During the Ryder Cup at The Country Club, much favourable comment was made about the superb condition of the course and the success of a major upgrading, undertaken by architect Rees Jones prior to the 1988 US Open. Jones's work was seen as an exercise in complementing the original design rather than correcting faults.

Those observations came to mind during a visit to Fota Island last week. Arising from a recent change of ownership, it has undergone a wide-ranging programme of remodelling, apparently with one immediate objective in mind.

"Had it been necessary, we could have had the course in prime condition by next May, in plenty of time for the Murphy's Irish Open," said greens superintendent, Aiden O'Hara. As it happens, the country's premier golfing event will be at Ballybunion next June/July, but it can be taken that Fota will be top of a very short list for 2001.

Situated on an 800-acre estate in Cork Harbour, Fota retains its arboreum, semi-tropical gardens and wildlife park. But since 1994, it has become familiar to golfers throughout the country as the site of a fine test of golf, reflecting the combined design skills of Peter McEvoy and Christy O'Connor Jnr.

However, significant drainage problems and difficulties with some excessively sloping greens, became evident when the Smurfit Irish Professional Championship was staged there in 1997. Since then, the property has been acquired by Mount Juliet's owners, Killeen Investments, for an understood outlay of £4.5 million.

The success of Mount Juliet was clearly crucial to the deal. And the commercial wisdom of the link could hardly have been better illustrated than by the presence of O'Hara and Jeff Howes last week. Howes, who worked as design coordinator and on-course manager for Jack Nicklaus during the construction of Mount Juliet, has carried out the remodelling work at Fota.

Meanwhile on secondment there, O'Hara took with him an enviable reputation for the excellent condition of the Thomastown venue. Indeed, he raised quite a few eyebrows by the quality of his course presentation when the Irish Open was staged in 1993, only two years after the official opening of the venue.

Now, these greenkeeping skills are in evidence at Fota where, by his own admission, O'Hara is applying Mount Juliet standards. As part of that work, all of the fairways have been re-drained, stripped of meadowgrass and re-seeded with creeping bent, the same as in the tees and greens.

Drainage has been a three-stage undertaking: main drains, slit drainage and sand plating. "I'm very pleased with the way the work has gone so far," said O'Hara with the quiet confidence of a man who knows his craft. For his part, Howes got on with the design work, which entailed the reconstruction of all 18 greens, eight of which have been re-sited. Then there was the design and construction of an entirely new hole, the short 13th. This is a particularly impressive, long par-three, where water borders on the left, while the right is defined by an aesthetically pleasing slope.

"The key elements of my approach were to bring the extensive water and abundance of magnificent trees more into play," said Howes. "In rebuilding all of the greens, we have adopted a more subtle approach to contouring, so as to make them more receptive and more enjoyable to putt on."

He added: "When the drainage work is complete, we would expect it to be possible to play quality golf on the course all the year round." Time will tell us about the efficiency of the drainage but on all other counts, Howes has succeeded admirably.

The Nicklaus influence is to be seen in the 12 new greens complexes. But O'Hara welcomes the fact that softer slopes make them less demanding from a maintenance standpoint, than those at Mount Juliet. As he pointed out: "We can now use ride-on mowers for most areas at Fota."

Tim Mahony, chairman of Killeen Investments, outlined his ambitions for the venue. "We wanted a course capable of staging a European Tour event and which would be a joy to play for golfers of all handicaps," he said. "We believe we have achieved the first objective and we await the public's reaction."

Major infrastructural developments in the Cork City area, notably the Jack Lynch Tunnel and the Waterford road, greatly enhance Fota's attractiveness as a major tournament venue. Given the quality of the work by Howes and O'Hara, one suspects it won't be long before its potential is put to the test.