Sutton may be offered a move

Could Portmarnock Golf Club soon have new neighbours who are actually old neighbours? It is believed the "sale agreed" sign will shortly be put up on the adjoining Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links, and, while a state of due diligence is being carried out, there is speculation that an existing north county Dublin golf club will be invited to move lock, stock and barrel to take up residence on the Bernhard Langer-designed course as part of a land swap deal that would be attractive to property developers.

The Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links has been quietly on the market for some time, but it now appears that a buyer, in a deal expected to be in the region of €70 million, has been found for the property.

Once the process of due diligence is completed, which should be within a fortnight, it is expected to set in motion a sequence that could see a golf club transfer to the course, with a new clubhouse being developed at the far end of the course, away from the hotel.

With property developers increasingly eyeing golf courses as potential sites for housing - Clontarf, Balbriggan and Forrest Little are among those clubs about which speculation has been rife in recent months - the indications are that the purchase of the Portmarnock Links could lead to advances being made to Sutton Golf Club to vacate their course in favour of a move across the estuary to a ready-made championship course.

If such a scenario did materialise, it could open the way for a portion of the course, behind Superquinn Shopping Centre, to be developed for luxury housing and apartments.