GOLF: Johnny Watterson pays a visit to the new South Course at the K Club, which is designed to be a completely different animal to the existinglayout.

As golf course architecture moves closer towards becoming a semi-art form, people are expecting more for their money. The "big" courses around Ireland charge significant green fees, but as the K Club, Mount Juliet, Druids Glen and others have shown, there are plenty of people willing to pay for what they see as a unique experience.

The K Club has already made its name in the top end of the market, but the Straffan estate is big enough for two courses, and within the same historical grounds as the current celebrated course the management are close to finishing what will be another Kildare jewel, the K Club's South Course.

This, however, is no identical twin to the current manicured parkland amenity. According to director of golf Paul Crowe, the course, due to be opened for play next July, will be a completely different animal, an inland links course.

"There are 14 acres of water, very different from the current course," he says. "A key feature of it is the undulating fairways. We had to move two million ton of earth in the construction, as the original site was flat ground. That's a serious amount of movement. We inherited old pasture and farmland, quite featureless, and we didn't take out a single tree, although there were few to start with.

"It will also have large, undulating, sloping greens which are much bigger than those on the existing course, and we've planted A4 Creeping Bent grass, the same as Mount Juliet and Carton House. We seeded the final fairway just two weeks ago and the greens were built last year. They're in perfect order now.

"The bunkering on the new course is also more extreme than that on the existing North Course."

Work began in February 2001, and that year the greens were planted and grown. In the medium term, the owners hope eventually to transfer the European Open from the current K Club North Course to the new South Course. While that change will be subject to approval from the European Tour, the club does not foresee any great problem once the course is in order. The PGA has already travelled to Straffan to see how it is progressing.

"We'll grow it until July 1st and open it then to coincide with the European Open in 2003. Hopefully in 2004 we can stage the event on the new course, which is stadium-built and designed with spectator requirements in mind. All of this was considered before any work was done," says Crowe.

"When we set out to build it we didn't want to create an old and a new course. We wanted to create two completely different experiences. Both are full-scale championship courses. The length off the back tees for the new one is 7,300 yards."

The cost of building the South Course is coming in at a little over €10 million, with the new clubhouse, which they expect to start building at the end of this year, additional to that amount.

Designed by Arnold Palmer, the new facility is on higher ground than the first course and the builders do not foresee the same drainage problems that beset the development of the first course.

"It will be so well drained that it will be playable all through winter. We used our experience of the first course to insure that it is built to the best standards. There are already 13 holes that look like they are playable at the moment," says Crowe.

Eleven of the holes have water in play, with the seventh, the Quarry Hole, designated as the signature hole. At 533 metres in length, the par five dips down into a valley over water and out again. The 563-metre par five 18th is also a spectacular test requiring two shots over water onto an island green.

"We've planted tall fescues around the course and the landscape will not be as formal as what we currently have here. We've also put in a lot of bracken and gorse, randomly planted in an effort to make it as natural as possible. It will appear very wild, and actually one of our first problems was trying to get our hands on wild plants," he says.

The entire project will be part of the K Club resort and will be run by the same management. Already the unfinished course has bookings for next July, as the current course cannot cater for demands during the peak season between May and October.

PAUL McGINLEY will remain the tour professional until the end of this year, while former tour professional John McHenry is the head professional and he will oversee domestic duties. Between the two courses the K Club may have McHenry and as many as

three or four other professionals working under him, as demands arise.

"The lakes will also be stocked with fish," says Crowe and it will be a natural sanctuary for wild fowl. "We've brown trout in the river, brown and rainbow trout in the lakes, plus two others with carp and tench in them."

The entrance to the new course will be via the current front gate of the K Club, which winds up between the sixth green and seventh tee box. Vehicles will then swing left and gain access to the new course over a new bridge to be constructed across the Liffey.

The owners bought back lands which had been sold 60 or 70 years ago, and the two courses are set in 550 acres, all of which is enclosed by the original estate wall.

"Most of our green fees are domestic. About 60 per cent is Irish, then UK players and US players are the next biggest group, roughly breaking down at 15 per cent and 10 per cent respectively, with the balance being other nationalities. Our aim would be to not jam the golf course. We don't want people paying green fees to feel hassled or rushed. We want their round of golf to be unique," says Crowe.

And the green fees are considerable in Irish terms, although the club would say they are competitive compared to top courses in Europe and the US. Current green fees this year for non-residents of the hotel can be as much as €245 at peak times during May to September, €175 during periods in autumn and springtime and €110 between November and March. Green fees for the new South Course are likely to match the current prices.

"Yes, the fees will be the same as the existing course. We believe it is that good and it merits charges at the same level," says Crowe.

"While it might seem a bit rich charging the same green fees as the existing course, which has staged large, international competitions, we really feel it is that good. We think people will be knocked out by it. In fact, when Arnold Palmer was over here he said that it was probably the best course that he has designed."

The owners are also looking forward with the Ryder Cup in mind, an event which should also considerably raise the profile of the new sister course.

Having returned from his third visit to a Ryder Cup last week, Crowe is under no illusion as to the size of the undertaking, but is confident there is enough room within the boundaries of the walls to cater for the enormous number of people and corporate business that the event will attract.

"Within the walls, absolutely we will be able to cater for everything. It won't be a problem," he says. "The Belfry was the best organised Ryder Cup that I've been at, but what we see as the biggest challenge facing us will actually take place externally; that is, getting people in and out of the venue."