Five fantastic golf courses in Ireland that make a perfect holiday

They had me with one word: Ireland.

Where would we play? Didn’t matter. When? Didn’t matter. With whom? Didn’t matter. Where would we stay? None of these trifles mattered, because right there on the schedule: Ireland.

The answer is always yes.

The Golfweek’s Best rater program needed a host for 23 golfers who would tee off on a superb sampling of Irish courses, returning each evening to Scotts Hotel alongside the main tourist district in Killarney. That would be County Kerry in the far southwestern reaches of the Republic, where golfers pile into the pubs each evening to hang out alongside various sightseers, cyclists, hikers and shoppers from around Ireland, the UK and points far beyond. Pick the right nights and there are plenty of locals, too, extending the craic to points only dreamed of by American tourists.

MORE: For our list of top 50 classic courses in Great Britain and Ireland, click here; for our list of top 50 modern courses, click here.

I’m most accustomed to scuttling around Ireland on my own or with a small group, never more than a foursome en masse. I have white-knuckled various rental Skodas down improbable roads though impossible weather, often playing 36 and sometimes 54 holes a day. No time to relax: Wake up, tee off soon after dawn, walk most of each day, drive dozens of miles, collapse into a new hotel each night. It’s bliss, but exhausting.

This trip with the raters would be different. We had a bus with a witty and patient driver – Paddy, of course – who knew all the shortcuts and an encyclopedia’s worth of local history. We would stay in one very comfortable location; no moving about like a nomadic golf addict. There would be time to stroll the town, see some sights, recap each round over a few pints, even eat real food instead of late-hour takeout.

It got even better when I saw the course lineup: Tralee, Dooks, Ballybunion, Killarney Golf & Fishing Club and Waterville. That’s two classic links, two modern links and a lakeside, parkland stunner surrounded by green mountains.

Golfweek’s Best raters by definition are a bit golf-mad, and several players jetted in early from the States to play more regional favorites such as Old Head, Doonbeg and Lahinch. My only regret for the trip was I couldn’t join them early or stay late to play more than five rounds. Pity, as the locals might say with a knowing shake of the head.

Fraser Cromarty, company director at golf booking agency Travelling The Fairways, handled all the logistics. Cromarty is based in Scotland and handles tee times all around the UK as well as Ireland, and he’s intimately familiar with each of the five courses we would play. With Paddy at the wheel, a consistent and central home base, plus Cromarty’s impeccable planning, this trip would prove to be a breeze.

Speaking of which, this is Ireland we’re talking about. Wind is part of the story. As is rain. We had a taste of each, especially for the first five holes at Ballybunion. But there was sunshine too, and temperatures mostly in the 60s. We saw more than a few Irish members playing golf in shorts, but don’t get any crazy ideas.

This region of Ireland was visited in the 1980s by American professional Tom Watson, winner of five British Opens — ahem, Open Championships. Famed golf writer Herbert Warren Wind had earlier told his American audience of Ballybunion and the coastline’s charms, and Watson first visited Ballybunion’s Old Course in 1981. Watson expanded on Wind’s messaging about the soaring dunes, the coastline, the simply incredible golf holes draped across what was an unimaginable landscape for most American golfers. Transatlantic flights soon began to fill, and an appreciation for Irish links golf accelerated and continues to expand today.

What makes Irish golf special? It’s a fair question for Americans who have never played honest links golf, of whom there are too many. The Irish courses, after all, are generally not as well-manicured as top U.S. private layouts. The greens aren’t as fast. The weather can be dubious. There are exchange rates to consider, and pot bunkers, often tiny roads, and international airfare. Americans are expected to skip their customary golf carts and actually walk the earth. Why not just stay home?

The Irish enchantment starts with the dunes, which are frequently massive and account for the design and routing of the old courses, which seem to fit naturally upon heaving terrain. Irish courses are frequently wild, much more undulating than even most of their Scottish counterparts. The links sit atop the Irish shoreline, offering postcard views of ocean and mountains on hole after hole.

It doesn’t hurt that golf is a community game in Ireland. You’ll see plenty of women playing golf, forming a more integral part of the game than at most clubs in the States — and don’t dare play slow in front of a group of Irish women, who might employ choice and colorful phrases that can make any lagging American golfer blush. There tend to be plenty of kids at most courses, too, sometimes abandoning their own games to caddie and pocket your Euros. The golf is just a part of life.

Best of all, the top clubs are open to traveling players. Book extremely early and expect to pay the equivalent of several hundred dollars or more at most courses, as demand is exceptionally high in the wake of Covid — the clubs will welcome international players with open arms to help offset what are very reasonable annual fees for locals.

Plan well, and it’s entirely possible to sample world-beating clubs the likes of which are typically locked behind towering private gates in the States. If so inclined, do one better and hire Cromarty or one of his travel agency peers to handle the tee times and all the details, especially if it’s your first trip over.

Most of our course raters – which in true Irish spirit included 13 women, many of whom have etched their names on various golf trophies – had seen Ireland before. They knew what they were in for. Registration filled up quicker than Taylor Swift can sell out a concert because, well, it was Ireland on tap.

And the raters knew that when it comes to Ireland, the answer is always yes.

Day 1: Tralee

Palmer is quoted as having said, “I may have designed the first nine, but God surely designed the back nine” at Tralee, which is an old club with a relatively new course. The club opened in 1896 as a nine-holer on a different site, and after several moves, Palmer was commissioned in the early 1980s to build a new 18-hole course on a rocky peninsula known as Barrow with views of Dingle Peninsula and the Slieve Mish Mountains.

It speaks to the history of Irish golf in general that a 40-year-old course is considered new. And Tralee is different than some of the older courses on our Golfweek’s Best itinerary, sharper in spots with several elevated greens often sectioned into quadrants and putting surfaces that were speedier for our go-round than at many Irish courses.

Overlooking Tralee Bay and the Atlantic beyond, the front nine plays quickly out to and around the bay, cuts inland, then returns to the bay. With less severe terrain, Tralee’s front nine still packs plenty of bite – longtime Palmer design partner Seay and then-associate Brandon Johnson worked to soften several holes and introduce a new par 3 along the water in more recent years.

As Palmer mentioned, the back nine is unforgettable. The terrain goes from merely hilly and open to tumultuous among towering dunes, taking players alongside and over massive valleys. In the interior of the routing, the par-4 12th and par-3 13th in particular feature steep drop-offs that can terrorize. No. 15 takes players back to the water’s edge for three holes with dunes to the left and salt spray to the right, before the par-5 18th returns inland to the welcoming clubhouse.

Day 2: Dooks

• Golfweek’s Best ranking: Just outside the top 50 among classic courses in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

• Designers: Anthony Brown, Eddie Hackett, Martin Hawtree

• Opened: 1889

Perhaps best known by some Americans for its natterjack toad logo, Dooks is as old-school cool as a golf course can be. For most of its history it was a quaint nine-holer until legendary Irish designer Hackett extended it to a full 18 in the 1970s. Hawtree modernized the layout further in 2002.

Playing tight to Dingle Bay, Dooks features some of the most interesting greens in Ireland. The putting surfaces typically lay flat on the ground, but they are tied beautifully into surrounding dunes. Ridges frequently extend from the dunes into the center of the greens, using the terrain to create natural interest instead of relying on man-made slopes.

Dooks isn’t long by modern standards, but length is irrelevant when the wind blows, as it did for our group’s visit. Most holes seem plenty wide, but there are angles and strategy at play, forcing players to contend with the breezes, firm ground, quirky bounces and pot bunkers to set up the best angles into the greens.

It’s easy when playing golf in Ireland for Americans to try to imagine life as a local member. Dooks is one of the best examples of a classic, inviting course and club where I can envision myself summering to experience fun, natural and exemplary golf, day after day. After our day in the frequent rain and constant wind, I can’t wait to get back.

Day 3: Ballybunion’s Old Course

• Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 8 among classic courses in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

• Designers: James McKenna, Lionel Hewson, Tom Simpson

• Opened: 1893

This was the big one, the highest-rated course in the Republic, the one each of the raters knew about or had played before. Any golf trip to Ireland should include Ballybunion’s Old Course. Hall-of-Famer Tom Watson wrote, “After playing Ballybunion for the first time, a man would think that the game of golf originated here.”

What makes it so special? First, the dunes, which are massive along the coastline. The routing begins with an opening tee shot past a graveyard, then takes a player along a road on the edge of town. After the opening stretch, the course climbs into the dunes before reaching the sea, taking advantage of playable corridors among the sand hills at every opportunity. It’s a master lesson in routing, taking advantage of what the terrain provides without ever becoming too steep.

Several holes have required renovations over the years because of coastal erosion, with the unintended benefit of holes being even closer to the cliff’s edge above the water. The club has installed massive seawalls to protect the course, at great expense.

Accuracy and control are at a premium as the layouts climbs and dips, with truly errant shots often finding the tall native grasses among the dunes. The greens are at times heavily sloped, forcing players to choose strategic lines into the putting surfaces. Especially in the wind and rain, players must think their way around Ballybunion. It’s one of the game’s best combinations of perfect golf terrain, unpredictable weather and shotmaking opportunities.

People argue about the best hole among a handful of contenders, with the seaside, par-4 11th – named Watsons – often cited. It’s a worthy choice, playing into a dip through the dunes off the tee then back up to a partially hidden green. But I’ll take No. 17, which launches players from the highest point on the course down to a semi-blind fairway that bends sharply left around a massive dune wall before terminating at a green perched tight to the ocean. A bench behind the tee is emblazoned with the letters “C-T-H” that stand for “Close to heaven,” an apt description.

Day 4: Killarney Golf & Fishing Club’s Killeen Course

• Designers: William O’Sullivan, Eddie Hackett, David Jones, Donald Steel

• Opened: 1972

Located in Killarney National Park a short drive outside the town of the same name, this course doesn’t appear in the rankings of top courses in the UK and Ireland alongside many nearby links. Don’t let that fool you into making a hard pass. This parkland layout on the incredibly scenic Lough Leane (lough means lake) has hosted six Irish Opens, and it proved to be a great mid-trip respite from the wind and seaside weather for our course raters.

Green mountains in view, the Killeen Course opens tight to the lake, with four of the opening five holes wrapped around a small bay. The layout then plays inland across gently rolling terrain with interesting holes seemingly always turning right or left, water occasionally in play. Several greens feature sharp internal contours, putting a premium on smart and accurate approach shots – these kinds of slopes and the greens speeds we experienced might not work on a links course, because wind would blow golf balls off the greens.

The club kicked off in 1893, but it was forced to move in the 1930s to its present location. Originally an 18-hole course named Mahony’s Point, new holes were added and the original course was split to make the two 18-hole courses onsite today. The club also has a nine-hole course.

Day 5: Waterville

• Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 8 among modern courses in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

• Designers: Eddie Hackett, Tom Fazio

• Opened: 1973

Golf was played across nine holes at the site of the Waterville links since the 1880s, as workers arrived nearby to lay the first transatlantic cable that stretched to North America. With the advent of communications technology that replaced the cable, the course became dormant in the 1960s until Irish-American John A. Mulcahy hired Hackett to construct a full 18 holes and brought in 1948 Masters winner Claude Harmon to advise on the project.

Overlooking Ballinskelligs Bay, Waterville now plays out to the waterfront on No. 3, returns inland across flatter ground to the clubhouse, then plays through dunes and the flatter interior section on the back nine until reaching a closing trio of holes along the bay. It’s as scenic a finishing stretch as found anywhere in Ireland, with the 18th racing along the water’s edge back to the clubhouse.

Waterville doesn’t feature quite the towering dunes of Ballybunion, instead undulating across firm and rolling terrain which proves perfect for golf. A large part of Fazio’s work was clearing views and ensuring the water holes had maximum impact, and he also better tied together the front and back nines to create a more seamless 18-hole links experience.

Take time at the par-3 12th, playing over a dip among the dunes, to read the historical marker for the Mass Hole. It was at this site in the 18th century that Irish Catholics would secretly hold mass and other services, despite the religion having been banned at the time by the ruling English. Hackett originally wanted to build a green in the hollow area, but workers refused because they considered it sacred ground. Honoring their objections, Hackett instead built the tee and green atop the dunes on opposite sides of the hollow, from where lookouts would scan for English enforcers during the ceremonies. Just something to consider when you’re upset with yourself for leaving your tee ball short of the green.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 5 best golf courses in Ireland for perfect holiday weekend