John O'Sullivanvisits the Fermanagh layout and hears from a six-time major winner about what he aims for in designing a course.
I've played golf on every continent and I can honestly say I am overwhelmed by the location and beauty of the Lough Erne project.- Nick Faldo
NICK FALDO is running late. Striding on to the pristine, unmarked 16th tee box of the Lough Erne Golf Resort, the six-time major winner metamorphoses, in less than a minute, from course designer complete with woolly jumper and Wellington boots to his previous incarnation as elite golfer.
Golf shoes, a change of shirt and two practice swings, accompanied by one or two gripes about picking up a club and having to hit a tee shot on a par five without any warm-up, serve as a preamble to a soliloquy in which he declares: "I think it calls for a power fade."
Faldo may be due to celebrate his 51st birthday this Friday, but there is still an impressive athleticism to his 6ft 4in frame, confirmed by a picture-perfect drive that bisects the fairway. His grin requires little elaboration as he accepts the congratulations of the entourage, largely consisting of the Faldo Design team, including lead architect Guy Hockley, managing director Nick Edmund and owner/developer Jim Treacy, the man responsible for bringing the golfing icon to Ireland for this particular project.
Construction of the course began in March 2006, on the Castle Hume site - accessed via Castle Hume Golf Club, of which Treacy is also the proprietor - a few miles outside Enniskillen on the shores of Lough Erne.
Last Saturday the membership in the company of Faldo played nine holes: 10 have been built and the course is due to be completed and ready for play in late spring or early summer next year.
A five-star hotel, spa and leisure centre opened last September at the Lough Erne Golf Resort, which will have 57 homes within its grounds. The teenage sensation Rory McIlroy represents the Lough Erne development.
Time constraints dictate a 19-minute brisk walk down the 16th, 17th and 18th holes during which Faldo offers a whistle-stop tour of golf-course design, the British Open and the upcoming Ryder Cup at Valhalla, in which he leads Europe as non-playing captain.
The scenery down the closing stretch is breathtaking; on one side of the 16th fairway mature trees stand as sentinels; on the other side is Lough Erne, the water a constant presence that will haunt those handicapped by technical demons. From the seriously elevated 16th tee the view is one kilometre of golfing nirvana.
Faldo says he relished the project from the moment he walked onto the site in 2002.
"We thought, 'Wow! This has got serious five-star potential'. So we twisted Jim's arm so that he had to go for it. The original concept was that it was going to be a hotel and a hotel course. We said, 'No, this could be potentially a European (tour) destination'.
"We had a lot of jiggling with the routing. There are some wonderful natural features out here in terms of vistas and atmosphere, some beautiful natural spots, like down on that eighth tee. You have to put a park bench down there. You're down there in your own little world.
"You've got the Lough (Erne; Castle Hume lake also borders several holes) - literally 300 degrees around you and you won't see a building. You see rolling hills and trees. There are some special spots on this course. Separation is something wonderful when each hole has its own individuality; that's really important. You come out here, you and your buddies, and you're the only ones out here. It's a lovely feeling."
Unusually for a championship layout, the 18th is a par three: Faldo disdains convention.
"I came up with the idea of 18 being a par three when I saw the Lough and the hotel. A lot of people think, 'Well, is that strong enough?' When we stood on that point for the first time I believed that it was going to be a fabulous finishing hole. It fits really well."
He is keen to stress Faldo Design eschews themes and self-proclaimed signature courses that highlight the hands-on work of a designer.
"I pride ourselves that we don't have a signature because I think that would be disrespectful to each client and each project. Plus I love it.
"I really enjoy coming to a different site, whether it is an Irish lough, a jungle, a desert or a links: we have all sorts (18 courses at present under construction worldwide). The fun for us is to arrive and be inspired with what we have and make it fit.
"The in thing now is to create a variety of golfing experiences. Here you go through the forest, head up on top of a hill, along the Lough and then back into the trees - that's the variety."
He points out that Lough Erne is the dominant feature. He's previously made reference to the fact Lough Erne Golf Resort may draw favourable comparison with Scotland's exclusive enclave Loch Lomond.
Given Faldo's golfing career was underpinned by a singular focus, the shutting out of peripherals; you would not necessarily see golf-course design as an obvious choice.
"I have been very fortunate that visualisation has been very powerful in my career and I have been able to stand there and see myself playing a shot," he says.
"As a kid I was thinking about landscape gardening and even the forestry commission. I wanted an outdoor job. I wanted to be my own boss and have an outdoor job. They were my criteria.
"It's quite funny that after playing I have an opportunity with this design work to wave my arms around, which is quite fun.
"I know what good players don't like - which is important - what scares them. We can sometimes build that in, depending on the prevailing conditions. We are prepared to use the land to its optimum. We're not just here to throw it in and leave. We pride ourselves on making the best use of a piece of land to create something that will stand the test of time and that people will enjoy playing at all levels. That's very important. It has to be playable for everyone.
"A golf hole will tell the better player what we are asking him to do. The eye should work that way in following your natural horizon lines. In a split second when you look at a hole the eye will go somewhere.
"You can't really fight that. There's nothing worse than playing a golf hole where the eye goes one way and then someone points out that it (the layout) actually goes in the opposite (direction)."
This week at Royal Birkdale, Pádraig Harrington will defend the British Open title he won last year. Faldo, a three-time winner of the tournament, will be there in his capacity as European captain and also fulfilling his commentary duties with the American broadcaster CBS.
While not attempting to name the winner, he's confident of the nationality: "Royal Birkdale is a great course - probably the fairest fairways, the flattest of our links. I predict there could be an American winner.
"It plays fairer for them and they won't get too frustrated as they do in Royal St George's."
He highlights the mental stresses as much as the golfing prowess required to win a major and, in relation to Harrington, offers the following observation:
"You have to have an ability to get really inside yourself and block everything out. You have to make good decisions and commit.
"If you're strong you are able to perform under that pressure; you are able to carry on functioning to a high level. The emotions all change and you have to be able to ride with it.
"The Open always sounds different. There's a real solid crack and a ring to a golf shot, the distinctive sound of striking the turf. It's special.
"It (the British Open) has a couple of lovely little features. From day one on the first green the early-morning starters will be applauded on to it. That's whether you are a young guy who has just qualified or the defending champion. And that takes place on every green; it's a lovely tradition."
In a little over six weeks' time Faldo will learn 10 of the golfers who will constitute the majority of the European team at Valhalla; he'll then pick the other two. He knows who he wants and is pretty sure who he'll choose but, hardly surprisingly, is not about to prejudice the scramble for places.
Having attended to the minutiae of clothing and other necessary incidentals, he confirmed the players know his thoughts on the process.
"I have a simple agreement with them: 'You talk to me.'
"I'm not going to go up to 30 guys and go, 'Do you want to talk to me?' Right now they know what they have to do if they want to play and make the team. It'll be a bunfight over the last six weeks and I'm just really looking forward to it all. Nor is he casting envious glances at the freedom of his US counterpart, Paul Azinger, to pick four golfers rather than two: "No I am happy with the formula. I think it is fine. Everything is shaping up well."
He strides to the clubhouse. Nine holes in the morning, some time spent pressing the flesh with the members and then he's off for a three-hour fishing stint: an appointment for which he will definitely not be late.
These days Faldo's rhythm of life swings to a different beat.
"I have a philosophy now to enjoy each day; that's my goal. When I leave the (commentary) booth at 6pm each day I go, 'That's fun,' or hopefully something fun or entertaining happened. Same when I come to do my design work.
"It's about getting a good buzz when I leave for the day, reflecting on having done a good day's work, maybe on the way to creating something really nice."
Lough Erne Golf resort is already a fitting testimonial to that ambition.
