John O'Sullivanreturned to Skellig Bay Golf Club in Waterville, Co Kerry, to see how it has developed

The headland is bathed in sunlight, the shimmering haze simply accentuating the imposing hills and mountains both in the foreground and the peaks of Ireland's highest range, the McGillycuddy Reeks, crystal clear in their majesty despite being some 35 miles away.

Turning slightly, Hog's Head and a becalmed Ballinskellig Bay reinforce the beauty of the setting, so too the white-flecked Atlantic ocean before your gaze is drawn to the cliffs that border the links golf course further around the bay and finally the town of Waterville itself, a kaleidoscope of brightly coloured dwellings.

There are few more naturally stunning vistas than those presented by Skellig Bay Golf Club. The course is a collaboration between renowned American golf course architect Ron Kirby and local businessman, cum farmer Michael "Haulie" O'Shea.

It's been open for play for about 13 months and already it's a man-child.

The Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) recently visited to approve affiliation and deemed that the standard scratch should be set at 74, on this par 72, 7,201-yard layout.

This is no holiday course because to label it thus would be to denigrate its quality as a test of golf, a fact reflected in making it into the "roaring 50s" in Golf Digest Ireland's Top 100 courses in the country. It's a remarkable achievement but on returning to the course, three years after a visit to see the early construction work, it's fulfilled that promise.

Kirby and O'Shea colluded in the development of the Old Head of Kinsale, where the Kerryman's firm TT Cat Landscaping Ltd were responsible for the construction, Kirby working in collaboration on the design. At O'Shea's behest the American visited Waterville to look at the prospect of putting a golf course on the headland.

He laughs when he recalls the conversation at the time: "He had about 100 acres at that time and asked me to build a golf course. I said that I couldn't fit one in but if he was to buy the hill over there then we'd be in business." The course now sits on about 155 acres of what used to be the old Butler estate before it was repartitioned and given to local farmers.

One such beneficiary was O'Shea's family; he then set about gathering up enough parcels to make the golf course a viable option. It's a rare commitment from a man who doesn't play golf.

Kirby is well versed with the demands of Irish golf course architecture (he was head designer with Jack Nicklaus at Mount Juliet, Dromoland Castle, Old Head of Kinsale, Greystones and his current project at Castle Martyr in Cork) but Skellig Bay holds a special place in his heart.

"It's a labour of love for me and Haulie both. We have had our assignment to develop but it extends far beyond the premise of just building a golf course.

"I know there are 18 individual golf holes (out there). There are no two holes alike, which was a challenge because some of that headland was just walls and pasture. Now you have 18 different golf holes. It's challenging in that respect, that every time you stand on the tee, the demands change. There is no repetition. It's testing for any golfer, no matter how good.

"For the average to weaker player, we have given them generous fairways to aim at and we don't have a lot of sand and hazards. We just have a solid, good test of golf. To me there is no way to compare the scenery; it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. My hole (the sixth, Ron's Reflection) boasts an outstanding vista, so pleasant and so unspoiled.

"The golf course didn't spoil or compete with the scenery. That's the nice thing about it. We didn't clutter it up with bunkers and trees. The walls themselves became such a feature. We started with 8,000 metres of walls and must now have 10,000 (metres). They provide direction of play.

"(There are) good quality greens, well-appointed fairways and the third dimension is provided by the rough. The gorse has now volunteered so everything is maturing nicely. I just hope that when it is exposed to the players they will spend a night or two in Waterville."

The old-fashioned stone walls, lovingly restored, chart the routing in an easy, natural fashion, while offering a largely unique feature. In cresting the steep incline from the car park to the stunning beehive hut - it replicates a monastic dwelling on the 700-foot Skellig Michael rock in the Atlantic ocean - that serves as the starter's residence, it's difficult not to be completely distracted from the purpose of playing golf.

The prevailing wind gently coxes the golfer initially towards the mountains in the distance before turning back to a green framed by Ballinskellig Bay.

One of the highlights of the early part of the journey is the magnificent par three, third (An Fhionnaghlais), named after the river that meanders through the layout. It requires a 199-yard carry from an elevated tee over a creek, beautifully framed by natural rock, to a green surrounded by a giant, verdant mound.

The fourth is a dogleg left enticing the golfer to choose a line and bite off as much of the stone wall as he dares. The second shot to a massive green perched on top of a hill is no less

All the while (after the third) the journey has resumed, a forced march to the mountains in the distance, the fifth hole at their foothills, solitude and tranquillity, broken only by the gurgling of a stream that borders the left-hand edge of the green. On a summer's day it's difficult to countenance a more idyllic setting for a golfer.

The focus then shifts with Ballinskelligs Bay and the Atlantic ocean the backdrop to the golfing canvas. A right of way chiselled through the rock takes the golfer under the road and offers the exploration of a new stretch of the headland.

The start of the inward nine nudges the golfer ever closer to the cliffs that border Hogs Head, but it is really from the 14th you're given an appreciation of their full splendour. Two brown-coloured poles at the beginning of the fairway signify what used to be high water mark: the Butlers owned the fishing rights in that area.

The 15th is a gorgeous par three that goes under the sobriquet, Tír na nÓg, an allusion that ties in nicely with Skellig Bay's logo. In Irish mythology, Oisín is said to have left Ireland from Rossbeigh Strand, near Glenbeigh but the white steed on which he returned from Tír na nÓg (Land of Eternal Youth) over the waves of Ballinskellig Bay has been chosen as the club's logo and now adorns both the flags and golfing merchandise.

O'Shea undertook a great deal of construction at the bottom of the cliffs to protect them against coastal erosion but still woke one morning to find that the 16th tee box had collapsed, a circumstance that has happily been rectified.

The climax to a hugely enjoyable and diverse test is the par-five 18th; a 599-yard funnel from the back tee, framed by walls and gorse before rising sharply to an elevated putting surface. The overall experience is enhanced by the quiet diligence of secretary/manager Jim O'Brien.

There is no clubhouse and there are no plans for one, the nearby Waterville Lake Hotel offering both changing facilities and for those who plan to spend a few days in the area, accommodation and food.

Skellig Bay is not the finished product. There are aspects that need to be addressed, such as the manicuring and grading of the rough and the quality of sand in the bunkers. Kirby admitted: "I'd like to see it (the course) well maintained and groomed. I want to see it as a playing golf course, not one that's busy with extra hazards or extra trees. To me it's so natural, just sitting out there in the headland. We did use the river as a feature and then the headlands themselves.

"It's almost like playing in the Kerry mountains without any great conception in terms of the golf course. I'd like to have it stay that way."

The course benefits from natural drainage and will be playable 12 months of the year.

There are currently 350 members and membership is open, with no entrance fee. The rack rate green fee of €60 is an absolute steal and represents arguably the best value in the country. The Waterville Links down the road is a completely different test and the two courses can exist in harmony, providing the area with two wonderfully diverse golfing assignments.

It would be easy to talk about another jewel in the Kingdom's crown but with a little bit of buffing Skellig Bay represents a golfing examination unlike any other in the country. It's well worth the trip.