Located just three miles from Tullamore and only 45 minutes from the K Club, venue of the 2006 Ryder Cup, is Esker Hills, a genuine hidden gem and one of Irish golf's best kept secrets. More than 10,000 years ago the awesome natural forces of the dying Ice Age powerfully sculpted the unique landscape of Offaly. As the great glaciers retreated, they left in their wake narrow ridges of sand and gravel that were deposited by the streams of water which had once flowed in tunnels beneath the melting ice. These ridges now comprise the magic Esker Riada, from which the course gets its name. Excellent, natural drainage is one of the more obvious advantages the terrain offers golf-course construction.

Then there are the dramatic undulations of valleys and plateaux that, along with natural lakes and woodlands, provide splendid design features. "Designing Esker Hills gave me enormous satisfaction, plotting the course through nature's own sand-hills and valleys. Esker Hills is the only inland links type course I know of, which makes golf a pleasure all year round, said Christy O' Connor Jnr, who designed the course in 1996.