jan26 clarkecourse
Published: Last updated:
Darren Clarke’s stunning layout at Moyvalley Hotel & Golf Resort near Dublin has been chosen to host the European Challenge Tour’s fifth Challenge of Ireland tournament from June 11-14.
Together with European Golf Design and the club’s owners, the Jackson family, Ryder Cup hero Clarke helped design the Champions Club at Moyvalley, describing it as “a labour of love”.
Clarke – who won the Benmore Developments Northern Ireland Masters, an event he sponsored on the Challenge Tour in 2003 – believes that Moyvalley has the potential to be “one of the premium clubs in world golf”.
The 13-time European Tour champion said: “Moyvalley’s 550 acres of rolling countryside presented a fantastic challenge, and the results are spectacular. I look forward to seeing the course develop into one which golfers across the world will want to play and enjoy.
“I’m especially delighted with the greens, which are among the best putting surfaces in the country. We created gentle slopes which will make players think about where to place their approach shots, especially when the greens are fast or in windy conditions.”
Moyvalley Hotel & Golf Resort, situated on the breathtaking Balyna Estate in County Kildare, takes over the staging of the Challenge of Ireland following two successful years at Glasson Golf Hotel & Country Club, which itself succeeded Killarney Golf and Fishing Club in 2007.
The 7,370 yards, par 72 course will present the Challenge Tour members with a stern examination, according to the club’s owner Stuart Jackson.
He said: “We are honoured to be chosen to stage the Challenge of Ireland presented by Moyvalley, which we hope will attract a quality field of some of the game’s brightest young talents. We are extremely proud of the course we have created in partnership with Darren Clarke, and I’m confident it will provide a fitting stage and become a popular venue on the Challenge Tour for many years to come.”