Golf in Kildare
Irish golf is going through quite a purple patch just now. Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke clinched his first major title at the British Open this summer, an achievement that matched the success of his fellow countrymen Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell at the US Open this year and last. And while Northern Ireland may be “the golf capital of the world” right now according to McIlroy, the Republic also has plenty to offer, not least a series of spectacular parkland and links courses that provide a challenge whatever your handicap might be.
Some of the very best Irish courses are to be found in County Kildare, several within easy reach of Kildare Village, and set among an emerald green landscape of rolling hills, limpid lakes and stately trees, bisected by the gentle flow of the River Liffey. It’s a delightfully lush backdrop for a round or two of golf and has been for more than 150 years: Ireland’s oldest course can be played nearby at the Curragh, also known as the home of Irish horse racing.
Also close by, on the road from Kildare to Dublin, lies the area’s most celebrated course, the K Club in Straffan. The course was opened in 1991 and hosted the Ryder Cup just 15 years later, the first time the contest had ever been played in Ireland, and a proud moment for the little Irish village. Darren Clarke was among the European team that defeated the United States by a record equalling 18½ – 9½ score on that famous weekend in 2006, and it’s possible to re-enact golf’s most famous team competition on a Ryder Cup Experience Day at the K Club – playing fourballs as per the final day of the bi-annual event.
The testing Ryder Cup course was designed by the great golfer Arnold Palmer, who once said, “What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive.” But if your golf lacks Palmer’s finesse, the indulgent K Spa within the grounds of the country club is a treat in its own right, with seven luxury treatment rooms and a wide range of facials, body treatments and massages. It is also a great place to wind down after a day playing your way around the fairways and greens.
Mark Twain, the American author, believed that golf was “a good walk spoiled” so if you decide to leave your clubs in the locker room for a few hours, a garden walk around the estate that passes along a stretch of the River Liffey lined with oak, lime and beech trees is a gentle alternative. Clay pigeon shooting, horse riding and fishing for trout on the lakes around the golf course or in the Liffey are other possible activities.
If you’re striking the ball well, however, then you might also like to test your skills on some of the other superb courses in Kildare. Twenty kilometres to the west of the centre of Dublin is Carton House Golf Club, which has courses designed by Mark O’Meara and Colin Montgomerie, the former winding along the banks of the River Rye, the latter with abundant bunkers. A little closer to Kildare Village, meanwhile, is the 7,419-yard, par 72 Palmerstown House Golf Course in Johnstown, designed by Irish golfer Christy O'Connor and capable of becoming just as well known as the K Club.
With courses like these – and so many great home-grown golfers currently at the top of their game – it really is an exciting time for Irish golf.
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11-08-2011
