About the course
Ballybunion Golf Club stands on the north Kerry coast, just south of the town of Ballybunion where the Shannon estuary meets the Atlantic. The club has two links, the Old Course and the Cashen, both laid out through high sand hills above a long beach. Before the first tee shot is struck, players pass a small graveyard that sits right beside the opening fairway.
The first course is thought to have been laid out in the early 1890s by a professional named James McKenna, and the club in its present form dates from 1906. In 1936 Tom Simpson, assisted by Molly Gourlay, supervised an extension of the Old Course, and in 1984 the Cashen course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, opened in the even wilder dunes to the south. Tom Watson, who first played here in 1981 and later became the club’s Millennium Captain, oversaw design changes in 1995. The Old Course hosted the Irish Open in 2000.
On the Old Course the front holes are relatively gentle, and the character of the round changes once it reaches the coast. The 11th, a par 4 that runs along the cliff top with the beach below, is one of the most celebrated holes in Irish golf. The Cashen is more severe, with steep climbs, tight landing areas and greens perched on top of dunes, and many visitors find it harder than the Old. The club has invested for decades in protecting the coastline from erosion.
Why we recommend it
Many golfers travel to Ireland for Ballybunion Old, with its best holes running along the clifftops and through tall dunes above the Atlantic. Raised greens and narrow fairways make it a demanding test, best enjoyed by players who are comfortable in the wind. Visitors play on weekdays in the main season, with a handicap limit of 24 for men and 36 for women, and every group must take a caddie or forecaddie. Book well ahead and add the Cashen course.
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| World ranking | 17 |
| Architect | James McKenna |
| Year of foundation | 1906 |
| Par Course | 72 |
| Number of holes | 36 |