By John Haughey BBC Sport

Nick Faldo tried to buy the Ballyliffin club in the mid-1990s

Faldo jumped out of a helicopter on a glorious summer day in June of 1993 to take his first steps on the Ballyliffin links turf.

The English star had won his third Open Championship 11 months earlier and when news spread about the surprise visitor, the locals made a dash for Ballyliffin.

It was the start of a relationship which has brought great pride to the Donegal golf club.

On that first day, Faldo described Ballyliffin as the "most natural golf course" he had ever seen.

By that stage, plans to the sculpt the second Glashedy course out of the Ballyliffin dunes were already well under way.

The Tom Craddock and Pat Ruddy designed masterpiece opened to rave reviews in the summer of 1995 and in truth, Ballyliffin has never really looked back.

Faldo's redesign is stiffening up the Ballyliffin Old Course

Faldo even made an attempt to buy the Ballyliffin complex himself a couple of years later.

The gentle manner of the rebuff to the Englishman's proposal meant no hard feelings for either party.

Therefore, when the club decided the original Old Course was in need of a renovation, it was natural that Faldo was the man they turned to.

Faldo Design completed their work on the Old Course front nine last year to very positive feedback and with the back nine upgrade now also completed, the English star will cut the tape on the project on 7 June.

The three-times Masters champion's redesign largely involved a complete re-bunkering programme on the links.

Several new oceanside tees have also been built to better emphasise the natural beauty of the location while the 14th hole has been shifted towards the sea for similar reasons.

The course has been lengthened in a significant but subtle manner which now marks it out as a genuine championship-quality links alongside a Glashedy links which has hosted the Irish Ladies Open and the North West of Ireland European Tour event in recent years.

Britain's greatest ever golfer will be joined at Ballyliffin by young Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy and several other of his Team Faldo proteges.

Rory McIlroy will be at Ballyliffin with Nick Faldo next month

Team Faldo was launched in 2002 in an effort to further help identify and nurture the next generation of golfing champions in Europe.

The youngsters are hand-picked by the six-time major winner and invited to regularly spend time with him at various locations around the world.

One of McIlroy's last Team Faldo get-togethers involved a trip to Hong Kong in January and needless to say, Ballyliffin officials are delighted that Faldo has opted to have the latest sessions at the Inishowen location.

Indeed, Ballyliffin general manager John Farren reckons the arrival of the talented youngsters will prove "a fabulous boost to youth golf in our region".

Ballyliffin's facilities ensure that a wide range of accents and languages are heard in the clubhouse.

On a chilly but sunny morning last December, this correspondent was gently asked to start his round on the back nine on the Old Course because a visiting Japanese diplomat had just teed off on the first.

After his round, the man from the Orient picked up a few souvenirs in the pro shop and promised to return.

Ballyliffin is that kind of place, as Nick Faldo would agree.