A group of archers, free-standing target and all, were displaying their craft close-by the first tee at Roe Park. And as I was taking in this fine sporting scene, my guide, Don Brockerton, rocked me with a seriously sinister observation: was I aware that up to 30 per cent of golfers in the Limavady area are lefthanders?

This is nearly three-times the average, world-wide. I had read of a remarkable valley in the Scottish Highlands where, in a manner of speaking, virtually every golfer adopted a sinister approach to the Royal and Ancient game. Perhaps it was the influence of shinty. But this was news to me in an Irish context.

"It's true," Brockerton went on. "I'm a member of Castlerock and it's not unusual around these parts to see a fourball entirely of lefthanders. I think it may have something to do with a strong cricketing tradition in the area. After all, there's nothing unusual about playing cricket left-handed."

From that point onwards, I was trying to figure out whether the design of the delightful, Roe Park course would be more suited to faded shots, thereby making it ideal for left-handers drawing the ball. Eventually, the only conclusion I reached was that the former Malone greenkeeper, Frank Ainsworth, had done a fine, architectural job.

Ainsworth, who has also been responsible for the Gracehill and Edenmore courses up north, was actually brought to Roe Park three years before the four-star Radisson Hotel became a dominant element of the complex, in 1996. "The course was actually started by the local community in response to a clear need in the area," said Brockerton, a five-handicapper who later became golf administrator.

It is now a proprietary course with 500 members and a thriving greenfee business. And the layout has two distinct sections, starting with the so-called Lower Five - from the first to the fifth - where the River Roe provides a natural boundary.

Indeed, my first view of this particular section was from a rather intriguing perspective. Courtesy of Richard Kinghan, a member of the sales staff, I was looking out from a window of what he later informed me was the honeymoon suite. Perhaps that explained why the four-poster bed was conveniently sloping from left to right, following the cant of the original floor.

Meanwhile, whatever about the sequence of development, the complex has come together into a most attractive unit which also includes a 10-bay, floodlit driving range where lessons are readily available from the resident professional, Seamus Duffy. Other amenities include two gyms and an indoor swimming pool.

But it was the golf I had come to see and I had clearly found myself an ideal guide. While pointing out some of the more spectacular features of the 6,318-yard stretch, Brockerton talked about the huge impact that Arnold Palmer had made when he stayed there while competing in the British Senior Open at Royal Portrush in 1996.

"He showed himself to be a wonderfully warm man," said Brockerton to this confirmed Palmer fan. "In fact, he and his wife Winnie were like a pair of teenagers as they walked around the place, hand in hand."

So Brockerton considered it somewhat unfortunate that their golf shop happened to have Gary Player equipment on display during Palmer's stay. By way of expressing his total understanding of why the merchandise was being pushed in that way, Palmer commented mischievously: "If you can't sell them, you can't sell them."

But the Palmer impact went considerably further. His chief architect, Ed Seay, who was responsible for the design work at Tralee and The K Club, was with him on the trip. "No doubt at Arnold's prompting, Ed gave us some very helpful advice on course presentation," said my guide.

Roe Park has an utterly charming setting within the long, encircling arm of the Sperrin Mountains and the spectacular Eagle Rock to the north and the Inishowen Peninsula in the distance. It is a location rich in history, though one of the more mundane, recent uses of Roe Park House, was as a residential home run by the local health authority.

The town of Limavady derives its name from the Gaelic, Leim an Mhadra, a link emphasised by an area south of the town known as Dogleap. Legend has it that a dog owned by one of the local O'Cahan chiefs, jumped a gorge on the River Roe, to warn of an unexpected enemy attack.

The course itself is dominated by Mullagh Hill, at its centre. This is where St Columba is said have returned to from Iona, back in 575 AD, to attend the Convention of Drumcreat, which had to do with taxation and, consequently, had most of the country's bards and earls in attendance.

"Notice how unnaturally flat the top of hill is," said Brockerton. "This suggests to me that they deliberately flattened it at the time for the purposes of the convention. And whatever about aesthetic considerations, we were warned not to incorporate the hill into the golf layout, for fear the wee men would get us."

Down from the hilltop, however, there was still sufficient elevation to build a spectacular par-three - the 144-yard sixth which rises about seventy feet from the tee and over a chasm to a green beside the old walled garden.

This comes after the toughest hole on the course, the 394-yard fifth which, apparently, has had no difficulty in justifying its index one status. A tight drive between lines of trees is followed by a mid-iron up to a long, elevated and narrow green, measuring about 40 yards by 20.

There are three ponds on the course, at the third, 12th and 15th holes, and all are used to splendid effect. I was particularly taken by the 272-yard 15th, a classic parthree-and-a-half where the green is driveable, but with a potentially crushing penalty on failure.

Its position on the course makes the hole all the more appealing, particularly in a matchplay situation where, depending how they stand on the tee, contestants will have to decide whether aggression would be worth the gamble. The alternative would be a four iron to a tight landing area, followed by a wedge to the elevated target.

Given the time of year and the decidedly wet weather prior to my visit, I was very impressed with the overall condition of the course, especially its creeping-bent greens. And one could hardly wish for better finishing holes, certainly on a layout which has no pretentions to being of championship standard.

The 16th is a 504-yard, semi-dogleg par-five where accuracy off the tee is critical; the 17th is a 237-yard par-three, downhill to a generous green framed by mature trees, and the 18th is an admirably testing par four of 423 yards.

With a double-dog-leg configuration, the ideally-shaped drive here would be a draw off the line of thorn trees to the right. But wait, what heresy is this? In the land of the leftie, we should be talking about a power fade, easing down the incline towards the middle of the fairway.

Given Arnold Palmer's affection for the place, perhaps he might use his good services in persuading Phil Michelson to take a trip to Roe Park, where he could show his sinister, local brethern the way home. Now there's a thought.