This week, I had a chat with Jeff Howes and a letter from Pat Ruddy. Howes is a Canadian-born golf-course architect who has radically upgraded Fota Island, where the Murphy's Irish Open will be staged later this month; Ruddy, an Irish-born architect, wrote to tell me about his design work in Canada.

"Du golf comme en Irlande a Pointe-aux-Trembles" proclaimed Le Journal de Montreal about the first of two courses which Ruddy has designed at Montreal Island GC in a $15m development. "New Montreal course opens" reported The Gazette, which went on to inform its readers: "Pat Ruddy says golf is like chess."

Ruddy explained: "Both require skill and nerve. I like to think that on every hole, in terms of shot-making, we've demanded both of every player who comes here." He went on: "As a designer, you can't beat the world with length by having 18, 600-yard holes. The old, shotmaking skills have to be reintroduced."

The recently-opened North Course is to be followed next spring by the South Course.