The K Club (Palmer South Course)

The Making of Swallow Quarry

The Palmer South Course at The K Club opened in 2003, twelve years after Palmer North, on more than 200 acres of former farmland. Arnold Palmer's design team, led on the project by Harrison Minchew, set out to create a clear contrast with the resort's older tree-lined course. Broad mounding and raised spectator banks gave it the form of inland links. Large sloping greens added another layer to the challenge.
Water provides much of the course's identity, covering 14 acres across the layout. The par-five 7th, Swallow Quarry, is the most striking example. Its fairway was lowered by about 60 feet, and a rock-faced water feature runs along the hole. On the back nine, water protects seven holes, culminating in the par-four 18th, Swan Island, where the approach finishes on an island green.

Palmer South quickly earned a tournament identity. It hosted the Smurfit European Open from 2004 to 2007. Retief Goosen won the 2004 event two weeks after his second US Open title, while Colin Montgomerie closed the sequence in 2007 by avoiding the water at the last and winning by one shot.