Cafes and opera that is a great start,

The lure of Austria, the city is a part.

Yet outdoor adventure is calling your name,

Take the drive to Adamstal to test your game.

Up mountains, beside rivers, and into the trees,

It will rise your spirt but bring you to your knees.

A walk unlike many others, for this is to be true,

Time at Adamstal is among the very few.

“The hills are alive…..”  Arriving Adamstal in the lower part of Austria is not an easy feat from any corner of the globe.  However, the shortest transit time, from a major city, is just over an hour from the bustling metropolitan area of Vienna.  Known for cafes, palaces, symphonies, opera, museums, dining, fashion,, river cruises, Vienna is a superb starting point for an adventure stepping back from the hurried pace of today’s world.

“Let’s Play the Course! *due to weather on the most recent day of play, the front nine images are unavailable.

The first hole on the north course of The K Club favors the longer hitter but also the shorter, straighter player.  Doesn’t that set up the scenario?  As a par 5,  the slight bend to the right about halfway down in the fairway helps to cut off a trickle of yardage.  Since it is the first hole, the suggestion is to play it to regulation and get there in three.  With long and wavy bunkers that start about 75 yards off the green, laying up to the 100 yard marker is smart.

Great chance for an early birdie arrives at the next hole.  An acute dogleg left arrives at the par 4, second.  If you have a boomer of a driver in the bag, take it out and skirt the left side of the fairway as this will give you the perfect angle into the green.  The right side of the landing area has a couple of fairway bunkers, miss those and your second shot lines up for the pond that resides to the left side of the green.  Watch the wind as it could add a bit of yardage to the approach.  And with so many greens that have a pond next to it, the putt will break toward the water, so be mindful.

Cozy up to a lovely par 3.  Walking up to the 3rd hole, take a big breath in.  Though the rater’s ranked this easiest hole on the course, there might be a bit of disagreement.  The green is tucked around a pond and protected by a stonewall.  There are two menacing bunkers that come into play for any wayward shot.  The propellor-like green has a few different elevations, which will affect your club selection.  Watch the break again, all the way to the water.

Hole #4.  Perfect for a Ryder Cup.  This par 4 presents itself as a good chance for a lower score, but beware of being too confident.  Play this hole as it is intended.  Taking it down the left corner for the angle into the well guarded green on both sides; bunkers on the left and water on the right.  Though the yardage is a bit shorter than some, “trouble” lurks.  Tame the monster and you will be just fine!

Another stunning hole, architecturally and landscape.  There is distance behind club selection on the par 3, 5th, as you will need a long iron to hybrid to clear the burn and hazard, then the bunkers.  The opening to the green is left but the green is crowned.  Anything too far left will kick down into the stream.  Play this hole with integrity and you will walk away with par or better.

A tight and narrow hole comes at the 6th hole.  Cling to the left side of the fairway for any hope of keeping it in the fairway as there is a slippery slope midway.  Water lines the right, catching any shot kicking too far off the slope.  Trees bunch the left so the needle is thin.  Pick something out in the distance, a tree, a bump in the fairway, a stake, anything.  But pick it, line up to it, and swing for it.  The approach is uphill to a blind green that moves back to front and right to left, so remember that for the break.  Favor the front of the green because it will bounce to the middle.  Grab your par and go.

The hardest hole on the course, at least for me!  #7 is long, grumpy, and a challenge.  A dogleg right off the tee suggests that a drive down the left is ideal.  If you can shape the shot left to right, you are golden. There are trees down the right side (and a few left) but they shouldn’t come into play for the first shot.  If you have the distance, this can be a two-shotter, but the smart play is to bump it up the left side again.  This will open the green for the proper angle.  If you cannot get there in two, lay up.  There is break in the fairway before the green that can cause a bit of angst.  The green is nestled within a lush island in the River Liffey.  Can a par 5 be any better?

Birdie time on #8?  Quite possibly on this par 5!   A nice bend to the left off the tee might not look too tough, but the landing area can be a tad tricky.  The River Liffey parallels the fairway all the way down the left.  The ideal tee ball is down the left with a slight turn to the right, but this takes a little moxie.  A hundred yard marker rests at the neck of the fairway, or the narrows.  Be cautiously bold and select a club off the tee that will get you there.  The green slopes toward the river so play for that.

Don’t let your guard down even though the 9th hole calms the front nine.  There are two bunkers on the left side that are very much in play off the tee.  Keep it to the inside corner or fly them completely.  Who put that tree there?  Right in the middle of the fairway.  For the best approach, keep to the left of the tree as anything right could block your vision.  A few green-side traps can be a bit awkward, but keeping it up the left will alleviate them.

Sneaky little par 4 to start off the back nine. It is important to check the yardage book from tee to the end of the fairway.  It might not be your driver, so be mindful.  Water creeps into the landing area with no real opportunity of taking it over from the tee.  And a thicket of trees are to the right. The end of the fairway leaves you with a pretty decent approach so select a club that reaches 10 -15 yards behind the water stakes.  There is a lone bunker in the back of the green so favor the left half of the green.

This is just a pure walk of tranquility.  The 11th hole is special albeit a slew of bells and whistles.  A slight bend right asks you to take your drive down the left side.  The landing area is narrow and is tickled by a deep pot bunker.  Miss that and your approach is mid-iron to hybrid to go.  It is uphill so an extra club or two is needed.  If you cannot get to the green on the second shot, lay up to the right. Your short game will save you.

One of the easier holes on the course, the 12th is a short par 3, completely receptive to a smooth shot in.  There are two bunkers, one short left and the other long right.  Water encroaches on the left but shouldn’t give you any issues.  Aim to the right half of the green and play for par.  Birdie can be there so just remain patient.

The Jolly Green Giant is waiting for your arrival at 13.  Double dogleg, first left then to the right, is pleasing to the eye and challenging to the swing.  A decent carry is needed from the tee so pay stay focused.  Keeping the drive down the right half is key for a good angle for the second shot.  To play this as a three shot hole is smart, even if there is strength behind your swing.  A minefield surrounds the green; keep it about 75 yards from the green for an easy shot onto the putting surface.  Aim for the middle of the green.

If it were not for the green, the 14th would be a fairly easy hole.  Moving the fairway slightly right to left, rolling the carpet uphill.  It is best to keep the drive down the left side of the fairway to leave yourself a positive point of view to the green.  Getting to the green can be tricky as there are bumps and bruises on every side.  You might want to trust one of your wedges, but the suggestion is to bump it into the hill and let it roll up.  Par 4 should be yours.

Groucho Marks lives on this hole.  Narrow from the 15th tee box, a big drive is needed to get across the fairway and to the right side of the landing area.  If you miss it left, the rough can be a bit of bugger as there is a stream that crosses the fairway about 115 yards from the green.  It continues to the left side, so for those right handed players, thick rough can cause the ball to move left, so the suggestion is to lay up short of the water and rely on the short to mid iron game.  The green breaks to the water, be mindful!

Certainly the most difficult hole on the back due to the generous amount of water off the tee and green.  The 16th is almost 290 degrees around the entire hole, artistically drawn out to frame the grounds beautifully.  Trees down the left side completes the picture.  Taking the drive down the right will flirt with the water, but just keep it far enough to toward the middle.  Given a good drive, taking the approach over the water should be no worry.  Just remember, there is nothing between you and the pin.  It is only 70 yards from the beginning of the hazard to the middle of the green.  If you need to lay up, that is okay too.  Just play this hole smart and par 4 can be yours.

Stunning, tough, doable.  The 17th is a risk/reward par 3, taking a short to mid iron over the green-side bunker left.  The River Liffey lines the entire right side of the hole so anything that way will end up swimming.  Watch the wind as it can be helpful from right to left.  There is a bail out left if need be.  Trust your line.

Onto 18, the score busting par 5 - on the good side!  There is a fantastic opportunity to close your round with a birdie given the tee shot lands in the right location.  Slightly uphill, and a bit “blind,” keeping the ball left center of the fairway will keep the bunkering right at bay.  It will also set your angle for the second shot.  Certainly reachable in two given the proper position, but the water left might present hesitation.  So keep it simple.  Lay up for a 80 - 100 yard shot into the green.  Pay no attention to the pin position and play for the middle of the green.  Knock that last putt in turn back around and take it all in. Feel the presence of the 2006 Ryder Cup.

What a day!  Though Ireland is known for links golf; monumental dunes, crashing waves, hardpan fairways, and big wind, the understudy parkland courses deserve just as much respect.  The K Club is more than a walk through nature, more than a sense of history, it is a challenge, a test, an experience.  To say that it has been a privilege and honor to play this wondrous track a few times, well… that is an understatement.  If you are traveling Ireland, landing in Dublin, please do yourself a favor and a couple of days for the inner courses of the Emerald Isle.  You will be ecstatic you did!