Southwest Ireland Trip Review

[TCUfrog]

For my Dad's 60th birthday, we took a trip to Southwest Ireland a couple of weeks ago. I'll post the itinerary and a short review of the courses we played. TLDR: Southwest Ireland was stunning and immaculate Links golf. The only negative is the lack of centrality to the golf courses, so long drives between different courses. The unreal views and high cliff sides along the courses distract you from the pain of constantly having to punch out of the rough with a wedge.

Itinerary (Numbers correlate to Day):

1. Arrive in Dublin, drive to Cork
2. Play Cork Golf Club
3. Play Old Head Golf Links, drive to Killarney
4. Play Waterville Golf Links
5. Play Ballybunnion Golf Links, drive to Dublin
6. Play Island Golf Club
7. Play Island Golf Club again
8. Fly Home

Course Reviews:

Cork Golf Club - an awesome Alistair Mckenzie Design that plays as a more parkland design with firm-ish greens and a quirky plot of land. It is a great warm up round for Irish golf as you fight off Jet Lag. Some favorite shots are the blind tee shot on the short par 4 6th. Playing back into a rock quarry, aim at the right chimney of the house on the hill for a 200 yard shot and have an easy wedge in. The 17th is a great par 4 playing from an elevated tee shot down to a hard right to left sloping fairway with the out of bounds wall down the left. 2 good shots to find one of the larger greens on the course.

Old Head Golf Links - Easily the most spectacular golf course you'll ever play in your life. For those who don't know, Old Head is a peninsula on the very southern point of Ireland. Developed in the 90s it's course is played on the edge and over towering 300 foot cliffs. Favorite shots are hard to describe here because almost every hole (except hole 1) is played amongst stunning views of the ocean crashing on the rocks far below you. We played in 35-40mph winds with gusts up to 50mph so a true Irish Golf Experience. Despite the tough scoring conditions, if you're willing to make the drive out of your way Old Head is worth the trip once in your life. Bring Extra Balls, hold on tight and grab a few beers at the turn. The coolest part of this day for us was we played under a rainbow that covered the island. For once in my life, I can say I truly saw the end of the rainbow. Photo of the rainbow and lighthouse below.

Waterville Golf Links - A wonderful Links golf experience. Built in a very small town on the furthest Southwest part of Ireland, Waterville Golf Links, is 18 holes of pure links golf. Nestled between the coast and inlet waterway, the course winds its way for a tremendous design. It was a favorite amongst our group as a course that everyone would love to be a member of. The Modern clubhouse and upstairs bar and restaurant make for a place you'd like to spend everyday looking out over those battling the wind and course. The 18th is a great par 5 finishing hole that plays with the coast and water all the way down the right. It's a reachable 5 with 2 good drives (and the right wind conditions) to the right of the green is a large bank that the right ball will feed back to the putting surface, but a bit too far and you'll be dropping from a near impossible chip.

Ballybunnion Golf Course - The granddaddy and most renowned of the courses we played while there. From the moment you step on the grounds, you know it's a special experience. A classic clubhouse, large driving range with a Top Golf style bay on one end to give you real time feedback on your shanks (this is day 4 of playing golf, some were finding their groove and others were losing their mind trying to find a swing thought), and a beautiful first tee. The first tee shot is an awesome jog left, mid-length par 4 that plays over a graveyard on the right ($100 if you hit a 'Kennedy' Head Stone). After the gentle introduction, the second slaps you in the face as the Number 1 Handicap. A long Par 4 that plays into the prevailing wind and the second shot plays significantly uphill between 2 large dunes to a well guarded green. The rest of the course is a constant battle of risk/reward shots. Play to the narrow part of the fairway to have a wedge in or lay back to have a mid to long iron into a turtle shell greens guarded by deep bunkers. An absolute gem of a routing that I would play again in a heart beat. The only thing here is we had the worst caddies of our trip at this course. Both were inaccurate with yardages, gave bad advice on lines to take, and overall not helpful. By the end of the round, I refused to take any of his advice, pulled my own yardage and utilized the book to pick my lines. Shot 88 and played the last 7 where I didn't take his advice in 4 over. 

Island Golf Course - Probably the least known course we played in Ireland, this little course tucked away north of Dublin is an absolutely fantastic course that we played at the recommendation of a friend who lived in Dublin previously. It's a course that plays amongst large sand dunes and swells. It is a great mixture of gettable and challenging holes. It made for a bunch of fun amongst 8 guys who were feeling the pain of playing 6 rounds in a row plus many hours riding in a bus. The stretch between 12-15 is an awesome stretch of golf. 12 is a long par 4 Dog Left that begs you to take off more than you can chew and end up on the wrong side of a sand dune. The 13th is a challenging long 210 yard par 3 played over a ravine. Into the wind on the second day, I hit 3 wood and it barely made it (normally a 245 yard shot). 14 is a knifes edge of a par 4. The fairway only 25 yards wide at its widest makes for the most demanding tee shot of the day with marsh right and deep rough left. The 15th is a long par 5 with a tee shot to a wide and open fairway and a blind second shot that allows you to to take aim at the rock in the hill behind the green. Hit a good second shot and you've got a eagle/birdie chance, but if it goes left its a lost ball and right finds a deep bunker with a 35-40 yard shot to the green.

 

[vandyland]

Very cool write up and I have always dreamed of getting on at Old Head. Even with the 30-50 mph winds which I would have no idea how to navigate! My biggest complaint is that there are way too few pictures in here!

[Golf2Much]

I had the pleasure of playing both Old Head Golf Links and Ballybunnion Golf Course back in September, 1999.  It was my first time playing golf in Ireland and it was special indeed.  Old Head was only about two years old at the time and was an experience.   This is a picture of my buddy Jay (on the right) on one of Old Head's tee boxes.  It took a while to wipe that grin off our faces!

 

You were dead on about how special Ballybunnion is.  I got the same type of feeling when I stepped on St. Andrews Old Course grounds right before The Open last year.  Even though I was in a short sleeve shirt and vest playing Old Head, the next day playing Ballybunnion I had three layers on top, two on the bottom (one layer of Gortex on both) and still was a bit chilly!

We had caddies on both courses.  At the time, they were mostly college students waiting to go back to school.  We were happy we did as there was than one hole when we stepped to a tee box and had to ask "where do it hit it?"   

Those two days were probably one of the most memorable golfing experiences that I've ever had.  

[Golf2Much]

@TCUfrog, you are a great son and what a great experience for you two!

[Bogeyfree69]

Great trip for you and your son!   I did Southwest Ireland June of 2017.   Played Old Head, Ballybunion (Old), Waterville, Killarney Golf and Fish (Killeen), Tralee, Dooks and Dingle Golf Links.  Had the best time.   We stayed at the Pax House in Dingle and can’t say enough good things about it.  View from room attached along with a clip from Tralee.