Thurles seems set to become a mecca for touring players from Ireland and abroad as the good word spreads. Flanagan has delivered on his promise to bring to Thurles golf demanding of all the modern skills including the stresses imposed on the nerves by the introduction of in-your-face water hazards.

The old front-nine is now totally unrecognisable as extra land has been used to introduce three completely new holes and redesign all the greens and tees to the highest standards of the age. "This is a place where you must fight for a par, " says Flanagan, "and take a birdie as a recognition of brilliant play."

He should know. He has been a professional golfer since giving-up school-teaching to serve his time with the late Paddy Skerritt, he has written two successful instruction books (Use the Head and Golf Mysteries), he has produced a golf instruction series on television and he has designed golf courses in Austria and England as well as such high profile Irish venues as Dunmurry Springs, Rathcore, County Longford and the exciting, new John Daly label course in Blarney.

You could say that he was born into golf as he and his eight siblings were raised in a house just opposite the gate to the Carrick-on-Shannon Golf Club and they virtually lived the game as children. His late brother Sean was a great championship player for many years. His nephew, Kevin, is an Irish selector; and his son Melvyn, has joined him in the design business and is a fine player also.

The probable feature holes in the new-look Thurles are the par-3 third which features a shot across water; the eighth which presents a double fairway, a rare sight in Ireland, with a daring route tempting out-of-bounds on the one hand and a safer three-shot route on the other; and a ninth hole with a distinct K-Club look as it fairly hugs the river all the way to a waterside green.

The club is so prosperous now that young people will find it difficult to accept that things were not always so easy and so good.

Thurles, moved location a number of times before settling into its current home.

The club was founded in 1909 at Leugh, moved to Loughtagalla and then to Dovea where Lionel Hewson laid out a ninehole course.

It was in 1944 that the current site at Turtulla, right beside the town, came on the market. It extended to 218acres of well timbered parkland along the River Suir, ideal for golf, with a fine old house and the club managed to buy it at auction for the then considerable sum of �6,100. In wartime Ireland it was above the club's means and they sold some acreage to the Pallottine Order so that they could get back within bounds financially.

The design of the new course was entrusted to J.

McAllister from Portmarnock, who has courses like Athlone to his credit, at a fee of �5 plus expenses. He did such a good job that his course stood the test of time for over sixty years with just normal evolutionary changes.

The old house, which had stood idle from 1927, was thought to be haunted. But this did not deter the golfers who set about converting it into a clubhouse. The fact that it had been good enough for an overnight stay by Daniel O'Connell, after he had addressed a monster rally on the nearby Hill of Knockroe in 1843, helped a little in convincing everyone that it should be preserved and developed into what is today one of Ireland's nicest clubhouses.

Now that its course has been upgraded to stand amongst the best in the land the Thurles Golf Club seems set for a long and prosperous sporting life.

Wins to date have included the Munster section of the Irish Junior Cup in 1966, the Jimmy Bruen Shield in 1996, the Irish Mixed Foursomes in 1997, the Pierce Purcell in 1999, and a double of the Irish Mixed and the Bruen again in 2001. When the members evolve their skills to overcome the new challenges they will, no doubt, become a more formidable force than ever on the interclub scene.

HOLE-IN-ONE CLUB WINNERS

The winner of this week's hole-inone competition and the prize of a Ping collection polo shirt and a fourball in Druids Glen & a fourball in Druids Heath plus a lesson with resident PGA Pro is Helen Dunne (handicap 26) who recorded her memorable shot on the 9th at Callan Golf Course.

This week's runners-up, who receive six golf balls, ball marker and pitch repair kit are: Vincent Loughwane (15) 2nd East Clare Sheelagh Barrett (16) 8th Old Conna Dorothy Kenny (18) 3rd Courtown Oliver Drummond (23) 18th Greencastle Mary Smyth (23) 10th Borris Ronnie Norris (21) 8th Loughrea Val Commellan (17) 13th Hermitage PJ Ryan (18) 2nd Rathdowney Margaret Lavelle (10) 17th Athenry