setting the scene - k club history
The K Club - home of the 2006 Ryder Cup.
By Carl Markham, PA Sport
It seems somewhat appropriate that an estate which has been the subject of its fair share of ownership battles should play host to the 36th the Ryder Cup - one of the most fiercely-competitive sporting events. The origins of Straffan House, on the site of the K Club just outside Dublin, date back to the year 550AD but it was not until the 12th Century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland that its history started to grow. One of the principal protagonists Richard FitzGilbert de Clare, the Earl of Strigoil - known as Strongbow - became King of Leinster and gave the house to Maurice Fitzgerald, whose eldest son passed it to his younger brother Gerald, an ancestor of the Duke of Leinster. Prominent titled families held ownership of the property and by the 16th Century it was in the hands of the de Penkiston family. However, they paid dearly after being implicated in a rebellion and were made to forfeit their lands. The estate was handed to the Gaydon family in the early 17th Century but, in Cromwellion times, was forfeited again and granted to Thomas Bewley. Having been declared innocent of the charges by which the property was seized from them, the 700 acres were returned to the Gaydon family, who subsequently sold out to Richard Talbot in 1679 for the sum of £700. In 1831 Hugh Barton, forced out of France during the Revolution's infamous Reign of Terror, bought the property and ploughed his fortune into Straffan House. He began building a new grand house for his family in 1832 and this now forms the basis of the present-day hotel. The design of the new house, which is now the east wing of the hotel, was based on a great chateau at Louveciennes, to the west of Paris. Barton's final touch was the Italian-style companile tower, which is still present. The house remained in the Barton family until 1949, since which time it has had five owners including Steven O'Flaherty, Kevin McClory, an Iranian general, Patrick Gallagher and the Ferguson family. It was purchased by the Jefferson Smurfit Group in 1988 and the K Club (which is short for the Kildare Hotel and Golf Club) was opened as a resort three years later. Originally it was a 36-bedroom hotel with one Arnold Palmer-designed golf course - on which the Ryder Cup will be played - but a second course (the Smurfit, also designed by Palmer) was created and 33 bedrooms, a garden, state of the art clubhouse and luxurious spa have been added to the resort. Dr Michael Smurfit and Gerry Gannon privately purchased the K Club in 2005. It has been host to the European Open since 1995 and winners of the title there include 2004 Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer, Ryder Cup stars Lee Westwood (twice) and Darren Clarke, world number five Retief Goosen and 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell. But although the K Club may be vastly experienced in welcoming the world's top golfers it will have seen nothing like September's biennial Europe v USA clash.
