Ballybunion Golf Club

Ballybunion is located southwest of Shannon and Limerick on the County Kerry coast, has two 18 hole courses, the Old and Cashen, where golf has been played since 1893. It's ground is classic linksland, rolling and tumbling sandhills at the intersection of where River Shannon enters the Atlantic Ocean. It's said that the original architects were M. Smyth and P. Murphy, along with later additions and revisions by A. Snowball, Lionel Hewson, Old Tom Morris, James Braid, Tom Simpson, Eddie Hackett, and finally Tom Watson. It's regarded as possibly the finest links course in the world. The Old Course from the regular tees measures 6,200 yards. It's routed through the sand hills on the shoreline, some holes actually feel like the fairways are tunneled through the dunes, there's only 64 bunkers, mostly small, and only a few blind shots. There's a half dozen bland holes in the beginning here where you wonder what's all the fuss about, but starting with #7, you will find are some stellar holes and challenge, and will understand. The Cashen Course is worth the time to play, but not on the same standards. It's the baby and opened in 1984, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and is probably on more stellar ground than the Old. Jones was never known for designing links courses and it shows here. There are a number of quirky and odd holes not based in the spirit of links design. The walks between greens and tees is a bit long, and the directional signage is not only a distraction, but a reflection of the confusion of the routing and some of the holes here. The course has four greens which are poorly and unfairly contoured, fairways and landing areas which are just too narrow, impossible forced carries, and elevation changes which simply wear you out. There are a couple of special holes here like the par three 3rd hole, the perched green at the 7th, and the 12th, a 210 one shotter. Maybe the course takes some getting used to on the routing, and I think that's the main problem here. You come here to Ballybunion and are rewarded with a classic, rather intuitive course with the Old, but then on the Cashen, its a bit more to figure out, and seeming a bit contrived.