Historic home destined for starring role in golf's future

FIRST impressions can be deceptive but in this case I'm pretty sure I have just come across a complex destined to play a major part in Irish golfing life for some time to come.

Carton House has been a significant historic part of Co Kildare for several centuries. Queen Victoria came there for rest and relaxation. Now it's the home of a delightful new golf course designed by dual major winner Mark O'Meara.

In some 15 months or so, another course, this time the handiwork of Colin Montgomerie, comes on stream with every probability of becoming one of the game's great "inland links" in similar mould to Royal Melbourne in Australia and more recently the Nick Faldo creation at the Sporting Club of Berlin.

Carton House, a couple of miles or so from Maynooth, is only a short spin from Dublin. The K-Club and a number of other outstanding golfing venues are also nearby. But don't imagine for a moment that owners Lee and Conor Mallaghan have lost the run of themselves by opting for a 36-hole golf complex, five-star 200-bedroom hotel and every modern day amenity imaginable on their unique 1,100 acre site.

The expenditure when the project is completed will be in the region of 127 million euro, making it the most expensive ever in this country and only matched in the UK by Celtic Manor, the massive development near Newport where Terry Matthews has been able to convince the European Tour to stage the 2010 Ryder Cup.

The Mallaghans will be thinking in similar terms down the road although as yet they are a little too early to enter the race for the American Express World Championship when it returns to Ireland in 2004.

The history of this 1,100 acre estate is quite fascinating. The lands belonged to the Maynooth estate of the Fitzgerald family until 1176. The Fitzgeralds were part of Strongbow's invasion of Ireland and became Earls of Kildare in 1315 and Earls of Leinster in the mid-18th century.

The truly awesome Carton House was built in 1739 and remains in outstanding condition. In the mid-18th century, Lady Emily Leinster developed the grounds, creating open views with undulating hills, the River Rye and a lake, all overlooked by an impressive tower built on a nearby hill.

It was such a vista that greeted the Mallaghan family when they acquired the property some 25 years ago. They knew how ideal it was for a modern-day golfing and sporting facility of the highest quality and a few weeks ago the first part of the dream was realised with the opening of the Mark O'Meara-designed course.

O'Meara and his team have come up with the kind of player-friendly course that is all too rare these days. The vast majority of architects design courses that only professionals can play. This one is different. True, it stretches to 7,006 yards off the back tees, but there is absolutely nothing intimidating about the layout. It is all there in front of you broad, generous fairways, reasonable rough, playable bunkers and gently sloping, immaculately conditioned greens without the huge undulations so common elsewhere and which don't require a Tiger Woods to read their subtleties.

There's a feeling that you can get up there on the tee and let it rip. Knock it on the wrong side of the fairway or miss the green on the narrow side, and, perhaps your next shot is that little more difficult. But that's only as it should be. And then you come to the three holes that form the heart and the soul of the O'Meara course, the 13th, 14th, and 15th.

The first of these is a 185-yard par three played from an elevated tee across the River Rye which comes into play on the left and to the rear. The river is again utilised to create the major hazard at the 14th, which I'm sure will quickly be appreciated as one of the country's finest and most attractive par fives. Strategically placed bunkers must be avoided to find the fairway, from where only the longest hitters will consider going for the green with the second shot. Far wiser to leave oneself with a pitch across the Rye to a large, welcoming green and the exciting chance of claiming a birdie on a truly fine golfing challenge. The waterfall to the right of the green shouldn't come into play but it certainly adds to the aesthetics of the hole.

It's time, then, to take a breather and visit the amazing Shell House located immediately to the right of the 15th tee. Lady Emily Leinster is responsible for much of the amazing landscaping at Carton and it was she who created the Chinese Room bedroom to Queen Victoria and the Shell Cottage, and decorated it with shells from around the world that cover every square inch of the building. Marianne Faithful thought it such a truly fascinating spot that she lived there up to four or five years ago.

We move on then to the 15th hole, a par three of 180 yards across a lake and another hole that will live in the memory. Three strong par fours bring a very enjoyable round to an end.

One couldn't but be impressed by the enjoyment to be derived by handicap golfers from playing the O'Meara Course, the first to be designed by the 1998 Masters and Open champion who will be at Carton on Saturday next to carry out the official opening, very possibly in the company of Tiger Woods.

If Mark's course can safely be described as player friendly, a spin around the emerging Montgomerie layout with Conor Mallaghan suggested this will be a horse of a different colour.

In conjunction with Sporting Concepts Ireland and European Golf Design, a joint venture of the European Tour and IMG, Monty has designed a 7,300-yard layout with a links feel, deep, strategically placed pot bunkers, well contoured fairways and large undulating greens.

Once again, the River Rye has a role to play in this course which the owners believe will see Montgomerie's "unique and keen understanding of golf ensure that the course which bears his name is indeed a masterpiece".

Although there is no intention to highlight one above the other, the certainty is that the Montgomerie course will host whatever major events come to Carton. It will certainly test the professionals while proving a worthy and enjoyable challenge for amateurs from the more forward tee boxes.

You may have been startled by the earlier mention of 127m spend at Carton. Well, apart from the two golf courses, it will also include a five-star hotel managed by the Starwoods Hotels and Resorts under the Westin brand. The luxury hotel will incorporate the existing mansion house and adjacent residential wings to create 210 guest bedrooms.

There will also be a conference and incentive centre, 155 residential units and a state-of-the-art leisure centre with swimming pool, health club and floodlit tennis courts.

Westin is fast becoming a major name on the global golfing scene with Turnberry in Scotland as one of its best known properties. Indeed, David Fleming, the director of golf and professional at Carton, carried out a similar role at Turnberry for a number of years. They also have golf resorts in Mexico, Grand Cayman, Puerto Rico, Guam, Macau and Spain, and opened a hotel in Dublin last year.

Four hundred people joined Carton House Golf Club before either course had opened at a cost of 35,000. That's how highly rated the place is. And the Mallaghans are confident that the 300 remaining memberships will be quickly snapped up.

There will, of course, be ample green fee time with a 100 charge for the O'Meara course and a decision yet to be made on the Montgomerie layout.