2002 Amex Champs - Mount Juliet Estate - ??

[SPDB]

The WGC American Express Championship will be held at the Mount Juliet Estate in Ireland. I have never heard of this course, but it is a Jack Nicklaus Signature. I'd like to give it the benefit of the doubt, but with all that this country has to offer, to play a JN course, that doesn't even appear to be a links, seems heresy in my mind.

Can anyone offer any color? I'm not at home so I don't have the benefit of The Confidential Guide.

[Tim_Weiman]

SPDB:

You want color?  Just think green.  You don't need the Confidential Guide to get it.

[Ran Morrissett]

Sean,

To confirm your fears, it isn't even a good inland course. The clubhouse/estate/stables are a 10 out of 10 but the course is a 5 out of 10 and could be located anywhere in the world.

To be fair, the property had little going for it to start with but the artificial lakes and resulting mounding didn't help its cause either.

Not surprisingly, the press always seems reduced to talking about its great conditioning  

Cheers,

[Mike Clayton]

We played the Irish Open there a few times.
I just wonder why you would bother flying all the way to Ireland when you can play exactly the same course all over America.
Money.

[Greg Ramsay]

This is just like the Ryder Cup going to The K Club (Arnold Palmer Design) and the 2010 Ryder Cup going to Wentwood Hills (a RTJ II design in Wales).  I thought the 1995 Walker Cup at Royal Porthcawal in Wales was a huge success, even as far as the result! Wales has soooo many underestimated links golf courses, it is just a foreign concept to take these tournaments to those bad inland courses.  I suppose their developers realise that the courses need something contrived to give them appeal, and these tournaments do just that, so are worth buying.

I realise that not all links courses are suitable for hosting these massive events, but its a shame they can't afford to put their hands up to host them anyway.  Perhaps Doonbeg, being a commercial operation will make a pitch for some kind of tournament, but the site is probably too sensitive to host the galleries.

I think somthing similarly commercial and distasteful is happening with the Australian Open.  

Greg Ramsay
www.barnbougledunes.com

[Brian Phillips]

Greg,

Couldn't agree with you more.  I played Royal Porthcawl on my own in September last year when the Ryder Cup was cancelled and loved it absolutely loved it!!!

Brian