Madam, - I was struck by Jack Nicklaus's observations that he would have expected Portmarnock to be the course chosen if Ireland ever hosted the Ryder Cup (Sports Supplement, June 3rd).
As the great man says, this country has many wonderful links courses on rugged terrain around promontories hewn out of the coastline by the sea since the beginning of time, offering a variety of challenges to the golfer. Yet the course selected to host this prestigious event, the golfing equivalent of the World Cup, is an inland course built during the Celtic Tiger years and associated with money and the world of big business. That more or less says it all about our priorities these days. - Yours, etc,
JOE PATTON, Chapelizod Court, Chapelizod, Dublin 20.