Ballinlough Castle Golf Club was launched yesterday, three months after the first three greens had been built and seeded. Located on rolling Westmeath terrain, a few miles from Delvin, the course is the latest creation by Pat Ruddy, designer of Druids Glen.

"We are building a course to the best modern specifications," said Ruddy yesterday. "Indeed I would describe it as an enlarged Mullingar, comparable to any parkland stretch in the country and ultimately suitable for tournament play."

The 11 founder members were previously members of Delvin Castle GC who sought a new home on the lands of Sir John and Lady Penelope Nugent. "We wanted to move from a proprietary club to a members club where we could decide our own destiny," said Cathal Flynn, who is a chief schools attendance officer.

The golf course represents the second stage of a development of Ballinlough Castle estate into a significant midlands leisure attraction. Its gardens and tea-rooms were formally opened to the public earlier this year.

As part of a £3 million golf development, Flynn (chairman), Tony Brady (administrator) and their colleagues have leased 180 acres of Nugent lands at an initial annual rent of £100 per acre and a percentage of green-fee revenue. This will apply for the first five years after which the situation will be reviewed.

The long-term arrangement, however, is based on a 35-year renewable lease. And the deal also involves the building of a modern clubhouse which will also be leased by the club. "We have applied to the Leinster Branch GUI for affiliation as a club offering equal rights to women," said Brady, a local businessman and the former honorary secretary of Delvin Castle.

At the moment, the club have 52 members but their objective is to increase this to 300 as soon as possible. This will allow them sufficient tee-time for a strong greenfee base from which to generate revenues of around £200,000 per year.

So, they are open for membership at an entrance fee of £3,000 with a family deal on offer at £5,500. "We believe our project will prove to be attractive to golfers living on the northern and western fringes of Dublin, from where motorways will reduce the travelling time to less than an hour," said Flynn.

Members are currently playing on a temporary nine-hole course, cut out of the estate lands last summer. But by next July, it is hoped to have nine holes of the project course fully seeded. "How quickly we progress from there will depend on the membership situation," said Brady.

Meanwhile, Ruddy is very enthusiastic about the venture, describing the land as "amazingly beautiful". He went on: "The site was so good that there were at least eight natural golf holes just waiting to be played, with minimal construction work."

Water will be in play on three holes on the homeward journey where the features will be the 440-yard par-four 10th and the par-five 14th (520 yards) where the green is perched between two lakes. "The course will be seeded with fine bents and fescue grasses in the traditional mould," he added.

The development of this new course, with an overall length of 6,800 yards off the back tees, will greatly enhance golfing facilities in Westmeath which already offers the traditional appeal of Athlone GC, Mullingar and Moate, along with modern developments at Glasson, Delvin Castle and Mount Temple.