Ballybunion Golf Club

For the golfer fresh off the plane, Ballybunion makes for an interesting welcome to golf in Ireland. The sight of out of bounds on the opening tee shot is all the more unnerving thanks to the graveyard found on the other side. This is followed by a string of holes that parallel the town’s caravan park, which probably isn’t what comes to mind when one thinks of seaside golf. When we arrive to the coastal bluffs on the tricky little 6th hole, however, we’re properly introduced to links golf on the Emerald Isle.

Although many links go dull and forgettable on their journeys inland, at Ballybunion we find some of its strongest holes. The 8th and 9th are fine examples, so too is the par-5 13th and the birdie opportunity it presents those avoiding Kitty’s River. Of course, it’s the seaside holes that imprint most on our memory, and the assortment found at Ballybunion is the very definition of world-class.

Instead of appearing all at once, our trips to the water’s edge come intermittently from the 6th green onward. First at the 7th, where we find two greens possibly in play from a fairway that straddles the clifftops. The next thrill comes at the 11th, an all-world par-4 whose second shot rivals the 8th at Pebble Beach for the absolute best in golf. The 15th and 17th holes serve up two more encounters with the beach, before we turn home to cap our day at Ballybunion.

And what a glorious day it is on this links crafted by both the hands of Providence and a relative unknown architect. It’s the words of one of its greatest champions, however, that best captures Ballybunion.

“After playing Ballybunion for the first time, one would think the game of golf originated there. It is a course on which many architects should live and play before they build golf courses.” ~Tom Watson