Business buzzing and big plans for the future

Ballykisteen

Location: On N24, just past Limerick Junction, three miles from Tipperary Town.

Contact: Owner/manager - Josephine Ryan. Tel (062) 33333; fax (062) 33668.

Course: 18-hole parkland par 72. Back tees - 6,765 yards; medal - 6,284; women's - 5,559.

Architect: Des Smyth and Declan Branigan.

Opened for play: May, 1994.

Green-fees: £20 all days. £17 for members of local clubs and groups.

It took considerably longer than either of us had anticipated, but I was eventually delivering on a promise I made to Arthur Pierse back in 1993. That was when I agreed to look at the design skills of Des Smyth and Declan Branigan at Ballykisteen - an ambitious, new course in which Pierse was involved.

The situation has changed significantly since then. Pierse is no longer a director of the facility, which is owned by husband and wife, Noel and Josephine Ryan. But he has remained on as a member, which is hardly surprising, given that he lives in Ballykisteen House, overlooking the course.

Indeed I was informed locally that 10-year-old Arthur Pierse Jnr is a decidedly useful 18-handicapper, playing off the men's medal tees. So, the prominence of the Pierse name in Tipperary golfing circles - and considerably further afield - looks set to be maintained in the coming generation.

In the event, the club was positively buzzing during my visit on a recent Saturday. "Things are very busy but come along and we'll see what we can do," was typical of the response from Ms Ryan to telephone inquiries.

"I'm not daft, but this is the daftest thing I have done in my life," she said. "Back in 1991, when land prices were depressed, we paid £530,000 for what had been a major stud-farm," she told me. "Our plan was to build a golf course but at the time, I couldn't have told you the difference between a wood and an iron, and Noel could have told you less.

"Thinking about it now, reminds me of a friend of mine who bought a pub. When I asked her what in the name of God possessed her, at 50, to take on the hassle of running a pub, she replied: `You know I blame it on the menopause.' I'm afraid I didn't even have that as an excuse."

The Ryans' thinking at the time was that there was scope for another course in the area, given that Tipperary GC was only nine holes (it has since been extended to 18). Either way, on being given a generous site of 176 acres, Smyth and Branigan came up with a layout worthy of the spectacularly rolling terrain and charming location.

Now, with usage balanced between 200 club members and greenfee traffic, there are plans to spend £1 million on the course and clubhouse over the next 12 months, so as to upgrade the overall facility, especially with regard to drainage. Granted, there had been heavy rain over the 24 hours prior to my visit but even at that, the casual water seemed to be excessive.

"It's a pity about that old mist," said Pierse. "If the day was clear, you could see the Galtee Mountains over there." In fact the course is in the heart of the Golden Vale, surrounded by majestic hills and mountains and only half an hour's drive from the Glen of Aherlow.

We were back on the fairways having spent some time in Pierse's house, where stray golf balls on the lawns would have left a stranger in no doubt about the sporting leanings of the inhabitants. While there, I was shown a photograph album of the Harris family who had owned Ballykisteen Stud when it was one of the finest establishments of its kind in these islands.

"Tipperary Races, June 1914", "Picnic to the Caves of Mitchelstown 1911" - each photograph was carefully pasted down and identified for posterity in beautiful, copper-plate handwriting.

On the course, Pierse had a pitching-wedge and putter in his hand, reminding me that Harry Bradshaw never looked beyond those two wands, when preparing to deliver some golfing magic. "Funny, I bought my first decent set of clubs from Harry, when I was a student at Trinity," he said. "They were Hogan Apex. I had them for years."

Looking extremely fit and back playing off plus-two, the former Walker Cup representative offered to show me around. And it struck me that since embarking on this particular series on golf courses, it was the first time I had a guide of such elevated status. But there were friends to meet.

"Look, there's a man you used to know as a South of Ireland champion," said Pierse, grinning. With that, Vincent Nevin informed us that he was now playing off six. My guide was horrified: "Imagine me giving you eight shots - crazy."

As we ventured forth, I was immediately struck by the quality of the sand-based greens. Then there was the quality of the construction work, highlighted by a beautifully-built wall behind the water fronting the eighth green.

"If we had a professional tournament here, I'd move the tee forward (335 yards off the back) so that the players would have the option of attempting to drive the green," said Pierse. "I've done it off a forward tee, downwind."

To the left of the green is an equally attractive bridge over the water about 10 yards short of the first green. In fact there's a lot of water at Ballykisteen, in ponds on either side of the 18th fairway, behind the fifth green, to the right of the 11th and 15th greens and on both sides of the 17th green.

Meanwhile, a stream meandering across the centre of the course forces a lay-up second shot at the long fourth and focuses the mind while driving at the long sixth. Then there is a small burn, strategically placed 80 yards short of the green at the 546-yard 18th.

It became clear that Pierse particularly enjoyed the challenge of the par-fives, though one suspected that the long fourth had inflicted some pain. "I normally hit a three iron but it remains an extremely difficult layup shot," he said. "Pull it and you're in the lake; push it a bit and you're in the drain. It's a very fine hole."

But for me, the two holes that stood out as seriously demanding challenges were the short 15th, which measures 226 yards off the back tee, and the 417-yard 11th, where a mid-iron second shot has to be played to a green with a narrow entrance, guarded to the right by water.

The 15th calls for a brave and accurate long-iron shot, given the out of bounds fence all the way down the left and the menace of water to the right and partially in front of the green. A splendid par-three by any standards.

In fact, all four short holes have contrasting appeal and the challenge is heightened by the fact that they all face in different directions. And in the case of the menacing 15th, it was a relief to note that the prevailing, south-west wind would be left to right, away from the out-of-bounds.

"In about two more years, when the 30,000 trees we planted are coming to maturity, this should be a really outstanding course," said Pierse. By then, its capacity to absorb water should also be greatly enchanced.

"We understand that the solution is extensive sanding and we hope to embark on the work fairly shortly," said Ms Ryan. "Our feeling is that from a marketing standpoint, we're stuck at the wrong level in that we're on a par with most of the other courses around here.

"We want to move up-market, with higher green-fees and we can't do that without improving the course and the clubhouse. I suppose in an ideal world, we would have Mount Juliet standards at a middle-of-the-range price. Then there is the attraction of having the course playable 12 months of the year."

Given that the necessary investment is made available, such standards are clearly attainable because of the outstanding design-work by Smyth and Branigan and the obvious quality of the greens construction. Two loops also mean that the ninth and 18th greens are by the clubhouse while a driving range with covered bays is equally accessible.

"Obviously my real golfing ties will always be with the Tipperary club, but that's five miles away and this is on my doorstep," said Pierse.

With that, we strolled away from the course back towards his house where the wedge and putter would be returned to the bag.