With seeding scheduled to begin next month, significant progress is being made on the new second 18 at The K Club, which is set for an official opening in July 2003. And at an overall cost of £7.5 million it will be ready to stage the Smurfit European Open a year later.

The new layout, on a 220-acre site on the far side of the River Liffey from the seventh, eighth, 17th and 16th holes of the existing course, has been designed by Harrison Minchew of the Arnold Palmer company. And both he and project co-ordinator, Jesse Wilson, have been down at Straffan to monitor progress since the first sod was turned in mid-February. "It is going to have a distinctive, links feel about it as an interesting contrast to the existing course," said Minchew. "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."

Minchew then pointed to the absence of trees being crucial in heightening the wind factor. And he deliberately designed a number of cross-wind holes. "It's a pasture right now, but it's going to have the big mounds that you see on the old 14th," he explained.

Then, as a tribute to one of his favourite venues, he went on: "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."

Aware of impending competition from the Carton House development, the Smurfit organisation are ensuring that the new course will be built to the highest standards. To this end, £1 million worth of new machinery was moved onto the site earlier this year and it is hardly surprising that a special emphasis is being placed on drainage, given the problems which occurred on the other side of the river.

"It is common knowledge that mistakes were made in the construction of the existing course and you can take it that they won't be repeated," said Minchew. "And when both courses are completed, I'm confident they will stand comparison with the best 36-hole developments in the world."

According to director of golf, Paul Crowe, it is planned to stage the 2004 and 2005 European Opens on the new course. But Minchew made the fascinating suggestion: "Both courses will be capable of standing alone and I think the new course might be better for the Ryder Cup."

It should be noted that the signed contract for the Ryder Cup specifies the existing layout. Still, the designer insisted: "I would like to think that after they've played the first tournament here, players will be asking: `Why aren't you using this one for the Ryder Cup?"'

Meanwhile, by excavating areas for water hazards - about one million cubic metres in all - Minchew had sufficient soil to create major elevations and contouring on what was essentially a flat site. There will be islands in the lakes to encourage wildlife, which is a feature of the existing course.

"The greens will be complete by the end of this summer and they will have different grass on them," he said. "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."

When the new course is up and running, it will be accessible about 50 yards in from the present, main entrance. A roundabout arrangement will have a road to the new course on the left, the real estate entrance to the right and the hotel straight ahead.