In a £10 million development, The K Club is to be extended to 36 holes. And should the owners achieve their objective of staging the Ryder Cup in 2005, the new 18 holes could be ready for play within the next three years.
Formal application was made to Kildare Co Council yesterday for planning permission for the venture. Obviously they must now await a decision by the local authority, but given that this development has been on the cards for some time, there are unlikely to be any serious hitches.
The new 18, with an overall length of 7,176 yards, is to be designed by the Arnold Palmer organisation who were responsible for the existing course, which was opened in 1991. "They will be entirely complementary," said Director of Golf, Paul Crowe, yesterday. "The idea is that in the long term, either course could be chosen by members and visitors, or for a major event."
In terms of the Ryder Cup, however, it is clear that the existing layout is in the formal application to the PGA European Tour, not least because it happens to be the venue for the Smurfit European Open. But further down the road, it is envisaged that the complex could achieve the sort of 36hole status that one associates with celebrated American venues such as Winged Foot.
Among the relatively few 36hole parkland complexes in this country, the most notable is Killarney which is currently being extended to 54 holes. Headfort are also planning a second 18. Portmarnock, on the other hand, believe than a 27-hole configuration provides ideal options.
The new course is to be built on a 220-acre site on the other side of the River Liffey which borders the existing layout at the long seventh, eighth, 16th and 17th holes. "It is flat pastureland, sloping towards the river and the plan is to do considerable shaping in the construction process," added Crowe.
The land is located in an area between a line extending out from the existing seventh tee, to the far side of the river from the green at the short 17th. If planning permission is granted, work will commence early next year and the course will be ready for play three years on from there, in 2002.
It will be totally self-contained, with its own clubhouse. But there will be a large, road-bridge joining both courses at an area near the seventh hole known as The Weir.
"The simple fact is that we can't cope with current business," said Crowe. "For instance, we had to turn away 500 green-fees this week alone." That could represent up to £60,000 in lost revenue, given the current green-fee structure of £120.
Since The K Club was launched in July 1991 as the brainchild of Michael Smurfit, there has been much speculation regarding the future of the facility, including the possibility of it going on the market. The decision regarding a second 18, however, would suggest that the Jefferson Smurfit Group are now committed to the venue in the long term.
It has been the venue for the Smurfit Irish Professional Championship in 1992 and 1993, the PGA Cup matches in 1992 and the Smurfit European which will have its third successive staging on August 20th to 23th when the Swede, Per-Ulrik Johansson, will be seeking a third successive title.
Meanwhile, its current, high standing in the game is a tribute to the determination of the owner to overcome potentially dispiriting problems, largely to do with drainage. Indeed the problem was so acute as to threaten a serious rift between the owners and the Palmer Group.
At the end of it all, goodwill survived to the extent that Palmer and his chief designer, Ed Seay, are given responsibility for the new course at a design fee in excess of $1 million.
