Third WGC American Express Championship this week at Ireland's only Nicklaus Design course

Mount Juliet is the first and only Jack Nicklaus signature course in Ireland (photo courtesy of mountjuliet.com)

Horses, fishing, golf. This is the embodiment of the Mount Juliet Estate in Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland, the site of the World Golf Championships -- American Express Championship Sept. 19-22.

"I find it relaxing here," said Nick Faldo. "Nobody dies of an ulcer in Ireland."

History is quite evident at Mount Juliet. The 1,500-acre Mount Juliet Estate dates to the 13th Century. The Mount Juluet House, which serves as the hotel, was built more than 200 years ago by the Earl of Carrick.

The golf course, a 1991 Jack Nicklaus design, was the site of the Irish Open on the European Tour from 1993-95, with the winners including Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Sam Torrance. Nicklaus' only Irish course features a number of testing holes, including the par-5 10th, where a trio of beech trees guard the front of the green.

This is not a traditional links course, but will catch the eye of American golf fans because of the rolling terrain of old Ireland and the course's length, which features a 229-yard par 3, a 605-yard par 5 and the 481-yard par-4 18th hole to total 7,246 yards. Ireland's Padraig Harrington, one of the world's top players, plays out of Mount Juliet.

The estate also features two passions that any outdoorsman could also love, horses and fishing. Dr. Tim Mahoney, the chairman of Mount Juliet, is a thoroughbred horse breeder and has established Ballylinch Stud Farm on the grounds. Guests also are offered the opportunity to use the equestrian center to ride informally or join the ride with the hounds on the local hunt. Four miles worth of the River Nore and its tributary, the Kings River, and a well-stocked fly fishing and tackle shop allow for some of the best salmon and trout fishing in Ireland.

The playing of the third American Express Championship offers the second international venue. Valderrama Golf Club in Andalucia, Spain was the site in 1999 and 2000. Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis was the scheduled course last year, but the Sept. 11 tragedy forced the cancellation of the tournament.

American golf fans can see the first two rounds from Mount Juliet twice -- live on ESPN on Thursday, Sept. 19 and Friday, Sept. 20, from 7 a.m.-noon and again on tape those days from 3-6 p.m. ABC will televise the weekend rounds on tape from 1-3:30 p.m. EDT. ESPN will also air a preview show, produced by PGA TOUR Productions, on Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 4:30-5 p.m.

This venue will offer stern competition one week before the Ryder Cup in England. ABC lead analyst Curtis Strange, the U.S. Ryder Cup Captain, will be on hand to talk about the approximate 70-member field, made up of the top 50 available players from the Official World Golf Ranking and leaders of the six world tours' Official Money Lists.