Golf Inc - March/April 2009 - (Page 12) Profit from peace DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS The changing face of Northern Ireland is embodied in a new Nick Faldo-designed course at Lough Erne Resort. he number of visitors to Northern Ireland has soared since the specter of violence has been replaced with political reconciliation. The remarkable sight of former foes sharing jokes with each other on the stairs of the province’s Parliament building suggests that The Troubles are long gone. It has also encouraged tourism chiefs to set ambitious targets of attracting 2.5 million visitors annually by 2011. For the first time in a long time, the future of Northern Ireland has been greeted with optimism. This confidence is being embraced by a spectacular four-star golf resort set in 400 acres of land on the banks of Lough Erne in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland’s most westerly county. It was on a peninsula between Lower Lough Erne and Castle Hume Lough where Irish entrepreneur Jim Treacy first hatched the idea of creating an international resort modeled on the elegance of Loch Lomond in Scotland. He acquired T Former St. Andrews Old Course Hotel manager Jonathan Stapleton now supervises the 120-room resort facility nearby Castle Hume Golf Club in 1999 and four years later signed up Nick Faldo to design a new championship course. “This is a fantastic project which combines the natural beauty of the land Lakeside greens are a common design theme at Lough Erne around Castle Hume Lake and Lough Erne with the designing excellence of one of the world’s greatest-ever golfers, Nick Faldo, Treacy said at the project launch in 2003. “Fermanagh will be the winner.” The site, which provides scenic views across the serene lakelands, will inevitably draw comparisons with Loch Lomond (the 7th green and 8th tee are good examples) but there are plenty of other, less obvious references. With14 holes having direct links with water and the majority have lakeside greens — including an island green — there are echoes of the famed American courses such as Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass. Even Augusta gets a mention with deep, undulating, tree-lined fairways leading to inviting but perilous greens. The 7,300-yard, 18-hole Fa ldo Championship Golf Course will be attractive but according to Guy Hockley, Faldo’s lead architect on the project, it 12 Golf Inc. March/April 2009 PHOTOS © MARK ALEXANDER
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