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Golf guide • Ireland • County Kerry

Golf in Ballybunion: the great links of north Kerry on the Atlantic

Ballybunion, a small seaside town in north County Kerry at the mouth of the Shannon, has two eighteen-hole links in the dunes: the Old Course, regularly ranked among the best courses in the world, and the Watson Cashen, laid out by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and redesigned by Tom Watson and Graeme Webster. Golfers come for dune golf and wind beside the ocean, with Tralee about forty minutes away. The best season runs from May to September.

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On the north Kerry coast, where the Shannon estuary opens onto the Atlantic, Ballybunion is a seaside town of about 1,600 people. Two beaches divided by the ruins of a 16th-century castle, dark cliffs pounded by the swell, a few pubs and family hotels: the town is small and best on foot. To the south, across a broad range of dunes, the golf club founded in 1893 takes up most of the landscape.

The Old Course built the place's reputation. Tom Watson, who first came in 1981, has returned regularly ever since and guided its renovation in 1995; the club made him its Millennium Captain. Bill Clinton played here in 1998, and a statue of the president, club in hand, marks his visit in the town. The Murphy's Irish Open was played here in 2000.

The second course, the Cashen, reopened in summer 2026 as the Watson Cashen after three winters of work, and gives a real reason to stay several days. Ballybunion has few courses within forty-five minutes: Tralee, about forty minutes away, completes the trip, and Killarney and Lahinch each have their own guide. Three to five nights are enough to play the club's two links and Tralee and keep a morning for the coast.

The courses

Links green in a hollow of the dunes, a white flag and a deep bunker in the foreground, the ocean between the dunes

Ballybunion Old Course

  • Architect: Lionel Hewson; Tom Simpson (1937)
  • Opened 1893
  • 18 holes
  • Par 71

Born in 1893, re-founded in 1906 on a nine-hole course by Lionel Hewson and extended to eighteen holes in the 1920s, the Old Course was revised by Tom Simpson and Molly Gourlay before the 1937 Irish Championship, then by Tom Watson in 1995. Its greens were relaid in fescue in 2015. The course threads between very tall dunes and in places runs along the clifftop above the beach. Herbert Warren Wind considered it the finest seaside course he had seen. It is for experienced players, ready to deal with the wind.

Signature hole. The 11th, named Watsons, is a 472-yard par 4: the club advises aiming at the boundary off the tee, using the prevailing sea wind, then taking enough club to fly the ball all the way to the green.

Official website

Ballybunion Watson Cashen Course

  • Architect: Robert Trent Jones Sr.; Tom Watson and Graeme Webster (2026)
  • Opened 1984
  • 18 holes

Laid out by Robert Trent Jones Sr. on the dunes just south of the Old Course and opened in 1984, the Cashen runs along the estuary of the river of the same name. Jones considered it the finest links land he had ever seen, but the course had a reputation for being very demanding and capricious. Tom Watson and Graeme Webster reworked it from 2024 to 2026: wider fairways, larger greens, softer surrounds that let the ball run, and open views over the estuary and the ocean. The routing has barely changed. Visitors can play it in the morning or the afternoon.

Official website

Tralee Golf Club

  • Architect: Arnold Palmer
  • Opened 1984
  • 18 holes

At Barrow, near Ardfert, about forty minutes south of Ballybunion, the Tralee links was designed by Arnold Palmer and his associate Ed Seay and opened in 1984. The back nine climbs into tall dunes facing the Atlantic, and Palmer said that he had designed the front nine, but surely God had designed the back. The 17th, Ryan's Daughter, recalls the film shot in the area. The club, founded in 1896, takes visitors through online booking; Tralee also has its own guide.

Signature hole. The 3rd, The Castle, is the course's signature par 3, nearly 200 yards from the back tees.

Official website

Where to stay

Teach de Broc

A family-run guesthouse whose name means "the Brock house", facing the clubhouse and driving range, two minutes' walk from the first tee of the Old Course. Around fifteen understated rooms in polished wood and earth tones, all facing the course, a locker room for bags and an early breakfast for golfers with a morning tee time. Recommended by the Michelin Guide, it is the most practical base for anyone coming to play.

Cliff House Hotel

A family hotel on Cliff Road, in the town itself, facing the Atlantic. Ask for a Sea View & Balcony room: they are the only ones facing the ocean, all refurbished, with a balcony and a sitting area, where you breathe the salty air the house calls its "champagne air". The hotel has a restaurant, The Cliff, and a bar, Bernie's Bar. A convenient address for sleeping in town, a few minutes' drive from the club.

The Listowel Arms Hotel

The only hotel in Listowel, about twenty minutes inland, occupies a corner of the old square and belongs to the O'Callaghan family. The Georgian Restaurant overlooks the River Feale and the racecourse; the house is the meeting point for Writers' Week in June and the September races. Ask for the suite, the only room with a terrace, then walk three minutes for a pint at John B. Keane's, the playwright's pub.

Where to dine

Strollers Bistro at Teach de Broc

The dining room at Teach de Broc and its bistro, Strollers, serve fish and local produce, with vegetables picked the same day from the house's kitchen garden. Open in the evening from Monday to Saturday in season, only on Friday and Saturday in winter: book your table when you book your room.

McMunn's of Ballybunion

On Main Street, facing Castle Green and the ruined castle, McMunn's is the pub where the town comes for dinner. Since 2006, Una O'Connor, a Tarbert native, has run the floor and Greg Ryan, a Euro-Toques member, the kitchen: fish and shellfish landed by local fishermen. Start with the chowder, ask for a window table on the ocean side and finish at the bar by the fire. The club is five minutes away.

The Cliff Restaurant

The Cliff House Hotel's restaurant serves meat from the pastures of North Kerry and Atlantic fish on the day it is caught, with a board of chef's specials that changes daily. The wine list is chosen by the host, Kevin O'Callaghan: let him advise you. Book a table by the windows by phone to watch the sun sink into the ocean, the right choice for an evening in town after the round.

Wooden pub table with seafood chowder, brown bread and a pint of stout, a window onto a grey ocean

Beyond golf

The castle and the cliff walk

Built in the early 16th century by the Fitzmaurices and destroyed in 1582, Ballybunion Castle is now a single section of wall on the headland between the two beaches, the Ladies Beach to the north and the Men's Beach to the south, a reminder of the segregated bathing of old. It is a national monument. A path follows the cliffs from the town; to the south stretches a strand of more than three kilometres.

The Lartigue Monorail at Listowel

From 1888 to 1924, a monorail invented by the French engineer Charles Lartigue linked Listowel with Ballybunion, some fifteen kilometres away: it was the world's first commercial passenger monorail. A restored demonstration line now runs in Listowel in the afternoons, from May to September. The town, known for its literary festival in June, deserves half a day.

Seaweed baths

Ballybunion keeps up a tradition of the west coast of Ireland: the hot seaweed bath, prepared with serrated wrack gathered from the shore. The seaweed baths are among the town's busiest attractions. After two rounds in the wind, it is the most local way to recover; check opening hours locally, as they vary with the season.

Ruined stone tower on a grassy headland above a beach and dark rock cliffs

When to go

The season runs from May to September: very long days around June, mild temperatures and links in their best condition. The Old Course takes visitors from mid-April to early October, on weekdays and in the morning only; April and early October are quieter but cooler. The Atlantic climate brings showers and wind in every season: pack rain gear. Outside this period, the Old Course is reserved for members.

Getting there

Kerry Airport (KIR), at Farranfore, is about 55 minutes by road; Shannon (SNN), the region's other gateway, is about an hour and a half away. The Tarbert–Killimer ferry crosses the Shannon estuary in twenty minutes and puts Lahinch, in Clare, just over two hours away. Once there, a car with driver remains the simplest way to combine Ballybunion and Tralee.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors play the Old Course at Ballybunion?

Yes, from Monday to Friday in the morning, from mid-April to early October, except bank holidays. A maximum handicap of 24 for men and 36 for women is required, and at least one caddie or forecaddie per group.

How many courses are there at Ballybunion Golf Club?

Two eighteen-hole courses: the Old Course and the Watson Cashen, the former Cashen by Robert Trent Jones Sr., redesigned by Tom Watson and Graeme Webster and reopened in summer 2026.

What other golf courses can you play near Ballybunion?

Tralee, designed by Arnold Palmer, is about forty minutes to the south. Killarney is about an hour away, Lahinch just over two hours via the Shannon ferry; each has its own guide.

Which airport is best for a golf trip to Ballybunion?

Kerry, about 55 minutes by road, is the closest. Shannon, about an hour and a half away, is the other option, depending on available flights.

When is the best time to play golf at Ballybunion?

From May to September, when the days are long and the links in their best condition. The Old Course is open to visitors only from mid-April to early October.

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