A new course on the banks of the River Slaney brings golf back to Bunclody in style and sympathy with the picturesque surroundings, writes PHILIP REID

IT’S FUNNY, if not in a ha-ha sort of way, how history has a way of repeating itself. Once upon a time, golf was one of a myriad of sporting pursuits enjoyed on the banks of the River Slaney in Bunclody – a picturesque town that borders counties Wexford and Carlow – only for it to disappear from the landscape in the early part of the last century.

Now, driving through the gates of what was once part of the Hall-Dare estate in the middle of the town, the signposts directing golfers to the newly opened Bunclody Golf and Fishing Club – a €20 million-plus development that has flown in the face of the economic downturn – provide confirmation that golf has not only returned to this lovely location, but that it is here to stay for the long haul: the Jeff Howes-designed course is, in every way, a testament to hope and belief.

It is over 75 years since a golf course existed on these lands, but this new one – the inspiration of a baker’s dozen of local businessmen – looks for all the world as if it has always belonged here. And, if the stunning circular clubhouse provides visitors with an early indicator of how the times have moved on since golf became a distant memory on the estate, the true barometer of change is provided when you are transported from the 17th green to the 18th tee by means of a lift up the rock face.

The lift is not a gimmick. The idea actually came from Ciarán Redmond, one of the 13 businessmen who not only dreamed of constructing a golfing facility but put hard cash to finance the dream. He used his engineering expertise to suggest a lift as a means of utilising the land. Redmond suffered leg injuries in a rallying accident a number of years ago which necessitated pins to be implanted in his legs, and the lift option – “I never would have thought of it,” confessed Howes – was one forwarded to rule out the need for a long, zigzag walkway from the penultimate green to the final tee box.

Redmond’s intuition has been more than vindicated; as well as creating an impressive engineering feat, the lift has allowed Howes to utilise the low-lying land down by the river (from which some 2,500 trees were also removed and transplanted to other parts of the course) to create the best possible layout. Indeed, the finishing stretch of holes from the 14th to the 18th is a finishing stretch worthy of any golf course.

For Howes, who worked with Jack Nicklaus at Mount Juliet and co-designed the Heritage at Killenard with Seve Ballesteros, this project is one that has provided great personal satisfaction.

“I don’t see there being any one signature hole,” he remarked, “rather, I’ve tried to create 18 signature holes . . . there is great variety, from the open areas of the old racecourse where I took advantage to align holes with the backdrop of Mount Leinster to the different flavour of the waste bunkers down by the river and, then, the woodlands late on.”

For sure, the course is one that will intrigue and satisfy. And, for Howes, one of the most pleasing reactions from those who have played it since it opened last month is from golfers remarking on its playability.

“It is easy to toughen up a golf course, by narrowing fairways and growing the grass, but it is far tougher to make a course play easier. I’m delighted with the feedback, with golfers enjoying the challenge, but not feeling as if they’ve been beaten up.”

The brainchild of local businessmen Robin Beer, Nicky Byrne, Barty Byrne, Tom Byrne, James Conway, Michael Cowman, Peter Crean, Tony Foran, Pat Hanrick, golf professional Ian Kerr, Michael O’Neill, Pat St Ledger and Redmond – Bunclody’s evolution from dream to reality has been helped by considerable support from the local community, with more than 300 memberships sold in the planning stage before the course came into being.

This new addition to the Irish golfing landscape makes this area of the southeast a very attractive destination for golfers looking to explore beyond their own neck of the woods. Among the other courses in close proximity are Enniscorthy, Coollattin and Mount Wolseley.

In the old Hall-Dare days, part of the estate was used for horse racing and this area, surprisingly enough known as The Racecourse, has been used for the first loop of holes – the first to the fifth – and also for the start of the back nine – the 10th to the 12th. This land, according to Howes, had very good natural drainage with pure gravel discovered underneath when an area was excavated to create one of the lakes on the opening stretch of holes.

The course measures 7,164 yards off the championship (black) tees, with three of the four Par 5s on the front nine. In fact, two of them come inside the first three holes: the first is a lengthy 585 yards and the third measures 577 yards.

However, the toughest of the opening holes is unquestionably the second – a Par 4 of 473 yards – that has a water hazard to the left of the green. In terms of raw beauty, the three holes located alongside the river Slaney on the front nine are very noteworthy. Howes has created an area here that puts the onus on club selection and accuracy, with a series of waste bunkers and wild grasses that contrast sharply with the opening five holes. “When I first saw this piece of land [around the river], I felt it was ideal to create Pine Valley type holes with the wasteland and the island fairways,” confessed Howes.

The seventh is a lovely Par 3 with a backdrop of evergreen trees that remind Howes of his time growing up in Canada, while the Par 4 ninth – measuring 313 yards off the back and 282 yards off the front tee – is driveable for the longer hitters and the type of hole that the architect believes should have a home on most courses.

The start of the back nine moves away from the Pine Valley theme and back towards the opening loop of five, but there is further change when you arrive on the 14th tee for a Par 3 from an elevated tee to a green located in woodland.

The 15th is a lovely Par 4 of 453 yards with a demand on accuracy and length off the tee, although the bank on the left should allow the ball to run back down towards the fairway.

The 16th is the index one – a Par 4 of 468 yards – with some strategically placed bunkers down the right and the river Slaney down the left, while the 17th is another fine Par 3 alongside the river. Then, there is that unique lift ride from the bottom of the cliff face up to the 18th tee, a fine finishing Par 5 hole of 535 yards.

There is no doubt the idea of constructing the elevator allowed for the best use of the land. “Being late in the round, we were looking for a way to use the land down by the river. We tried re-routing and putting the course in reverse but we wanted to get to have the treelines late on to achieve a memorable finish. A long uphill walk from the 17th to the 18th would, we felt, have left a taste in people’s mouths. The lift solved that, and it has turned out really well,” said Howes.

It has indeed, and Bunclody – with its great variety of holes, and the lift to ease the hardship late on – is a very worthy addition to Ireland’s parkland courses.