Both places were born pretty much at the same time.

While Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones were working on their masterpiece in Georgia the golfers at Mullingar, having "moved house" five times since their club had been founded in 1894, were considering a move to a similarly glamorous location at Belvedere on the outskirts of town.

They called upon the legendary James Braid, five times winner of the British Open, to design their course and he didn't let them down as he produced an amazing layout which has not required anything other than tweaking through the years to keep pace with the changes in the game.

Both courses are creations of astounding beauty. They have the azaleas in Augusta.

They have the rhododendrons in Mullingar.

They have Amen Corner in Augusta. In Mullingar they have Heaven's Plateau right outside the clubhouse with tees one, four, seven and 10 within a few paces of each other and the greens for holes three, six, nine and eighteen converging into the same space.

It is possible to spend an entire day wandering over and back between these features devouring the sight of great golf and retreating at intervals into the clubhouse with all its wondrous offerings of food, drink and banter.

There can be no place on earth where the steaks taste so good.

Meanwhile, the similarities between Augusta and Mullingar continue as both clubs instituted competitions which have become part of the folklore of the game. The Masters is known to all. The Mullingar Scratch Cup, an all-amateur event, preserves the spirit and the balance between competitiveness and sociability that the great Augusta event started with.

Every August Bank Holiday weekend the leading amateurs in Ireland, and quite a few from overseas, have made a habit of converging on the rolling parkland layout in the midlands to do battle over 72 holes of strokeplay for a trophy which bears a litany of great names like Joe Carr, Tom Craddock, Peter Townsend, Garth McGimpsey, Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy, who provided a great Irish double-act with Harington at Carnoustie last week, will not be defending next weekend. But the battle will be fierce nonetheless as Irish champion Shane Lowry, Walker Cup hopefuls Simon Ward and Jonathan Caldwell, and 2005 winner Gareth Shaw will spearhead an elite field.

All have been attracted by the friendship of the club, led in recent years by Albert Lee, past president and now honorary secretary of the Golfing Union of Ireland, and by the challenges left behind by the brilliant Braid, who earned his place in the original Great Triumvirate of golf, along with Harry Vardon and John Henry Taylor, through his British Open wins in 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908 and 1910 and runner-up spots in 1897 and 1909.

Braid, who has been credited as creator of the modern dog-leg, came to Mullingar one morning in 1935 and by evening had directed the placement of stakes to mark 18 greens with their attendant fairways and tees.

He left that evening a contented man knowing that he had done a good job and that he could enjoy reading a good cowboy book on his way home. He never travelled without a wild west adventure book.

Apart from the breathtaking beauty and great tranquility of the site, the Braid challenge centres greatly upon elevated targets on several holes but most notably at holes one, four, five, nine, 14, 16 and 17.

The 16th is probably the most memorable of them all as anything but a perfect golf shot will be punished severely in the way that happens at another Braid classic at famed Gleneagles. He was quite clearly a shotmaker's man.

For this reason the Mullingar Scratch Cup has always provided wonderful entertainment. The course yields plenty of birdies as it measures only 6,683 yards but it also harbours disasters for the unwary.

The battle is never over until the last putt drops and that happens quite often after a play-off. Thus it was that Peter Townsend beat the late and hugely popular Tom Craddock in extra time in 1965. There was a flurry of three play-offs in succession, all involving great names, in the mid-1980s.

Garth McGimpsey won at the 73rd from Martin O'Brien in 1985; John McHenry had to go four extra holes to beat Denis O'Sullivan in 1986; and Frank Gannon survived a four-man play-off in 1987 with Declan Branigan, Tony Hayes and Eoghan O'Connell.

Paul McGinley was a playoff winner, too, in 1991 when he followed-up a South of Ireland final win over Philip Johns by beating the Australian on the 73rd at Mullingar within the week.

A notable name finishing just out of that play-off was Australian superstar of the future Robert Allenby.

The last two contests have been decided in play-offs.

Gareth Shaw overcame Rory McIlroy in extra-time in 2005; and McIlroy came back to win at the fourth extra hole from Simon Ward last year.

It is likely to be close again this time but, no matter the result, there is no better entertainment available next weekend than a visit to this classic happening and hats are off to local member Paul Raleigh who rowed in with last-minute sponsorship from Grant Thornton to help maintain an Irish sporting institution.

AMEN CORNER GOLF TIP OF THE WEEK Stop the tops A "topped" shot is when the club connects with the top half of the ball instead of underneath it. This is a result of the player "scooping" or trying to "hit up" on the ball.

A simple exercise to remedy this common mistake is to put a tee into the ground, let the top rest just above grass level, and strike it as if you were playing a ball. The goal is to clip the tee out of the ground by putting power into your downswing and not hesitating at impact. After practising this exercise a few times you should be able to break the tee at impact while taking a healthy divot.

Once this is accomplished, swap the tee with a ball and your top shot should be replaced by one that rises quickly with plenty of backspin.

with Emmanuel Riblet, Golf Pro, Premier Golf Santry

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 Jack O'Keeffe (handicap 13) who recorded his memorable shot on the 3rd at Thurles Golf Course.

This week's runners-up, who receive six golf balls, ball marker and pitch repair kit are:

Joe Hennelly (20), 15th Dunmurry Springs David Heade (17) 14th Castletroy Margaret Sheehan (15) 7th Bandon Diarmuid O'Donnell (18) 16th Doonbeg James Beahan (6) 13th Pitching Wedge William Dodds (12) 16th Knock Diarmuid O'Malley (18) 5th Powerscourt East Brian McBride (12) 2nd Gweedore Mick Moriarty (14) 18th Bandon