Rathcore ready for all comers

By Brian Keogh

Former Meath fullback Mick Lyons was no stranger to taking on heavyweight opposition at Croke Park.

The Summerhill star grabbed back-to-back All Ireland football titles with the Royals in 1988 and '89 and saw off quite a few Aussies in three Compromise Rules Test Series.

Now Lyons faces even bigger opposition as the co-owner with his first cousin Austin of Rathcore Golf and Country Club near Enfield.

Darren Clarke's multi-million euro Champions Club at Moyvalley has opened its doors just a couple of miles down the road.

But Mick is not at all worried about the competition thanks to the quality of his Mel Flanagan design.

He said: "If you don't have a quality course these days, people just won't come and play. And we have a real quality course.

"You'll use every single club in your bag at Rathcore and it's just a fantastic piece of real Irish ground with two ancient ring forts built into the design of the course."

Ranked 65th in the Golf Digest Ireland Top 100, Rathcore rolls 6,500 yards over natural Irish terrain filled with natural springs and furze covered hillocks.

Water comes into play on 12 holes and with numerous mature trees to has to be one of the toughest yet most enjoyable tracks in Leinster.

At €50 it doesn't cost the earth to play with share membership costing just €8,000 compared to the whopping €25,000 asking price at Clarke's Champions Club.