The greatest run of natural links golf on earth, strung along the Atlantic coast of Kerry, Clare and Cork. Ballybunion, Waterville, Tralee and the clifftop Old Head, played in the right order, with one concierge to plan it all.
Photograph: Waterville Golf Links, County Kerry, via Google
A golf holiday in southwest Ireland is the purest links pilgrimage there is. Nowhere else packs so many of the world's great natural links into so small a stretch of coast: the towering dunes of Ballybunion, the wild beauty of Waterville, the Arnold Palmer drama of Tralee, the clifftop spectacle of Old Head, and Lahinch a little further north in County Clare. It suits the buddies group ticking off bucket list links, the society that wants a week of serious golf with serious craic in the evenings, and the couple who want world class courses set against the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. You play hard links by day and settle into warm pubs, fine seafood and small hotels by night, all within an easy drive of one another.
If your group plays one course here, make it the Ballybunion Old Course, the revered links that Tom Watson called the finest he ever saw and a fixture near the top of every world ranking. Build out from there with Waterville and Tralee in Kerry, add the unforgettable Old Head of Kinsale on its Atlantic headland, and finish with Lahinch in Clare, and you have a week of links golf that no other corner of the world can match.
The headline round and one of the greatest links anywhere, a tumbling run through giant dunes hard against the Atlantic that Tom Watson helped restore and never tired of praising. The green fee is premium, the caddies are worth every cent, and the back nine along the sea is the stuff golfers dream about.
A wild and beautiful links on Ballinskelligs Bay, long a favourite retreat of touring professionals and once a Payne Stewart haunt. Big, rolling dunes, a famous closing stretch and some of the most spectacular scenery in Irish golf, set on the edge of the Ring of Kerry.
Arnold Palmer's first European design, draped over a stunning stretch of the Kerry coast with a front nine along the beach and a back nine carved through towering dunes. Palmer said he may have designed the first nine, but God designed the back. Dramatic, demanding and unforgettable.
The most photographed golf on the island, laid out across a slender Atlantic headland with the sea on three sides and nine holes that play along cliff edges hundreds of feet above the water. Not a true links in the old sense, but a clifftop spectacle that every visiting group remembers for life.
Designers, openings and settings verified June 2026. Marquee links carry premium green fees, with the Ballybunion Old Course alone from about 400 to 450 euros per round in the 2026 season before caddies. Always confirm directly before booking.
Fly into Cork or Shannon, collect the cars or meet the driver, and settle into a first base near Kinsale or Killarney with an evening to find your feet.
Open on the clifftop spectacle above the Atlantic in County Cork, then a long lunch in the colourful harbour town of Kinsale, Ireland's gourmet capital.
Transfer along the coast to a Kerry base, with the option of a relaxed round at Killarney's Killeen Course or a rest day around the lakes and the Ring of Kerry.
The wild links on Ballinskelligs Bay, deep in the Ring of Kerry, followed by an evening in the village where the touring pros used to unwind.
Arnold Palmer's coastal masterpiece with its dune backed back nine, then north toward the Ballybunion area for the climax of the trip.
The headline round through the great dunes above the sea, with caddies for the lines, and a celebratory dinner to mark the week's best golf.
Cross into County Clare for Lahinch, the Old Tom Morris and Alister MacKenzie links beside the town, before flying out of Shannon nearby.
Distances are real but manageable, with the Kerry links clustered within an hour or two of one another and Shannon handy for a Clare finish. A driver lets the group relax after a links round and a pint; a hire car suits a more flexible touring pace.
| Style | Per person, 2026 | What it usually includes |
|---|---|---|
| Short links break | From around €1,800 to €2,800 | 4 nights, 3 rounds, quality hotels, hire car or driver |
| Classic southwest week | From around €3,000 to €4,500 | 7 nights, 5 rounds including Ballybunion and Old Head, caddies on the marquee links |
| Premium links tour | From around €4,500 upward | Best hotels, every marquee course, private driver, caddies throughout |
Indicative third party operator package ranges for the 2026 season, excluding flights, shown to set expectations only. We are a guide, not an operator, and never quote our own pricing. Always confirm directly before booking.
The links season in the southwest runs from spring through autumn, with May, June and September the sweet spots for the firmest turf, the longest light and the best chance of dry days between the Atlantic showers. July and August are busy and bright but carry the highest demand on the marquee tee sheets, while the shoulder months trade a little weather risk for softer rates and quieter courses. Book the headline rounds at Ballybunion and Old Head as early as you can, since the best times go many months ahead, then let the rest of the route settle around them. A trip planned a season in advance gets the courses in the right order and the evenings in the right towns.
Tell us the group size, the links you want and roughly when. One concierge costs the whole trip to the head and replies within one working day, with no obligation.
It holds the greatest concentration of natural links golf in the world, strung along the Atlantic coast of Kerry, Clare and Cork. A single trip can take in Ballybunion, Waterville, Tralee, Lahinch and the clifftop Old Head, all within reach of one another, framed by the Ring of Kerry and some of the best food and hospitality in Europe.
Most trips build around the Ballybunion Old Course, one of the greatest links on earth, with the Arnold Palmer designed Tralee, the wild beauty of Waterville and the clifftop spectacle of Old Head of Kinsale. Add Lahinch in County Clare and the Killeen Course at Killarney for a week of five to seven rounds with no weak link.
The marquee links carry premium green fees, with the Ballybunion Old Course alone running from about 400 to 450 euros per round before caddies. A typical seven night, five round package with quality lodging, transport and tee times sits indicatively from around 3,000 euros per person, rising with hotel standard and the number of marquee courses. Always confirm directly before booking.
Yes. Submit a brief and one concierge costs the whole trip to the head, securing tee times at the marquee links in the right order, a base or a touring route through Kerry and Clare, a driver or hire car, and caddies where you want them, then routes it to a vetted operator. You book once and the group just plays.
Links tee sheet windows, course access changes and the Irish golf trips worth moving on first. Every other week.