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Ernie's Design Debut in Ireland

3rd February 2005:
The planned multi-million Euro golf resort near Kinsale in Co. Cork today received a boost with the announcement of Ernie Els as the course designer.

The €200m development is led by a group of local Cork businessmen in co-operation with the PGA who will operate and manage the golf course as a PGA course, the first in Ireland.

Kinsale Harbour Resort will be developed on 600 acres of spectacular land overlooking Kinsale Harbour and the Celtic Sea. It will feature a 5**** Hyatt Hotel.

The golf course will be known as Hangman's Point after the local headland that is a navigational landmark at the entrance to Kinsale Harbour and also featured prominently in the 1601 Battle of Kinsale.

The announcement of Ernie Els as the course designer is an exciting development and is sure to raise the profile of golf in and around Cork City. Old Head Golf Links, Fota Island and Cork Golf Club are already popular golf courses with visitors and the addition of a fourth course will add to the attraction of Kinsale or Cork City as golfing bases.

Cork Airport is 20 minutes from Kinsale town. For golfers planning to combine Cork with the famous links in County Kerry, Killarney is 2 hours by road from Kinsale.

A spokesman for Ernie Els Design assured us that the South African would take an active interest and participate in all phases of the course development. "The fact that he lives most of the year in Wentworth means that access to Ireland will not be a problem," he said.

Meanwhile Ernie, who won the AmEX WGC Championship at Mount Juliet in 2004, says "In planning and designing the links course we plan to follow the existing and natural contours of the site, which was previously Kinsale racecourse and reputed to be one of the oldest golf courses in Ireland"

The green fee costs for Hangman's Point have not been decided but it is predicted that they will not be at the top level but "the bottom end of the premiership scale". This is currently approximately €100 - €120.

Planning permission for the resort and golf course has been lodged with Cork County Council and the developers expect all aspects of the resort to be up and running in 2008.

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