A royal reserve

Sports editor Tony Leen was so impressed by Headfort’s new layout in Kells, he was not going to tell anyone. Now the secret’s out ...

WAS I the only romantic who had a secret hideaway for those 'private' moments? Like courting your girlfriend after the disco on a Saturday night? They call them love-nests in the magazines.

Mine was in Castleisland, down at the pitch and putt course adjacent to the local community centre. The 12th tee box, to be precise.

There was a tiny hut with a corrugated roof which was thoughtfully holed in several places to permit stargazing. It had a railway sleeper for seating, and the 16th tee-box nearby for company. And I never told anyone, bar those luscious ladies, of it until now.

There's the same sense of selfishness about the new 18 holes at Headfort Golf Club in Kells, Co Meath. Duty, and a sense of shame that it has taken me this long to write it, forces me to inform you about this spellbinding Christy O'Connor Jnr development. But I loved it more when it was my best kept secret since the Castleisland love-nest.

It is that good. So the first question for Christy Jnr and ex-Headfort captain Niall Clerkin was how come I missed the razzmatazz. Where were the ribbons, the fanfare, the magazine shots?

Of course, those in the writing business presume that unless something's in print with bunting and a brass band, it doesn't merit consideration. Instead, Headfort has employed the oldest public relations ploy - play and say. The traffic on the new course says plenty, and little that I can find any dispute with.

All things considered including, I accept, the fact that I haven't played every inland course in Ireland one is compelled to speculate that Headfort is the most impressive parkland development of the last decade. It is that good.

Of course, the toil and pain of labour introduces another dimension, but the truth is that most golfers are only interested in the finished

product, and have little sympathy for the backache of removing 400,000 cubic metres of forest from land that was so overgrown that O'Connor and his course builder, Tom Bryne, found a small 18th century tea-house as they laid plans for the 8th hole.

"The main feature of the course is the course," Niall Clerkin announces.

And for anyone who has played the existing Headfort course, the new layout will come as a culture shock.

The old course is a docile cat compared to the feline ferocity of the new development. Clerkin confirmed that the new Headfort has already been submitted as a possible future host to the Irish Open. No one should be inclined to giggle at such audacity.

Especially when someone as Christy Jnr is so bullish, if biased, about the same subject.

"It could host the Open without any trouble," he emphasised. "One of the pleasing things has been the reaction of McGinley and the pros to the course. It has all the course infrastructure for such an event."

If O'Connor was referring to length and degree of difficulty, he was also surely underlining the imaginative use of the River Blackwater and the land which was the domain of Lord Headfort.

THE club had originally purchased just over 200 acres for £500,000 with a view to a second course, but the original plans had too much of a 'runway' feel to them leading to the contact with O'Connor for a second opinion.

Niall Clerkin recalls how Junior was immediately enthralled by the prospect, something the designer doesn't deny. But there was a stipulation. O'Connor wanted the club to purchase another 28 acres of dense forest, thick with softwoods and pines.

"The area was so overgrown that one evening I was walking through it and didn't notice the time passing. As I headed out, I discovered myself in total lack darkness, and only found my way out of the thicket by listening for the faint sound of traffic," he said.

When work finally started six years ago, even the most imaginative mind would struggle to conceive the area as it stands today, housing the first three holes of the new course. If it stands as a monument to perseverance, it also underscores the vision of men like O'Connor who see when there is no sight and feel when there is no context.

"I love design work. And I'm using the word love deliberately. It is a passion. I love it so much, you would not believe me."

The collaboration of Headfort and O'Connor succeeded in bringing the river into play on 13 holes, but it did much more. There are two islands a large and a small on site, and both are employed creatively, the latter creating the par 3 11th, with a glorious vista of the imposing Headfort House in the background. Most of Lord Headfort's family are reputed to be buried on the small island. What a resting place. Handmade bridges were painstakingly put in place around the 1st to 4th and 9th-10th section of the course that were literally dug out of the ground, plus the par 3 17th.

"It has a lot of key holes, but the par 3s the 4th, 7th, 11th and 17th are the best in the country. That's my assessment," O'Connor said.

The former two and 17 are over moving water, the 11th on the aforementioned island, but above everything, it is the variety of the layout that impresses. The doglegs at 1, 8 and 10 require good course strategy and patience, while the par 5s have elements of shot-making and shoulder-opening. The 6th, 14th and 16th all dogleg right, the latter presenting the best opportunity to make birdie.

"Overall, it is a very strong and challenging championship test," says Clerkin. "I suppose you could call it a rugged version of the K-Club or Mount Juliet. The GUI have been regular visitors, and I think the only thing stopping us from being in the shake-up for major events is the lack of serious accommodation options around Kells."

HOWEVER, things are looking up in that regard, with plans afoot for a 100-bed hotel on the nearby Headfort Demesne.

Clerkin's own favourites are the par 3 4th over water which plays longer than the 145m on the card suggests, and the par 4 12th which requires a nerveless approach to a green surrounded by water.

Measuring over 6,100m from the white sticks, length isn't the course's only defence, but it's a good one.

The USGA tour-type greens are slick but true, and the maturity of the trees and their strategic use protect several greens. But the real examination is whether you can think through every shot.

O'Connor frequently pays tribute to his constructor, Tom Bryne, and rightly so, but the club deserves credit too. The venture cost around €3m, which has been largely covered by a membership drive at €5,000-a-head.

Given the prices that some clubs are charging now, it's a steal.

Though membership is closed, Headfort is still worth driving many miles for.

And while you're doing it, avail of their €100 rate for both courses, plus a steak.

Monday to Thursday fees for the new course are €55.