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The K Club Ready For Major Test

September 12, 2006

Arnold Palmer Design Company marks a milestone at The 2006 Ryder Cup played next week in Ireland.

When The 2006 Ryder Cup commences next week at The K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland, Arnold Palmer and his golf course design team are going to be looking on with a mixture of pride, excitement and intense interest. The 24 contestants from the United States and Europe who will decide the biennial competition September 22-24 will be challenged not only by one another, but also by a strong and finely tuned architectural achievement from the Arnold Palmer Design Company.

“This is a great honor. It’s really going to be something special, a special week,” said Harrison Minchew, Vice President, Senior Golf Course Architect, and Director of Design Services for Arnold Palmer Design. “To see one of our golf courses showcased in a major tournament – and this is a major event – it’s a nice feather in our caps. In some ways it hasn’t hit us yet; it probably won’t hit us until the matches start. But we’re going to enjoy watching it all unfold and see how the golf course plays into the outcome.”

The Palmer Design team first started work on The K Club in 1989, and the course opened in 1991. A par-72 parkland-style course that measures 7,370 yards, the gently rolling layout has undergone a number of revisions in preparation for The Ryder Cup. Among the changes overseen by Palmer, a former Ryder Cup player and captain, include new bunker placements or the addition or removal of bunkers, redesigns of greens, the addition of trees and the lengthening of eight holes.

Palmer, Minchew, and Erik Larsen, Executive Vice President, Managing Director, and Senior Golf Course Architect, plan to be in attendance when the matches begin. “The volume is really going to be turned up; it’s the Ryder Cup,” Minchew said.

In assessing the personnel of the two teams, Minchew said neither side has an advantage in relation to the layout, which will be made more challenging by expected cool and breezy weather conditions. “The Ryder Cup usually comes down to putting,” he said, “but the wind is going to be a factor, and players are going to have to control their trajectory and keep a handle on their ball striking.”

While much has been made of the strong finish at The K Club – the final three holes are a strong par-4 17th sandwiched between potentially reachable par-5s after the first eight holes on each side were switched just for The Ryder Cup – Minchew has mapped out some early holes that could weigh heavily in the outcome of many matches. The 170-yard par-3 third hole, featuring a wide and shallow green that reminds one of the 12th at Augusta National Golf Club, could well set the tone. He also said that holes six through11, “could determine a lot of matches.”

“There might even be the odd bogey winning some holes,” Minchew remarked.“The toughest hole, or the key hole, on the first nine is No. 7, a par-4 of 430 yards. It plays into the wind towards the River Liffey. There is water to the right off the tee, and a pond fronting the green, with the river beyond. A bogey could win this hole.”

The ninth hole is stern par-4 measuring 461 yards with a tree lurking in the middle of the fairway. Only the longest hitters will be able to fly past it and have a clear shot to the small green. The 10th is 584 yards, but plays slightly downhill and will be reached in two by many. A birdie will be welcome there heading to the 11th tee, a tricky par 4 that is 450 yards but both shots must steer clear of water and the elevated green has a pronounced right-to-left slope towards the lake.

“I think at the end of the week that stretch is going to prove huge,” Minchew said. “It’s such a good stretch, but we think the whole golf course is going to be a great test. Obviously, match play is different from a stroke-play tournament, but no matter what, the guys out there are going to have to play some good golf to make a score. As a designer, that’s what you want – you want them to have to execute and think. You want to try to bring out their best.”

The Arnold Palmer Design Company, based in Orlando, Florida, at Palmer’s Bay Hill Club, is a complete worldwide golf course planning and design organization. Its design and business philosophy has been the genuine, traditional, and sound standard of excellence that Arnold Palmer has demonstrated throughout his life and his career.

The staff of the Arnold Palmer Design Company is driven by professionalism and urgency to meet their clients’ needs and requirements. Whether the course is private, resort, or public, the traditional Palmer philosophy is the foundation of every design. “All of the great courses blend in naturally with the existing environment,” Palmer said. “My belief is in straight-forward design that produces courses with lasting quality that are exciting and enjoyable for all players. The designs are founded on the principles and strategies of the game and are sensitive to the land and the environment.”

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Media Contact:
Bev Norwood
216-436-3409
bnorwood@arnoldpalmer.com

Posted: September 12, 2006 04:58 PM