The Ballybunion Golf Club in County Kerry was founded in 1893 and has, over the intervening years, slowly grown into the course we see today. In 1906 nine new holes were added and in 1927 the course finally reached the customary 18 holes. But that wasn’t the end of the changes. In 1937 it was again re-modeled into a longer 6,542-yard, par 71 course.
For many it is one of the most beautiful and true links style courses in the world. It invariably is in the top ten or top fifteen courses in the world according to various golf magazine rankings (e.g. Golf Digest placed it at number 7 in 2005).
With Lahinch nearby, the area has some world class courses that offer a very special and enjoyable golfing holiday. While some consider this area of Ireland to be remote, this only adds to the pleasure of playing the course.
There are two championship golf courses to play at Ballybunion Golf Club (both serviced by a single club house).
The first is the Old Course, established in 1893 with various remodelling over the years. The second is the Cashen Course established in 1984.
Both courses are traditional links with their own style (as you’d expect given the difference in dates of their establishment) running alongside the sea and receiving strong Atlantic winds and providing a variety of dunes, dog-legs and pristine greens and fairways.
Both Ballybunion courses are played from a single club house which shares a driving range, a chipping green with bunkers and practice putting greens.
The first hole is a good starting hole for the course, easing you into the play with the strangest of hazards down the right hand side – a cemetery. Challenges on the front nine include the 4th, 5th and 6th holes which all play in the same direction which is into the prevailing wind. This makes 1,400 yards into the wind that can prove a real challenge on the opening half of your game.
The 4th is a beautiful par 5 with a blind second shot. A white stone is placed on a large mount that rises some 20 ft above the fairway. You will note informative place markers, such as the ‘white stone’ upon the mound at the fourth hole, that are there to aid on blind shots at Ballybunion Golf Club.
The 5th hole known as “The Dell” is a 185 yard par 3 with a blind tee shot – a real rarity in links golf! The hole has a beautiful green that banks toward the hole to help stray shots filter back to the green. Just as on the fourth, the location of the flag is marked with a white stone on the obstructing mound.
The second course at Ballybunion Golf Club, the Cashen, is less famous than the Old Course but equally worth the visit. It is a new course designed by Robert Trent Jones but plays like it has been there a long time.
Bookings are strongly recommended, especially in the high season. The majority of visitors choose to play the Cashen course first, have an overnight stay in one of the Ballybunion hotels then play the Old Course on their second day.
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