In September 2006, the Kildare Hotel & Country Club, known as the K Club will host the most prestigious international golf event, namely the 36th Ryder Cup.

The K Club is the vision of its founder Dr Michael Smurfit and the Smurfit Corporation and today the resort boasts a five star hotel, a newly completed spa and two championship courses (Palmer & Smurfit) – both designed by Arnold Palmer. It annually hosts the Smurfit European Open, one of the flagship events on the European Tour, which attracts the best golfers from all over the globe.

The Palmer course at the K Club, which will host the Ryder Cup matches, was officially opened in July 1991. Covering some 220 acres of prime Kildare landscape featuring 11 lakes and the River Liffey, the course provides a stiff examination of technique, temperament and skill. Widely acknowledged as Ireland’s most challenging inland layout, the Palmer Course is, quite simply, one of Europe's most spectacular courses and a fitting venue for the 36th Ryder Cup.

The more recently constructed Smurfit Course at The K Club has already been described as probably the greatest inland Golf Course to be developed in Ireland. The construction has attracted attention throughout Europe because of its scale and the construction. Radical in design, the Smurfit is best described as an inland links however its dramatic dune-like landscapes and extensive use of water make it a unique creation, totally different from its sister course The Palmer.

The most significant and golf hole on the Smurfit Course is the Par 5 7th measuring some 606 yards. It has a series of water cascades and water features which are just some factors of this development. In its construction, the Fairway was dropped some sixty feet below its original height and a large man made quarry / rockface was developed along the entire length of the golf hole. This hole will probably already regarded as one of the most dramatic in Europe.