The K Club

The K Club

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6 miles away

The K Club (Palmer)

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Royal Curragh

The K Club

The K Club | NCG Top 100s: GB&I Golf Resorts

The K Club is a historic resort, and one of the best on Irish soil to make the NCG Top 100s: GB& Golf Resorts list. The venue is home to two championship golf courses, each of which have played host to the DP World Tour, along with a 5-star hotel, glorious spa and wellness centre and much more... 
 
Straffan House was purchased by the Jefferson Smurfit Group in 1988 and they completely transformed it into the resort that it is today – The K Club. It opened in the early 1990s, and just a few years later, the Barton Restaurant received Michelin Star status. The K Club made history in 2006 when it became the first Irish venue to play host to the Ryder Cup
 
That hosting of the Ryder Cup came on the Palmer North Course, one of two Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses at The K Club. The Palmer North continues to play host to the Horizon Irish Open on the DP World Tour, while both it and the Palmer South have hosted the Smurfit European Open in the past. K Club World is an indoor simulator experience and provides great practice facilities for members and guests. 
 
The K Club Hotel has a range of accommodation for its guests to enjoy, starting off with Standard and Deluxe Rooms, all the way up to the range of Liffey, Kildare and Barton Suites, and the top of the tree Presidential Suite. There are also the Palmer Lodges and the Straffan Gate Lodges, which offer a slightly more private stay for larger groups, with these being self-catering. 
 
Not only is golf a main priority at the K Club, but there are plenty of other activities for guests to enjoy. For those that want to relax, the K Spa is the perfect place, with a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and much more, along with the opportunity to enjoy treatments and massages. There are also wine tasting sessions and cellar tours, along with guided boat trips. For those that want to get outside, there is horse riding, clay pigeon shooting, air rifle shooting and tennis among plenty of other things to do at the K Club.  
 
 
  
Visit The K Club’s website here.  

The K Club Overview | NCG Top 100s: GB&I Golf Resorts

Two Championship Golf Courses

The K Club is the proud host to not one, but two championship 18-hole golf courses. Both were designed by the great Arnold Palmer and offer different challenges. The Palmer North is the better-known of the two, having played host to the Ryder Cup in 2006, while the Palmer South has also been a DP World Tour host venue in its history. 
 
Palmer North Course 
The Palmer North Course is best known for holding the Ryder Cup in 2006, when the K Club became the first Irish venue to host the sport’s most storied team competition. It has also hosted the Smurfit European Open and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. It remains an intermittent host of the Horizon Irish Open and will host the DP World Tour competition in both 2025 and 2027. 
 
Designed by the great Arnold Palmer, the Palmer North Course was designed to test the best players in the world. It is a 7,350-yard challenge off the very back tees, but there is a range of tees to allow for a fun round depending on your level of ability. The signature holes on the Palmer South are the 16th and 17th. 
 
The former is a double dog-leg par 5 which turns to the right first, before then turning back to the left on the approach to the green. The approach, whether it is a long second or short third shot, is played over water to the green. The 17th then plays with the same river running down the left side of the fairway, while the closing 18th is another double dog-leg par 5, much like 16. This time, instead of a river, there is a lake to the left of the green that you must avoid. 
 
Palmer South Course 
The North is the layout that gets most of the credit at The K Club, but the Palmer South Course is also a championship track. It hosted the Smurfit European Open on three occasions, including its last two editions in 2006 and 2007. It is also more than 7,300 yards from the back tees and requires a good round of golf to achieve a score.  
 
Palmer was also the man to design the South Course at the K Club, and once again, the signature holes are backloaded. The South Course has more water hazards that the North, and they come into play on most holes.  
 
The 16th is a tough par four, with water down the left of the fairway. That then comes across in front of the green, while four big bunkers will take in any long approach shot. The penultimate hole is a long par 3 over water, before the tough finishing hole on the South Course. It is a dog-leg left par 5, with water completely down the left side of the fairway. The South finishes with an island green, making it extremely difficult to go for it in two shots.  
 
K Golf World 
Along with the two championship golf courses, the K Club is also the home to K Golf World – a simulator experience that allows golfers to play courses from around the world, without having to step outside. There are practice settings available as well, while it is the perfect place for families as there are plenty of fun games to play.  

The K Club Hotel

There is plenty of accommodation on offer at The K Club, from the hotel which has a range of bedrooms and suites to the selection of lodges. There are eight distinct types of bedroom and suites in the hotel, and even the Standard Rooms are filled with luxurious products and bedding. 
  
The Straffan Gate Lodge is a separate three-bedroom, three-bathroom lodge, suitable for families getting away. The luxury self-catering accommodation is within walking distance of the main hotel and its amenities. The Palmer Lodge, one of the original lodges on the estate, is a slightly bigger building, featuring four bedrooms. It suits groups of up to eight and is next to the Palmer restaurant, which has all-day dining. The hotel is also a suitable place for meetings and conferences. 
 
The K Club Hotel has a wide variety of gastronomic options. The Barton Restaurant, named after the founders of Straffan House, is the hotel’s signature eatery. There is also the Straffan Inn, the Palmer Restaurant and the South Bar & Restaurant, with the latter being the newest and liveliest of the gastronomic choices.  

Spa & Leisure

The K Club is not just a golf resort. There are plenty of activities to get involved in away from the fairways. Archery, air rifle and clay pigeon shooting, tennis, paddle boarding, falconry, fishing, horse riding and plenty more.  
 
For a more relaxing afternoon, there are also wine and whisky tasting sessions, and wine cellar tours, along with garden walks, the K Trails and guided boat trips. There is also the sereneness of the K Spa, the resort’s wellness facility which has treatment rooms and private suites. The K Spa also features a swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room, along with an outdoor hot tub.

FAQs about The K Club

Where is The K Club?  
The K Club is located just outside the village of Straffan in Ireland, on the banks of the River Liffey. The resort is situated 20 miles west of Ireland’s capital city, Dublin. 

What is the nearest airport and station to The K Club?
 
There has not been a train station in Straffan since the late 1940s. Instead, the nearest stations are Sallins & Naas or Hazelhatch and Celbridge, both of which are around five miles by road from the resort.  
 
Thanks to its proximity to the nation’s capital, Dublin Airport is therefore the closest international airport to The K Club. It is just over 20 miles from the resort and Dublin Airport is a base for Aer Lingus, Ryanair, and TUI Airways, with more than 25 million passengers travelling through each year. 

What golf facilities does The K Club offer?
 
Along with two championship golf courses, The K Club also has K Club World, which provides the perfect indoor practice facilities via simulators. Practice, games and more are available on the indoor simulators, which can be booked out by the hour. 

Does The K Club offer golf lessons?
 
K Club World is the place to go for lessons at The K Club. With the use of the indoor facilities, tuition can be taken year-round without having to worry about the weather. Coaching and lessons are adapted depending on age and ability, with hour-long lessons the base. 

What are the green fees at The K Club?
 
The price of a green fee at The K Club changes throughout the year, depending on the season. It is also different depending on whether it is a weekday or weekend. There are also stay & play packages available at the resort.  
 
For more information on current green fees at The K Club, visit their website here

What accommodation is on offer at The K Club?
 
There is plenty of accommodation available at the K Club, with eight different types of rooms and suites in the K Club Hotel. There are also the Palmer and Straffan Gate Lodges for larger groups, both of which are self-catering.  

What other resorts are nearby?
 
There are several venues on the NCG Top 100s: GB&I Golf Resorts list that are based on the east coast of Ireland. Carton House is just ten miles down the road from The K Club, while the Portmarnock Resort, Druids Glen, Mount Wolseley, and The Heritage are all within an hour’s drive. 
 
 
  
Visit The K Club’s website here.