With the opening round of the Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle now less than a week away, the vast majority of a year’s worth of hard work has been completed at the host venue, and the golf course will be presented in immaculate condition for the 156 HotelPlanner Tour pros who will compete for glory from August 07-10.
“The team have been flat out in preparing for it,” said Killeen Castle Director of Golf & Hospitality Operations, Cormac Ryan. “All things this season in our diary have have been tailored and geared around getting ready to present the property in as good a condition as we possibly can.
“The turf team have been really excited with the return of Tour golf to Killeen Castle. They’ve really been energized by the whole thing and obviously, with the tournament in mind for a particular week of the year, your agronomy program, everything shifts from about 12 months out, so it’s really great to see that the place is really starting to sing, the plan has has really come to fruition, and everyone’s really kind of giddy about the whole prospect.”
Ryan expects that the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course at Killeen Castle will provide one of the stiffest challenges that the HotelPlanner Tour pros face this season, and the membership are keen to see the golf course playing to its full length as opposed to when it hosted Ladies’ Irish Opens and the Solheim Cup in the past.
“Obviously we’ve had big tournaments before with the Ladies’ Irish Open and the Solheim Cup, so there’s a bit of anticipation and excitement to see what the guys can do around the property.
“It’s a really, really challenging golf course from the tips, and it’s going to be playing almost at full length.
“We went through an exercise recently of looking at course ratings off the black tees at Killeen Castle relative to other tracks in Ireland and Europe, and as it happens, which was actually news to us, it’s the toughest rated course relative to par at 6.3 over par in Ireland, the toughest in Europe, and the fourth toughest that we can find in the world. So it’s going to be a real solid test for the boys that are playing it next week.”
Killeen Castle General Manager, Cormac Ryan
Weather conditions are always likely to be a factor in tournaments played on this island, so Ryan finds it hard to predict the likely winning score, but he’d be surprised if it went into double digits under par, which, given the aforementioned course rating, speaks volumes about the quality of golfers who are taking part.
“These guys are exceptionally talented,” he said. “And the difference from HotelPlanner Tour players to DP World Tour players is really small in terms of physical ability; there’s not a whole lot of difference at all. Maybe a sharper approach and course management applies for the guys on the main tour, but the ability of some of these guys is frightening. But having said that, I’d be surprised if the winning score is double digits under par.
“It’s going to play at about 7,400 to 7,500 yards, which is probably the longest they’ll play [this year]. It’s a very traditional and typical Jack Nicklaus course, so it’s long, it’s very protected around the greens, the bunkers are deep, and the greens are undulating.
“We’re not going to go wild in terms of green speeds in order to make sure that there’s plenty of variety available for pin locations, so I think it’s going to be a really fair test, and if anybody can shoot eight- or nine-under-par, they could have a pretty good say in things come Sunday evening.”
As enjoyable as it is to watch pros launch driver, it’s arguably long-iron-hitting that is the most impressive facet of the elite game to see, and given the length of the golf course and the strategic placement of fairway bunkers, spectators should be in for a treat.
“From the back tees, a lot of the forced carries for bunkers are in the 290-305-yard region, so although there will be players who are able to take those on if they’re feeling good, most of the others will have to play away from or short of the bunkers, leaving themselves longer second shots in – shots in the 170 to 210-yard region,” Ryan explained.
“This obviously brings imagination and variety into play too, so we’re all quite excited to see what they can do.”
Running a tournament such as the Irish Challenge is no small undertaking, and with the golf course out of action for a week in the height of the summer, it requires considerable member buy-in, and that’s something that Killeen Castle has on its side.
“A lot of them were around when we hosted the Solheim Cup, so they’ve got great memories of that and they’ve been fantastic with their time and support again this year,” Ryan added. “Many of them have volunteered to marshal, to act as ball spotters, and in other voluntary capacities, and our captains and past captains are all performing as honourary starters.”
It is also an opportunity for Killeen Castle to showcase itself to a global market once again, with Sky Sports’ broadcasting their HotelPlanner Tour highlights package to homes across the UK and Ireland, and additional broadcasters taking it to over 80 countries worldwide, meaning approximately 260 million homes.
Ryan is expecting Killeen Castle to provide a tough challenge for the pros and plenty of excitement for the spectators, both on and off the course
“That’s a huge bonus for us and a great marketing opportunity,” Ryan enthused. “And there’s a lot of partners that have helped make it happen too, so obviously the broadcasting is very important in terms of getting some bang for buck, not just for us but for all the parties involved.
“Fáilte Ireland are obviously heavily involved and their arm, Ireland’s Ancient East being one of the title sponsors of it, and it’s great for them and other sponsors to be able to get their message out too.”
Getting fans on the ground and creating a memorable experience away from the golf course is high on Killeen Castle’s agenda, and in addition to free tickets – the link for this can be found at the bottom of this article – they’re pushing the boundaries further to ensure that the Irish Challenge stands apart as a HotelPlanner Tour event and from previous editions of the Irish Challenge.
“In partnership with the Tour, we’re rolling out some things that we won’t have seen at previous Irish Challenges and that’s mainly the Fan Zone,” Ryan explains. “We’ll have food vendors and experience vendors in a mini spectator village just between the castle, the first tee and the clubhouse.
“There’ll be plenty of seating areas, covered spaces, interactive kids zones and a big screen for people to follow the action when they’re not actually out on the course.
“So we’re doing what we can to help the tour do in terms of elevating the player and guest experience for the entire duration of the week.
“Our goal is quite simple in that we’re fully intent – as we were all year – in getting ready for this week and to set ourselves apart as as one of, if not the best venue that the players and fans are going to visit in any [HotelPlanner Tour] event this year. That’s still our goal and we’re on track for that”
As previously mentioned, tickets are free, but entry is dependent on spectators securing tickets before arrival. You can do so at the following link.
