The agricultural county of Cavan is one of three in the Republic of Ireland that, along with six counties in Northern Ireland, form the province of Ulster. The topography of Cavan – whose motto is “manliness and truth” – is characterised by a myriad of drumlin hills and loughs and it’s the source of a number of major waterways, including the mighty River Shannon.

There are only eight registered golf clubs from County Cavan in the Ulster Branch of the GUI and, for the best part of the last two decades, the best course in the region was the 18 holes set within the 300-acre estate of the Slieve Russell Hotel Golf and Country Club. That was until the Jeff Howes-designed course at Farnham Estate came along in 2008 and suddenly the fairways of this meadowland cum woodland layout are challenging Slieve Russell for the title of best in the county.