Ballybunion Golf Club (Old Course)

Favorite Hole

No. 10, par 4, 364 yards

After a short departure from the ocean, the 10th veers back into the relentless coastline winds. Interestingly, the hole feels quite similar in nature to the famous sixth at Lahinch.

Mostly blind, the tee shot is played to the fairway from a slight angle, narrowing the effective width of the already narrow landing area. Push the ball too far forward or a bit right and you’ll tumble down to a low hollow and scrubby rough. The rumpled putting surface is fully exposed to the elements, forcing you to be precise with a short club in hand. A gnarly hollow eats into the green from the left and swallows any shots along the perimeter. 

Playing mostly into the wind and off the left, I adore the way this hole demands extra precision on shots as well as how the ocean is revealed to you once again. It may look like a cakewalk, but it will ruffle the feathers of even the best players. Additionally, it begins a nine-hole stretch through some of the most majestic dunes in golf.

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Overall Thoughts

While Tom Simpson’s name is most notably tied to Ballybunion, the club insists that it does not maintain an original architect. A centennial review states that “to attribute credit to any one architectural firm for the Old Course would of course be invalid.” The same review gives Simpson and Gourlay their due credit, proclaiming their work to be most impactful to today’s golf course. However, the club’s statement is a testament to something greater than all of us and the source of Ballybunion’s strength: Nature. 

As you arrive at Ballybunion from the east, the seismic presence of the towering dunes arrests your attention. They almost look fake. The grass-covered dunes protrude high into the air, rejecting any notions that the mighty Atlantic lies beyond. It’s not until you reach the first tee that the grandness of the golf course itself is revealed. You can see for hundreds of yards and slowly make out golf holes draped across the chaotic dunescape, once again making you question reality. The sense of greatness is apparent before even hitting your first shot, but Ballybunion cannot be explained by merely adding together its individual components. It is more than the journey you walk, the environment you play through, and the quality of golf holes. It’s a product of nature and evolution, both of which seemed to have crescendoed after 50-plus years of refinement.

The Old Course plots outward over smaller-scaled, ground-hugging golf holes before tackling the behemoths along the coast. Ironically, the sand dunes at Ballybunion were actually mined by farmers in the early 1900s, reducing the severity of the dunes to the north, closer to town. This likely created more diversity in the landscape and allowed the routing to tell more of a story with rising and falling action. The sequencing is more technical in nature, dancing in and out of the massive dunes for an ever-changing experience. The epic dunes enter the round at the second, with its green perched well above the fairway, giving you a taste for what's to come. Holes three through five quickly retreat from the big dunes and transport you to the first ocean holes in the sixth and seventh. Shifting again, the wonderful eighth and ninth head inland. This ebb and flow continues with the 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th, and 17th all along the water and Nos. 12-14 playing through the choppy middle ground. After two times around, I view Ballybunion’s routing as close to perfect as they come.

While the routing and its sequencing make up the sturdy backbone of the Old Course’s excellence, it is the intricate details and individuality of each golf hole that make it a true wonder of the golfing world. Every type of hole is here, including long and short versions of each par. All the while, the course doesn’t favor or punish one type of player. Nearly every green is open in the front but often perched above the natural grade, demanding quality golf shots. Abundant short grass around the greens allows for creative recoveries and levels the playing field. But once again, it’s not specific golf holes, the quality of turf, or the beauty of the site that makes Ballybunion so great. It’s the culmination of every aspect that has been slowly molded over a century, creating the iconic links we play today.

3 Eggs

(How We Rate Courses)

The Old Course at Ballybunion is among the greatest golf courses in the world. Its awe-inspiring landscape has always been there, but over many years, the course quietly evolved and matured into the world-renowned links known today. Ballybunion is more than just a harmonious pairing of golf holes and terrain. More than the captivating journey you walk. More than the ocean views and Atlantic winds. It is simply a gift of nature that we are lucky enough to play.

The introduction and take note sections were written by Will Knights. Matt Rouches wrote the overall thoughts and hole-by-hole course tour sections.