Ireland
Golf Vacations

The fame of the K Club has already spread far and wide, much assisted by the excellence of the Palmer course (formerly known as the North course). The Palmer is a mixed parkland layout with many fine features - the waterfall at the par-3 5th; the Liffey River (Dublin's river) at the wonderful par-5 7th and at the "Half-Moon" par-4 8th; Straffan House itself (a magnificent stately pile); the fountain-lake at the 10th and again, just as dangerously, at the par-5 18th.

Add in much tree-planting, which is maturing well, together with superb maintenance standards and a treat awaits you each time you tee it up here at the K Club's Palmer course. The Palmer Course a PGA European Tour course that has hosted the European Open championship on several occasions, most recently in 2003 (winner : Philip Price) will host, for the first time, the Ryder Cup in September 2006.

The Smurfit Course is the second Arnold Palmer designed golf course at the K Club, originally named the South course. Like the (Ryder Cup) Palmer course, the Smurfit is also a terrific layout and superbly maintained, but there the similarities end. The Smurfit is more of an open, inland links. There is plenty (and we mean plenty) of big bunkering, water hazards and huge, fast greens. The water hazards are fast becoming home to a variety of wildlife, and are also accompanied by some stunning rock features, not least alongside the par-5 7th ("Quarry"), where waterfalls also adorn the rocks. This is a big, bold and expensive new development, creating a very exciting new course at the K Club, and a new home for the Smurfit European Open in 2004.

Although the Smurfit course only opened in July 2003, it has already hosted the 2004 and 2005 Smurfit European Open Championships.