Carton greens put a smile on Monty's face

Golf Course development: Philip Reid talks to a delighted Colin Montgomerie about his new course at Carton House - and about his plans to play himself out of a mini slump

If you were to look at the bare facts, the statistics that don't lie, this has been a miserable old season for Colin Montgomerie. It would be enough to put a grumpy face on anyone, or so you'd think. Yet, to watch and listen to the Scot in his most charming mood at Carton House in Maynooth yesterday - where he was inspecting the course he designed - nothing is wrong with the world at all.

In fact, things couldn't be better.

Maybe it was all to do with how well his course - due to open for play to the public in June - has turned out.

"I don't believe there are better greens anywhere," insisted Monty, who was on a flying visit to the demesne before travelling on to play in the Italian Open which starts tomorrow. "I know I'm biased, but, really, these are absolutely magnificent," he enthused.

Such joviality has been in short supply for much of this season. "You've had an untypical slow start to your season, Colin."

The grin comes to his face, and the reply is: "You're being extremely polite."

And, in truth, it has been a terrible year, with five missed cuts in six strokeplay tournaments in the US - including the Players' Championship and the US Masters - as well as a first round defeat in the world matchplay.

The Masters was his last competitive outing, and when he returned to his London home 13 clubs were permanently ditched from his bag. The only one that was retained was his three-wood - "I think that three-wood will be with me when I am six feet under," he remarked - and he heads into a five-week stretch on tour with new irons - Ben Hogan - that are more similar to the Callaway ones he used to play until he switched manufacturers in the close season.

After a tremendous Ryder Cup at the Belfry last September and then a season-ending win in the Volvo Masters - which he shared with Bernhard Langer - Montgomerie lost his way over the winter. An enforced, 10-week lay-off as he nursed a back injury, followed by a miserable run in the tournaments he has played - all in America - has left the seven-time European number one almost relieved that he is resuming play on this side of the Atlantic.

"I intend to iron out anything that needs to be ironed out by playing in Italy and then I intend to go back to the Belfry . . . and win," said Montgomerie, obviously feeling that a return to a course where he was the inspiration for Europe's win in last year's Ryder Cup will provide some inspiration of its own for him on this occasion.

Yesterday, though, it was impossible to wipe the smile off Monty's face - and it was all to do with how well the course, simply called The Montgomerie Course, has turned out. It is quite a contrast to the Mark O'Meara parkland course on the other side of the River Rye and he remarked: "This is a unique project and I am privileged to be associated with it. You can't call it a links course, but it will play like a links and has all the characteristics of a links.

"In designing this course, I attempted to go back to a more traditional course. My philosophy was, 'let's go back, but let's make it different', and that is what we have managed here.

"Far too often on an Americanised course if you hit a shot off line you'll get away with it. That doesn't happen here. This is a unique golf course and, like all good courses, will force a player to use all the clubs in his bag."

Does he have a favourite hole?

"The 17th," he quickly replied, of a downhill par three that has the River Rye as a backdrop.

"And the short par four 13th, which proves that you don't have to have par fours of nearly 500 yards for it to be a good par four."

That hole, in fact, is only 339 yards and, for the big hitters, is driveable.

So it was that Monty, a smiling Monty, was almost reluctant to leave a course that has turned out "even better than I envisaged."

But, as ever for a professional golfer on the way to a tournament, there was a plane to catch.

Still, it didn't stop the Scot raving all the way to the airport about the condition of the greens to his car driver.