The K Club

Ryder Cup ground on the banks of the Liffey.

The K Club is a hotel and golf estate at Straffan in County Kildare, about 30 kilometres west of Dublin. In 2006 its Palmer North course became the first Irish venue to host the Ryder Cup, and it has since staged the Irish Open several times. Both courses, Palmer North and Palmer South, are Arnold Palmer designs and both take visitors with a booked time. Unlike the links on this list, this is tree-lined parkland with water in play, played from a five-star hotel.

The K Club green fees and tee times.

Reserve on the K Club’s own online tee sheet, email golfreservations@kclub.ie or call +353 1 601 7200. Every tee time is prepaid. Cancel at least 30 days ahead. Inside 30 days the club will let you reschedule but gives no cash refund, and inside 48 hours, or if you fail to turn up, the full fee is kept. If management closes a course for weather, you get a voucher, and refunds are decided case by case. The club says visitors do not need a handicap certificate for general play, unlike most championship links in Ireland, though it describes Palmer South as unsuitable for beginners. Hotel guests get lower rates on both courses, so if you are staying the night, book golf with the room.

The courses at The K Club.

Palmer North

Home of the 2006 matches, and the course that draws most visiting golfers. In 2026 it costs €260 from April to October and €140 from January to March, or €175 and €105 for hotel guests. From April 2027, new bookings for two or more golfers must take a caddie, with a forecaddie assigned by default.

Palmer South

Built as an inland links, with mounding and rock features, it hosted the European Open in 2004, 2006 and 2007. The club calls it a course for capable golfers rather than beginners. Visitors pay €130 from April to October 2026 and €65 from January to March.

The round, in perspective.

Golf arrived in 1991, three years after the Smurfit group bought Straffan House, a 19th-century mansion built for the wine merchant Hugh Barton. Palmer North is par 72 and 7,350 yards from the back, routed through mature estate woodland with the River Liffey running through the grounds. The club names the 4th (Arnold’s Pick), 7th (Michael’s Favourite), 16th (Inis Mor) and 17th (Half Moon) as its signature holes. Europe beat the United States 18½ to 9½ here in 2006. The course hosted the European Open from 1995 to 2003 and in 2005, and Rory McIlroy won the Irish Open on it in 2016 and again in 2025. Palmer South is different in character, an inland links with dune-style mounding and rock features.

Know before you go.

Handicap

No certificate needed for general play

Caddies from April 2027

Required on Palmer North for bookings of two or more

Spikes

Soft spikes only; metal allowed November to March

Dress

Collared shirts, no denim, tailored knee-length shorts

Make the trip work.

The K Club suits a Dublin trip that wants one parkland day between links rounds, or a group where not everyone is a low handicapper. Because no handicap certificate is needed, mixed-ability groups can play here more easily than at Portmarnock or The Island. Plan for the new caddie rule from April 2027: a fourball on Palmer North will need forecaddie or caddie fees on top of green fees. Palmer South at €130 is a good second round on the same estate.

Dublin Airport is about 40 minutes by road via the M50 and M4. Dublin city centre is roughly 30 kilometres east, so allow longer at rush hour. Sallins and Hazelhatch stations are each a short taxi ride away, but most visitors arrive by car or transfer.

Where it is.

Nearby: 1. Portmarnock Golf Club (35 km) · 2. The Island Golf Club (37 km) · Compare all Dublin tee times

Somewhere to settle in.

The K Club’s own hotel, in and around Straffan House, puts you on the first tee and unlocks the guest green fees. Carton House, a Fairmont hotel near Maynooth about 15 minutes north, is the obvious alternative with golf of its own. Celbridge and Naas have smaller hotels, and a Dublin city base is workable if you only play one day here.

Make a trip of it.

Carton House, near Maynooth, has two courses of its own and is the natural pairing. Portmarnock and The Island are both under an hour away for a links contrast. Off the course, Castletown House in Celbridge is Ireland’s largest Palladian house, and the Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens are near Kildare town, about 35 minutes west.

Find your season.

Published 2026 rates run January to March and April to October. Being inland parkland, both courses play softer than the coast in wet spells and are usually less windy. Metal spikes are only allowed from November to March. The club bills Palmer North as home of the 2027 Irish Open, so expect the course to close around that week.