Day 2–The K Club

This is a guest post by my lovely husband Paul. Enjoy!

I started playing golf last year. I am really enjoying it, dare say I am obsessed with it.  Jenna puts up with my golf habit, but that is about as far as it goes. So with that in mind, when she surprised me by suggesting we spend a day of vacation playing golf in Ireland I was thrilled.

On our second day we had a tee time at the famous Kildare Hotel and Golf Club. All over the world it’s known as the K Club. The Palmer Course was the venue for the 2006 Ryder Cup. Their Smurfit course has also hosted many European events. The K Club is about 30 to 45 minutes outside of Dublin.

We played the Palmer Course, designed by Arnold Palmer himself. Palmer is a golfing legend. For me it was really neat because I was reading Arnie and Jack: Golf’s Greatest Rivalry. In the book they talk a lot about the two men’s competing golf course design business.

It was also fascinating playing a course that the best touring pros in the world have played. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Zack Johnson, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie, and Lee Westwood to name just a few. I joke the only part of the golf course I had in common with those guys were the greens. The tee boxes, drives, and approaches were no where near the same.

We started the day by leaving our hotel with plenty of time to make our tee time. However our GPS routed us not to the club house, but some maintenance shed on the back side of the course. When we entered the second address we had for the club house we ended up about 5K away. Finally we gave up on the GPS and stumbled upon the club house right at our tee time.

No worries though, they weren’t that busy on an early Wednesday morning. As long as we teed of in the next 30 minutes we were fine. As I was paying my greens and club rental fees I realized I had forgotten to bring golf balls. The only balls in the club house were K Club logoed Pro V1 balls at 15 Euro a sleeve. For those not so good at math and conversion rates, that is $6.50 a ball. Or $19.50 a sleeve. Or $78.00 a dozen. I have been known to lose a ball or two on a tough course, so I bought two sleeves. Most money I have ever spent on golf balls.

We rushed through the range, swinging a set of clubs I had never seen before, and made it to the first tee box right at 30 minutes past our original tee time.

 

The first tee box. Slight dog leg right with a creek at about 220 yards. One of the challenges was if you missed the fairway the rough was 6” of thick grass. The kind of grass the only way you will find your ball is to step on it. On top of that, since it was late fall, it was covered with large leaves that were blown from the fairway to the rough. Many times even if you just barely missed the fairway it was a lost  ball.

Loads of mounds and bunkers on the course. And no cart paths. Everyone walks. It made the course more picturesque and serene.

Since Ireland it so wet, all of the grass was in amazing shape.

My 2nd shot on the par 5 4th hole. The green is tucked in the back right behind the trees. It was simply gorgeous.

Proof of how much moisture is in the air at all times in Ireland.

From #8, in the distance you can see the main hotel. It was very majestic, in contrast with their somewhat humble club house.  The River Liffey ran alongside many of the holes. For the holes that didn’t border the river, there were many man made water features. Water hazards play a prominent role on the course.

The rear of the club house was quite nice. You can have a meal outside on the rear deck and watch golfers come up #18.

Putting on #10.

My approach shot on #11. Jim Furyk probably didn’t play a shot like this during the Ryder Cup, but I bet Phil did. I could *just* squeeze my club head past the tree. I tried to play a fade into the green. I missed the green by about 10 yards to the right. You can barely see all the water to the left of the green.

Tee shot on #12. Again, look how pretty the scenery is (and all the water to the left of the green). I am still working on my swing, as I will the rest of my life, but my arms are just a touch too far out from my body.

This is a house on the course that overlooks the green for #10. You can just see the flag stick on the far right.

There was a plaque on the base of this tree saying it was the tallest tree in Ireland.

My 150 yard approach on the par 5 #16. The green is protected by the River Liffey. Two large bunkers on the back side of the green give no room for error.

This was the bridge you crossed to get to the #16 green. Jenna is colder natured than I am. I was in short sleeves, Jenna was in her winter skiing gear.

A nice view of the hotel on the walk from #16 to #17.

We took this picture for our kids. A large tree that looks like the number 4.

Some local women that were walking by the hotel for exercise were kind enough to snap our photo.

My second shot at the par 5 #18. A pretty surreal moment playing the final hole on a world class championship course. Going for the green in two here is very risk. You miss left and you are in the water. You miss right, almost anywhere right, and you are in bunkers. The bunkers started about 100 yards from the green. I ended up in the bunkers about 40 yards out.

It was an awesome round of golf. The entire round I felt like a tourist. Scoring wasn’t a focus, it was all about soaking in the experience. If you are a golfer, love the history of the game, beautiful scenery, challenging courses, and are near Dublin, this is a must stop for any trip.

Paul – 12/11/2012