The K Club Palmer North Course golf club Kildare

Members Achievements

The Ladies of The K Club qualified for the All-Ireland Fourball Final Series on Saturday 4th September 2021 where they met the Ladies from Shandon Park Golf Club in the All-Ireland Quarter Finals and recorded a 4-matches to 1-match win against the Co. Down Club.
They were led out by Karen Palmer with Pat Desmond who halved their match against Paula Irvine with Brenda Marson, they were followed by Sharon Smurfit with Carol Barry who had a very comfortable 6 and 5 win against Karen Simpson with Maeve Hamilton the match of Noreen O’Grady with Catherine Kinane against Debra Thompson with Lorraine McCaffrey was halved when called-in and the bottom match of Karena O’Connor with May Mangan was another comfortable 5 and 4 win against C. Loughins with Alison Horan.  

Having accounted for the Ladies from Shandon Park Golf Club by 4-matches to 1-match in the All-Ireland Semi-Finals, they made their way to Strandhill Golf Club in Co. Sligo where they met the Ladies from Ballycastle on Saturday 2nd October in the All-Ireland Semi-Finals and lost out by 3½-matches to 1½-matches against the Co. Antrim Club
First on the tee was Karen Palmer with Sally-Ann O’Connor who lost their match by 2 and 1 against Brenda McNeill with Phoebe Traill, next on the tee was Una McQuillan with Angela Cirillo who halved their match against Bernadette Hegarty with Mary-Teresa McKiernan, they were followed by Carol Barry with Beryl Bowden who went all the way up the 21st before relinquishing the point against Joan Kennedy with Briege Loughrey, in the penultimate match Noreen O’Grady with Catherine Kinane lost their match against Susan Crawford with Mary Duffin by 2 and 1 and in the bottom match Noitin Donovan with Amy Mangan won their match by 5 and 4 against Catherine Black with Rita McCormick.  

The Ladies of K Club Golf Club qualified for the All-Ireland deciders of the Intermediate Cup at Limerick Golf Club on Thursday 16th September 2021 by winning their Leinster Regional Finals and were drawn against Banbridge Golf Club in the All-Ireland Quarter Finals; they won their match by 3-matches to 2-matches.
First on the tee was Pat Desmond who lost her match by the minimum against Mary Longmore, she was followed by Sally-Ann O’Connor who won her match against Karen Curran by 3 and 2, next on the tee was Carol Barry  who had a very comfortable 5 and 4 Susan Magennis, in the penultimate match Noreen O’Grady lost out by 1-hole to Megan Whan and in the bottom match Beryl Bowden secured the match with a 1-hole win against Ann Magennis.

Having accounted for the Ladies of Banbridge Golf Club in by 3-matches to 2-matches in the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals the previous day they met the Ladies from Royal Tara in the Semi-Finals on the Friday and won their match by 3½-matches to 1½-matches
First on the tee was Pat Desmond who lost her match by 3 and 1 against Vonie Macken, she was followed by Sally-Ann O’Connor who had a 2 and 1 win against Brenda McGuinness, next on the tee was Carol Barry who had a very comfortable 6 and 4 win against Barbara O’Rourke, in the penultimate match Noreen O’Grady clinched their place in the All-Ireland Decider when she had a 4 and 3 win against Deirdre O’Grady and the bottom match of Beryl Bowden against Siobhan Magee was halved when called-in.

They met fellow Leinster and Kildare club Athy in the All-Ireland Decider on the Saturday and were led out by Pat Desmond when she had one of those days and went down by 7 and 6 to Amy Kelly, she was followed by Sally-Ann O’Connor who had a 2 and 1 win against Heather Hegarty, the next match of Carol Barry against Siobhan Smyth was halved when called-in, in the penultimate match Noreen O’Grady had a very comfortable 6 and 5 win against Joan McDonald-Hyland and the bottom match of Beryl Bowden against Mary Mahon went 3 and 2 to the ladies from Straffan and with it the green pennant.                  

The Ladies of the K Club won East-Leinster Final of the AA Insurance Intermediate Cup and made their way to Royal Tara Golf Club to participate in the National deciders in 2009, where they lost out to Ulster Champions Edenmore Golf Club in the All-Ireland Quarter-Final by 3 matches to 2 matches the eventual green pennant winners. First on the tee was Beryl Bowden (16)who beat Colleen Hanna (18) by 3 and 2, she was followed by Miriam O'Callaghan (16) who lost her match against Zoe Allen (18) by 5 and 4, next up was Alice Doyle (17) who went all the way to the 22nd-hole before losing her match against Cherry Logan (19), in the penultimate match Lou Soden (19) lost to Stephanie Watson (21) by 5 and 3, in the bottom match Mary Burrell (19) won her match against Louise Gaw (21) by 2 and 1.

Congratulations to The K Club on winning their first All-Ireland green pennant and indeed their first Leinster pennant, when they beat Castle Golf Club in the final at Enniscorthy Golf Club on Saturday 11th August 2007 and went on to win the Irish Mixed Foursomes. It was on to Athlone Golf Club on Thursday 6th September where they met Ulster Champions Balmoral Golf Club by 3 matches to 2 matches.

The team was Vincent Coyle, Michael Lavelle, Peaches Kemp (Lady Captain 2007), Mary Burnell, Tom Freeman, Emmet Savage, Alice Doyle, Jody Gilhooley, Pat Desmond, Patricia Lacey, Michael Morrissey, Kerena O'Connor, Lou Soden, and Beryl Bowden.

The Ladies of The K Club won the All-Ireland Challenge Cup at Athlone Golf Club on the 30th September 2007 they beat Boystown Golf Club by 3 matches to 2 matches in the Semi-Final and met Galway Bay Golf Club in the All-Ireland decider.

First up was Sarah Newman who beat Helen Fitzgerald by 2 and 1, she was followed by Marianne Fitzgerald who lost to Nano Gough by 4 and 2. Next on the tee was Terry Somers who lost to Clare Noonan by 2 and 1. Things were not looking too good the ladies from Straffan until Phyllis Kelly delivered a 3 and 2 win over Jacinta Quinn and Margaret Canavan had the same result against Marie Kelly, to clinch the title. For a club with little or no track record in inter-club competition The K Club had a memorable year making this the 2nd All-Ireland green pennant having already won the All-Ireland Mixed Foursomes.

2005 Lady Captain Pamela Furlong and her Captain’s Prize winner Liz Burke qualified in the Volkswagen/Irish Independent Lady Captain’s Classic in this scotch foursomes format. It was off to the National Finals at The Heritage Golf Club on Monday 3rd October where they were paired with the Castletroy pair of Anne Hackett and Yvonne Cassidy.

The K Club won the Eastern District Final of the Ulster Bank All-Ireland Fourball Championship at St. Margaret's in 2002, when the team was Kerena O'Connor, Sharon O'Brien, Anna Freyne, Lou Soden, Miriam Callaghan and they were, captained by Ann Lynch. They went on to be crowned All-Ireland Champions when they beat Ulster Champions Massereene in the Final by 2.5 matches to 0.5

The K Club had its third win in the McDonnell Cup on August 2nd 2002 when they beat Rush by 8 matches to 6 matches. The team included three members of the previous two winning teams in 1994 and 1996. They were Martin Fitzgerald, Frank Ward and Tony Moran. The remainder of the, squad were Maurice O'Connor, Declan O'Reilly, Frank McCarthy, Jimmy Boucher, Seamus Tully, Brendan Barrett, Tony Kelly, Joe Higgins, John Clohessy, Tony Kerr and Brian Grassick.

Lady Captain Mary Merrins, Captain Liam Lacy and Honorary Secretary, Joseph O'Grady qualified for the National Final of the Mercedes-Benz Irish Independent Executive Golf Classic at their home club on August 12th 2002.

The K Club trio of Lady Captain Melanie Lawlor, Captain Michael Kenny and Hon. Secretary Joe O'Grady got off to a flying start in the Mercedes Benz-Irish Independent Executive Golf Trophy. In April 2001 they played Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links in a swirling breeze that came at them from all sides. With two scores to count on each hole they were the leading qualifiers. Melanie playing off 20, Michael playing off 11 and Joe off 6 returned 80 points which gave them two points to spare over Grange. They booked their place in the National Finals at their home club on August 13th. The three made history when they delivered, by winning the National Final with a score of 75 points. The trophy, a replica of the Ryder Cup was very fitting. As we all know the Ryder Cup matches are to be played here in September 2006.

Prior to 2001:

Congratulations to past Captain Arthur and Bosco French on winning the World Invitational Father and Son Tournament, organized by Marty Carr, each year at Waterville G. C. There was a record entry in the Millennium year. They had a score of 126 points.

The Ladies of The K Club won the fourth-team crown, in the Clarins-sponsored Autumn Team finals, when they beat Newlands, at Lucan Golf Club in November 2000.

Members who played representative golf for their Province;

D. Houlihan represented Leinster at Senior Interprovincial level in 2005 playing 4-times won 4-matches and lost 0-matches accumulating 8-points;

Michael Lavelle represented Connacht at Senior Interprovincial level from 2006 to 2007 playing 12-times won 4-matches halved one and lost 7-matches accumulating 9-points;

History of The K Club Palmer North Course

The 2006 Ryder Cup was played here in September 2006, this was won by the European Golfers 18½ to 9½ a great win and an overall success for the K Club and Irish Golf.

The inaugural European Open was held at Walton Heath in 1978, won by Lenny Wadkins. It was not until 1995 that it became a special date on the Irish Golf Calendar. When Dr. Michael Smurfit agreed to sponsor it and make it the second richest PGA event in Europe.

Although a relatively new course designed by Arnold Palmer and opened in July 1991, the K Club was in a fit state to host a major championship. Bernhard Langer won it in 1995 with a score of 280.

After that the Swedish invaders made it, there own for the next three years. Per-Ulrik Johansson won it in 1996 and 1997, it is interesting to note that there were 10 shots in the difference in his winning scores. He was, followed by his fellow countryman Marthias Gronberg in 1998 with an identical score as Langers’.

1999 saw the first of Lee Westwood back-to-back victories. That same year he put together a fantastic final round, when I’m sure he thought he was playing for second place.

As on the Saturday Darren Clarke shot the lights out when he went around in 60 shots braking, the course record by 4 shots, this was his second 60 in his professional carrier, which included a Hole-in-one. I would consider it, the best round I have ever had the privilege to witness. Darren was six shots clear of the rest of the field, going into the final round.

I bumped into Chubby Chandler as Clarke was teeing off and I commented to him "This is only a stroll in the park for Darren" the wise manager replayed, "Every Championship has to be won". How right he was and his other charge step in, and stood on the podium on the fine Sunday afternoon. Lee became the only player to successfully defend the title in the Millennium with a score of 276.

The Smurfit European will continue to be played on the course until 2003, when it will find a new home, on the new 18 under construction at the K Club. The "old" course is to be rested before the arrival of The Ryder Cup in 2006.

The new 18 opened in July 2003 at an estimated cost of £7.5 million. The first sod was turned in February 2001 and was designed by Harrison Minchew of the Arnold Palmer Company and the project co-ordinator is Jesse Wilson.

The new layout is on 220 acres on the other side of the River Liffey. Minchew is quoted as saying "It is going to have a distinctive, links feel about it as an interesting contrast to the existing course. We have also designed it essentially as a Tournament venue and with an awareness of how good the modern professional can be. So we have made it bigger, covering 170 acres, though it will be easier to walk than the existing one".

Harrison Minchew has been greatly influenced in his design concept by Royal Co. Down. By excavating areas for water hazards, about one million, cubic m in total, they have enough soil to create what he had in mind. He said, "My objective is to get a sort of Royal Co. Down feel about some of the holes, where you play down into the dunes.

We’ll also introduce links characteristics in the fescue grasses we plant, along with some gorse and shrubs. We’re going to plant spinneys, but nothing like the extensive tree planting on the existing course. The greens were completed by the end of summer 2001 and "they have a different grass on them.

In terms of agronomy, things have improved since we did the existing course, though it will become a subjective thing as to which layout is better" Michael has said. A very interesting concept, a links in the Co. Kildare! Couldn't wait to play it after what the professionals said about in having played the 2004 Smurfit European Open over it.