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WE leave Cork City after this, turning east for Youghal and Dungarvan. If you haven't been delayed at Kinsale, which is unlikely, you could tarry awhile at Aherne's Seafood Bar in Youghal. It's a great place for lunch or dinner and there's overnight accommodation for those who overdo things.
They say there are 18 courses within an hour's drive so if you're looking for a spot to linger you could be tempted here.
If you're on schedule all I can say is you're not really trying but, that being the case, push on to Dungarvan and the West Waterford Golf Club.
It's a parkland designed by the dear departed Eddie Hackett, one of Ireland's great architects, and laid out on the banks of a river which comes into play on the run-in. It's most picturesque, surrounded by hills and all alive with the sound of fiddles...
You're in County Waterford now and the club is at Coolcormack, just short of Dungarvan. The Sprat family which owns the course also offer bed and breakfast at a charming country house known as Failte House a few minutes further on, in the town and overlooking the bay.
Unless you succumb to temptation you'll be eager to press on to the next stop. It is no great distance and is the centre for two of those tourism-sponsored tournaments I mentioned.
The Murphy's Classic is a handicap team event played in late April, and the Waterford Crystal Autumn Leaves Classic, a pairs Stableford event for the over 50s played in September.
Dunmore East, another delightful fishing village, is the focal point and, like Kinsale, it's a mecca for gourmets into serious seafood at a string of restaurants. A covey of cosy hotels cater for the growing number of visiting golfers, many of whom return each year, some from the US.
Both tournaments use the four local courses which are within 20 minutes or so.
Waterford is that rare Irish jewel, a James Braid creation; Tramore was designed by H.C.Tippet of Walton Heath and you can't refute the claim that it is "as magnificent a championship course as ever pleased the eye.".
Equally pretty is Waterford Castle, laid out by Des Smyth in the grounds of the castle. Surrounded by the River Suir, it is reached via a chain-driven car ferry. If it's on the other side, just whistle...
The quartet is completed by Faithlegg, ranked among the top 10 new courses in Ireland when it opened in 1993.
The ferry terminal at Rosslare is only an hour away so it may be that you'll decide to hove to here awhile and play the four courses.
The alternative is to head into Rosslare and hitch up at St Helen's Bay Golf Club where there are self-catering cottages and a Philip Walton designed course that bodes well for his new career in architecture.
It's a totally natural lay-out with 14 holes overlooking the water, one which offers a fitting climax to your golfing week in Munster.
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