Kane's dream comes true in fairytale setting

"I'M GOING to finish it," said the beleaguered owner, Tom Kane, betraying feelings of profound relief rather than any sense of achievement. That was in the spring of 1994, after work on the course at Adare Manor had been suspended for nearly three years, through lack of money.

And Kane finished it, not in a makeshift fashion but to a standard befitting its magnificent location, in the heart of what was once the family home of the Earl of Dun raven. Indeed, a recent visit there revealed it as a venue worthy of staging major, international tournaments.

On a previous visit, I witnessed work in progress on a cut stone wall, fronting the first green. Now, the design skills of the veteran architect, Robert Trent Jones, could be seen to full effect, with the course bathed in bright, spring sunshine.

There was an outing in progress, with close on 190 club players doing their bit to swell the campaign funds of an aspiring, local TD. And even a few months short of reaching prime condition, it wasn't difficult to imagine the course as a similarly searching test for the cream of Europe's tournament professionals.

Ongoing investment in the facility would suggest that the owners are anticipating such a happening. Work is expected to begin later this year on a clubhouse, while accommodation, in the form of apartments (1,000 square feet) similar in appearance to the Hunter's Yard at Mount Juliet, is also planned.

When everything is completed in the spring of next year, Kane will have invested as much as £15 million of his own money in Adare. "It took its toll on me, but I never doubted I'd finish it," said the former New Jersey financier. As it happens, his endeavours received a ringing endorsement from Andy McFee of the European Tour during a visit last year.

Meanwhile, with the help of two Dublin based companies, Euro Golf Services and Carr Golf and Travel, Kane hopes to increase green fee traffic this season by about 50 per cent to 20,000 rounds. At £40 per round for non residents, one suspects it won't require a hard sell.

Admirers of Trent Jones will be familiar with his affection for water as a design feature. Here, the old man really indulged himself by creating a 14 acre lake to dominate the front nine. And there are two further lakes - albeit of considerably smaller dimensions - elsewhere on the course, to the right of the 14th green and between tee and green at the short 16th.

Though most of the fairways were in good condition at my visit, they still bore the scars of a recent hammering from the elements. Drainage needs to be improved in certain, isolated areas, but earlier problems with the first and second holes were resolved through extensive re shaping of the fairways.

As it happened, I had an accomplished guide in Mark Feane, a 20 year old two handicapper who also happens to be the assistant golf administrator. We hadn't progressed far when a famous local figure, familiar to both of us, came into view.

Looking out over Trent Jones's lake shimmering in the bright sunlight, it struck me that the scene wouldn't have been out of place in Killarney. With that, Jackie Harrington came towards us after hitting a three iron tee shot to the short fourth. As if reading my thoughts, the 1979 Irish Close champion remarked: "This is a better course than Killarney - and I mean the old Killarney, before Killeen was built."

The lake, which first comes into view to the right of the third fairway, is to the back of competitors at the short fourth while completely dominating the right side, of the long seventh, a semi dogleg of 537 yards. Then, as one moves to the left towards the eighth tee, the Manor can be seen in the distance, nestling like a fairy castle among the trees.

Money wasn't spared in building the course to the highest standards, which means that the 230 acre site is exploited to best advantage. In the process, the lake on the front nine was given a heavy duty polythene base at a cost of £300,000. "It makes it easier to retrieve golf balls," smiled my guide. "We took 6,000 out of it last autumn." Then, at the 11th and 18th holes, there are bridges over the River Maigue, built at a combined cost of £500,000.

Almost predictably, the river dominates the back nine, as the lake does on the outward journey. It is traversed diagonally at the 11th, a delightful par three of 187 yards, where any shot to the right of the target is destined for a watery grave.

Down the long 12th, one can see the designer's liking for large bunkers. The green here is protected by four of them, all shamrock shaped. "My pal Timmy Rice hit this green in two - but he's very, very long," remarked Feane, of the promising young Limerick player currently on a golf scholarship in Toledo, Ohio.

On we went to the tree lined 13th and the treacherous 14th where water awaits the pushed second shot. Then the 15th - and back to the river. This changing par four of 370 yards, with the Maigue to the right, is further enhanced by the way the Manor gradually reveals itself through the trees on the far bank.

The lake at the 16th has yet to give up its dead, but the count is certain to be considerable. "From our observations, three out of every four shots hit by Americans there, finish in the water," said Feane. "Naturally, they give themselves Mulligans and reload."

A favourite test of a well designed golf course is the number of holes one can remember after first playing it. In this context, Adare Manor would rate very highly indeed.

Water is in play at 10 holes and further design options are offered by the breathtaking array of trees, from the majestic cedar of Lebanon to beeches, monkey puzzles, cork and flowering cherry. These, allied to the design skills of the old master, ensure that the challenge is admirably varied.

In the event, all three - water, trees and design expertise - combine to produce a climax worthy of the setting. The long 18th of 544 yards has two, isolated trees standing sentinel on the right side of the fairway at a distance of 340 yards from the back tee.

Depending on the direction of the wind and the purity of the strike, the green is reachable in two, but only after a long iron or fairway wood shot, hit diagonally across the river to a wide but shallow target. Even if the desired length is achieved, tall evergreens guarding the left side of the green; wait to punish the hook.

Turning to my guide, Mark, I inquired: "Did your pal Timmy reach this one in two?" "Sure, with a four iron." Then he added with a grin: "But he three putted: so I won the money.