Golf In South West Ireland A round of golf anywhere along Ireland's west coast is, quite naturally, characterised by the ragged Atlantic coastline. With Atlantic breakers pounding the shore within sight and hearing of many courses and the wind adding its own perplexities, the challenge offered by the likes of Ballybunion, Tralee and Waterville etc., can admittedly be difficult, but the joy of golf here is always exhilarating, and the scenery will always make your rounds memorable. Ballybunion Old Golf Club - South West Ireland Spectacular views and a supreme links challenge, Ballybunion is always on everyone's list!  Ballybunion was founded in 1893, and has been a favorite with both amateur and professional golfers for many years. Here golfers can play two of the most challenging courses in the world while enjoying magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean.The two courses are The Old Course and The Cashen. Consistently ranked among the top courses in the world, The Old Course offers spectacular views and a supreme links golfing challenge. Tom Watson, former Ballybunion Golf Club Captain, and five-time winner of the British Open, has said of the Old Course, 'It's a course you will always enjoy and never tire of playing. Ballybunion is a course on which many golf course architects should live and play before they build a golf course. I consider it a true test of golf.'  The Cashen course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, is a wonderful complement to The Old Course. It is also a traditional links course containing steep slopes, narrow fairways, long grass roughs, and large sand hills without trees. It is tough terrain, but a more than worthy golfing challenge. Ballybunion's courses are known for being challenging because of the skill needed to control the ball's direction and distance. Accuracy is more important than distance when playing these two courses. But whether you conquer the courses or not, you will be rewarded with the breathtaking views. Peter Alliss, Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ken Venturi and Bill Clinton are just a few of the golf luminaries to have played these renowned courses. Ballybunion has been called unforgettable, breathtaking, awesome, challenging, and just pure fun. The golf lover should jump at the opportunity to play these spectacular courses. No matter how many times you golf there, everything about Ballybunion Old course seems large scale. Big club-house, long holes, steep drops and climbs, but if a golfer such as Tom Watson rates it as his favourite golf course, then it must be good! Ranked #16 in the world, Ballybunion Old was completed by Tom Simpson, who took full advantage of its magnificent position overlooking the Atlantic. The great signature holes are the 7th and 11th, along the sea, and the spectacular 17th. Ballybunion would be a highlight of any Irish Golfing Vacation. IMPORTANT: Ballybunion Old is one of the toughest courses in Ireland to play, and one of the most difficult to obtain a tee-time for! Its popularity is undiminished, and planning your visit well in advance is essential during the main golfing season. International Golf Travel has dealt with Ballybunion GC for many years and we will have, once again, some guaranteed tee-times for our clients on selected dates. If playing the course is essential to your trip - please contact us as soon as possible to secure your tee times. Call IGT to book your golfing vacation package to the Ballybunion Old Golf Club, South West Ireland today.Doonbeg Golf Club - South West Ireland Soon To Be One Of The Best Links Challenges In The World?  Doonbeg Golf Club used two-time British Open champion Greg Norman and the golf design team of Kiawah Development Partners (KDP) to design their golf course. In the late 19th century, Scottish Guardsmen considered the current site for a links course, but it was located too far from the railway station. Although they considered the site superior, they ended up building their course at Lahinch, and founded the Lahinch Golf Club. The Doonbeg Community Development Company formed a golf committee in the mid 1990s and they promoted a new course in the Doonbeg Parish. Greg Norman and KDP worked together to create a truly unique course that won several awards as the Best New International Course in 2002. The course at Doonbeg is a true links course that will challenge golfer's skill and courage. Many believe this course will soon be known as one of the best links challenges in the world. The Doonbeg Golf Club, located 40 miles from Shannon Airport and 20 miles south of Lahinch, opened their Lodge, new clubhouse, and luxury suites in the spring of 2006. The Club provides golfers with everything they need; wonderful accommodations, fantastic service, and a brilliant links golf course. Playing along 1.5 miles of extensive dune-land the course, laid out in typical links style of 9 holes out and 9 back, affords views of the Atlantic Ocean from 16 of the 18 holes and plays 6,800 yards from the back tees. The course at Doonbeg offers modern golf in an old world setting. Call IGT to book your golfing vacation package to the Doonbeg golf club, South West Ireland today. Lahinch Golf Club - South West Ireland  Known as the "St Andrews of Ireland", due to its design by Tom Morris for the Black Watch army regiment garrisoned there in 1890, Lahinch was rated by Alister Mackenzie, who remodelled it, as "the most enjoyable course to play ever designed". It is set in some of the finest links land anywhere, and the 6th, par 3, is unique. Call IGT to book your golfing vacation package to the Lahinch golf club, South West Ireland today. Old Head Golf Club - South East Ireland  Twenty miles south of Cork, Old Head Golf Links perches spectacularly on a promotory jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. Nine of the 18 holes hug rugged 180 feet high cliffs, reminding one somewhat of Pebble Beach and Cypress Point-type topography. Weather conditions could not affect a course's playability more than here. Opened in 1997 the course rapidly attracted worldwide golfing attention. Call IGT to book your golfing vacation package to the Old Head golf club, South West Ireland today. Tralee Golf Club - South West Ireland Play Arnold Palmer's First European Design, And You'll Know Why It Absolutely Requires Two Rounds Tralee Golf Club was instituted in October of 1896 and offered a nine-hole course in 1897. In the 1920's Captain Lionel Hewson designed a new course in Oakpark, Tralee. The club had three courses that were plagued with rain problems, so they approached Arnold Palmer in 1980 and asked him to design a new course. It was the first European golf course he designed. Upon seeing the location, he was widely quoted as saying, "I have never come across a piece of land so ideally suited for the building of a golf course." An area that would allow golf year round was the main priority, but scenery and history were also important. Barrow was the chosen site and Arnold Palmer created a masterpiece, placed between the clubhouse and the seashore. Although golfers typically comment on a challenging course, frequently, that's not the case after playing at Tralee. The beauty of the course is consistently commented on. Arnold Palmer stated, "I may have designed the first nine, but surely God designed the back nine." Charlie Rymer, from ESPN, said, "Tralee requires two rounds. One for the scenery and one for the golf course." World renowned golf writer Peter Dobereiner wrote, "As a spectacle, Tralee is in a different class, and the setting is the most magnificent backdrop for a golf course I have ever encountered." Put this magical setting on your list of courses to include on your next trip. You'll be telling others that Tralee IS a must-play. Receiving wide acclaim, the course borders the beach where 'Ryan's Daughter' was filmed and the back nine holes slice their way through huge, rugged dunes in the same fashion as Ballybunion further up the Atlantic coast or Cruden Bay in Scotland. Call IGT to book your golfing vacation package to the Tralee golf club, South West Ireland, today. Waterville Golf Club - South West Ireland  Beautifully situated at the tip of the Ring of Kerry, Waterville is a long and testing course, with a selection of par 3's which few courses can match. Huge dunes bound the fairways with the Atlantic on three sides. Call IGT to book your golfing vacation package to the Waterville golf club, South West Ireland, today. |
