JOE pays a visit to Cork and Fota Island Resort ahead of the 2014 Irish Open

The Irish Open takes place in Fota Island Resort next week and JOE went down to check out how preparations were going before the arrival of the biggest names in European golf.

This weekend, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry are in the thick of the action at Pinehurst in the US Open, but only a few days from now, they’ll be back on home turf and playing in front of 100,000 supporters, the majority of whom will be willing them onto victory. The event we speak of is, of course, the Irish Open and the setting for this year’s event is the wonderful Fota Island Resort in Cork, which last hosted the European Tour event in 2002 when Soren Hansen of Denmark tasted success. Thanks to Discover Ireland, I was lucky enough to visit Fota Island a couple of weeks before the cream of the continent’s golfers arrive in Cork and can confirm that it is in absolutely splendid condition. The closing hole at Fota Island looking in superb nick Preparations at Fota were already at an advanced stage when I arrived down at the course on the Saturday of the June Bank Holiday weekend when, thankfully, the sun was beaming down as I made my way onto the course while the missus made the most of the wide range of spa facilities back in the hotel. The first port of call was to the Fota Island Golf Academy to spend an hour in the company of Fota’s on-site professional Brian Kelleher. Brian made a valiant attempt to correct the many, many flaws in my golf game and I can say with certainty that, at the end of the session, actual progress had been made, progress that will hopefully result in a sub-100 round whenever I next take to the course. After that, I got to spend some time in the company of Kevin Morris, the Director of Golf, who knows the place like the back of his hand having been there for just over two decades after a long spell as a touring pro in Germany. Kevin oversaw the last two Irish Opens staged at Fota – in 2001 and 2002 – and has been present for all the significant changes made on the course in recent years, including a redesign and rebuild by Jeff Howes Golf Design in 1998/9 and the establishment of the aforementioned academy in 2006. Kevin, who played a round with Shane Lowry when the Offaly man came down for the launch of the tournament earlier this year, told me he expected scores to be pretty low and the crowds to be pretty high, especially if there was an Irishman in contention over the final two days. The form of McIlroy and particularly Lowry of late suggests that there’s a good chance that could happen. Shane Lowry at Fota Island for the Irish Open launch last month When I asked Kevin what hole he thought would be the signature hole on the Deerpark course, he suggested the sixth hole, complete with a new tee, sentiments that were echoed by Lowry during his visit. “The new sixth tee is amazing where it’s set, on the water, and if you’re there in the afternoon, you’ve got the tide coming in there. I see a lot of lads hitting a driver in there,” Lowry said. As well as Lowry, McIlroy and McDowell, crowd favourites Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke will also be in action, as will Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley (there are places on the European team up for grabs, after all) and ‘Wild Thing’ John Daly, whose presence alone will help drive numerous golf fans to Cork next weekend. Discover Ireland were also generous enough to throw in a two-night stay at the fabulous Castlemartyr resort (below) – only days after Kim and Kanye were reported to have stayed there, if you don’t mind – as well as a trip to the famous Blarney Castle and a lovely dinner in the Cornstore restaurant in Cork City, which comes highly recommended. All in all, it was a super weekend in the Rebel County and there’s more to come on the weekend of the event itself. Visitors to Fota will be able to take in a visit to Fota Wildlife park, while there’ll also be a crazy trouser day, a purpose built food festival and a Championship Village with an array of bars and shops for fans to experience when they’re not following the action on the course. Elsewhere, Tom Jones and Imelda May are amongst the acts performing at Live at the Marquee, which takes place before, during and after the 2014 Irish Open and is a definite option for nightly entertainment for any golf fans hanging around for a couple of days or more. Now let’s just hope the weather holds. The Irish Open takes place in Fota Island Resort from 19-22 June. For more information, including how to get tickets, check out the Discover Ireland website here.