most prestigious golf resorts believe it will be hosting European tour events within a decade.

The €400m Amendoeira resort on Portugal's Algarve will be formally unveiled in Dublin and Limerick on Thursday, with the two course designers, Nick Faldo and Christy O'Connor Junior, in attendance in both locations.

However, the onerous responsibility of getting the course ready for play by the end of 2007 will fall on its project manager, Stephen Richardson.

Not that high standards and tough deadlines are an alien concept he oversaw the development of the two Sandy Lane courses in Barbados up to 2004, and worked for four years with renowned course designer Martin Hawtree in the 90s.

"This is one of the most exciting projects I've been involved in," he says of the 640-acre site, 25 minutes from the Algarve's Faro Airport.

"Both courses will be of championship length and will have the requisite-sized greens to host a Portuguese Open or a European Seniors event. The Faldo and O'Connor layouts will be very different.

"Christy's will be more strategic and will feature lots of water, while Nick's will be more hilly and Mediterranean to ensure that the golfer continues to enjoy each experience," said Richardson.

Amendoeira is the latest project of the prestigious Oceanico Developments company, co-founded by director Gerry Fagan, from Drogheda. Up to 400 luxury housing units, ranging from €350,000 to €1.2m, will be opened in phase one.

Work on the project is well underway, with thousands of 250-year-old olive trees rescued from farmlands in the Alentejo, and replanted on site. Richardson will oversee vast earth-moving, dropping four metres in places for water features and raising the terrain three metres for greens and tees.

Oceanico chief Gerry Fagan believes the Algarve can accommodate another dozen or so golf resorts, but his project manager suggests the region is still far from over-developed. For instance, there are 2,300 courses in Florida, another leading golf destination. There are 44 in the Algarve.

Explains Mr Fagan: "At present there is actually one golf hole in the area of Silves (the other 17 are in a neighbouring council area), so this is especially welcome in this region."

Mr Richardson also believes it is encouraging that O'Connor and Faldo have taken such a personal role in the ongoing design and progress and will attend both Irish launches on Thursday.

Said Faldo: "We are going to give my course an Arizona feel, with plenty of cactus. We will cater also for the limit on watering, so the surroundings will have a very desert feel. It will be a great colour contrast, from green to terracotta to white bunkers."

Added Christy Jnr: "You have to keep in mind that on the Algarve, you have longer hours to play golf. You want tougher greens, because 40,000 people per year play the courses down there, which is huge when you think that 25,000 would be the biggest in Ireland."

Richardson will be charged with maintaining the courses, and says Amendoeira will budget for up to 40,000 rounds a year. Membership of the courses goes with a property purchase, and is valued at €25,000.