Greenkeepers, gardeners and mechanics who maintain Michael Smurfit's championship golf course lodged a claim for a "significant" pay rise with the Labour Court last Monday.

Colm Quinlan of the Amicus trade union, which represents more than half of the 24 greenkeepers involved, said that after continued resistance by the club to the claim, the time frame involved now means that the Labour Court will issue a definitive recommendation by late August.

This will be just three weeks before the start of the Ryder Cup tournament between Europe and the United States, which Ireland is hosting for the first time.

"If, as now seems likely, the K Club rejects the Court's recommendation, then there will be industrial action in September, " Quinlan warned.

Any action, or even threat of action, leading up to the Ryder Cup would be an acute embarrassment to the Kildare club, given the huge interest in the tournament across Europe and the US.

Securing the tournament was not only a major coup for Smurfit's club, which regularly attracts international stars to its championship course, but is also seen as a much-needed boost for Irish tourism.

The K Club charges 230 for a round of golf and set dinner, and more than 500 a night to stay in the adjoining 5-star luxury hotel. Last week, the club launched an exclusive housing development, with prices ranging from 980,000 for a two-bedroom apartment to 3.3m for a 4-bedroom detached house.

However, prospective purchasers in 'Ladycastle' must first become a member of the golf club, which involves a rigorous interview and the submission of a biography for approval by the club.

Quinlan said that the K Club's greenkeepers were paid less than 10 an hour, and claimed this was about 50% less than rates paid to greenkeepers in other golf courses in Ireland.

While acknowledging that the company had paid a 3% increase last April, the Amicus union wants this backdated to July 2005 as required under the national pay agreement.

Quinlan said that Amicus had now been seeking these increases for over a year.

While the club has attended three sessions at the Labour Relations Commission, it has refused to seriously engage with the union on what Quinlan said were its legitimate pay demands.

The K Club was unavailable for comment.