Former Ryder Cup host plans new investment amid golf boom

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir December 10, 2020 09:27

The new owner of The K Club in Ireland, the host of the 2006 Ryder Cup, has said the club will invest in itself, even with the pandemic still going on, and has hired a new general manager.

Michael Fetherston purchased the venue earlier this year for about £60 million. He’s since hired the former general manager of the 2027 Ryder Cup host, Adare Manor, Paul Heery, to run it, and is planning fresh investment in the property to include a new 16,000 square feet ballroom.

The proposed development will include the addition of new meeting rooms and the removal of a swimming pool.

The K Club. Image from Facebook

Heery meanwhile, has been named as the new CEO and general manager of The K Club.

According to the Irish Times, future building plans may also include a refurbishment of the clubhouse at the complex.

Unsurprisingly, it’s been a very challenging year for The K Club, a venue that markets itself to overseas visitors.

The 550-acre estate includes a 134-bedroom hotel and two championship golf courses, which reopened this month after it was closed along with much of the rest of the hospitality industry in the Republic of Ireland due to Covid-19.
The golf courses reopened on December 1, while the hotel reopened on December 3. The resort reopened to non-residents for food and drink on December 4.

‘The K Club is especially popular with visitors from the US, who have virtually vanished from the Irish tourism scene this year as a result of quarantine requirements on arrival here, as well as restrictions on arrival from Europe back in the US,’ adds the paper.

The revelation of the new investment comes as an international survey finds that the golf industry’s confidence and optimism for 2021 is very high, thanks to the participation boom in 2020.

 

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir December 10, 2020 09:27
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1 Comment

  1. APicken December 12, 13:46

    Really looking forward to my review visit in 2021. I had to cancel in 2020 because the hotel turned itself over to support NHS staff. A wonderful gesture that was widely appreciated. I have followed the hotels progress closely during these difficult times and they seem genuinely tuned in to the needs of customers. Best wishes to all involved.

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