Ireland's Best 18 Holes on the Wild Atlantic Way

The inspiring 16th tee shot on Ballybunion (Cashen)

Everyone has their opinions. What a dull place it would be if we didn’t.

Failte Ireland, in its guise as The Wild Atlantic Way, has produced a list of the top 18 golf holes along the 2,500 km route that stretches from Cork to Donegal. The list was produced for them by In The Company of Huskies, a Dublin digital agency.

The Wild Atlantic Way is Ireland’s new holy grail of tourism, showing off the beauty of Ireland. You’d think the goal would be to pick 18 holes that show off the beauty of the golf courses’ surroundings.

Free Tralee Golf Experience (worth €400)

Arnold Palmer

Just Treats are making a push into Munster with their golf deals. Leinsterites have been enjoying all of the offers being made by this young Irish company - from heavily discounted green fees to golf lessons - so it seems only fair that Munster golfers get to benefit too. And what a way to tee it off!

Tralee - murder of the cliche

[Photo: Tralee's stunning 13th, a par three that perches on a dune]

First things first: congratulations to Tralee Golf Club in its rise from 10th to 7th in the Golf Digest Ireland 2011 Top 100 Courses Rankings. It's a spectacular course with some remarkable views. And with some benign weather around at the moment, the green fee's a snip at €50.

Anthony Byrne is the General Manager, and I'm going to have a gentle dig at something he said which appeared in the Irish Times the other day... he knows how much I like the course (a photo of Tralee's 16th was the front cover of Hooked - 1st edition) and he was kind enough to comp me and a friend when I was on my travels, so, if he ever reads this, he knows it's all in good fun:

[Photo: the approach to Tralee's 10th hole, a dogleg left par four]

Tralee's 10th hole is going to be remodelled and the Practice Academy is to be updated. In describing the changes, Anthony decided to take a worn-out golfing cliche, bring it back to life briefly and then murder it again.

“We know that we have a priceless jewel here in Barrow and you must never, ever, allow a priceless jewel to lose any of its lustre,” he said.

I agree with the sentiment wholeheartedly, but sometimes a cliche this bad deserves to stay dead and buried.

I look forward to seeing the new 10th... if I'm ever allowed on the course again!

Ireland's Best 18 Holes: Hole 2

Hole 2 Portsalon Par 4 361 metres. ‘Strand’

Portsalon is one of those ever-changing links that always keeps you guessing. It’s easy to be distracted by the magnificent views of Knockalla Mountain and Lough Swilly, but nothing quite prepares you for the spectacle that arrives as you walk away from the 1st green. The famous Portsalon beach stretches out below you, the views are superb and you’re faced with a hole that is one of the very best – if not the best – in Ireland. It is also Index 3, which demands two immense shots over the beach itself, on the drive, and across the river on the approach. It’s a dogleg that’s all on show below you, so bite off as much as you dare on your drive. It’s a brave shot into the green, just over the river, which is far wider that you’d believe from the tee box.

[Photo: the par five at Tralee. Aim well left]

Tralee and Cairndhu are two of several spectacular alternatives. Tralee’s is the more famous, a par five dogleg wrapping around low cliffs and the beach, heading out onto the headland. As one of the most scenic locations for an Irish golf course, many of Tralee’s holes are outstanding, and this is just one of them. (Apologies for the photograph, which doesn’t do the hole justice at all – checkout the second image at http://traleegolfclub.com/index.php/course/library/).

[Photo: the par three at Cairndhu]

Cairndhu has a peach of a 2nd hole. It’s a par three that comes at the end of one of the steepest opening holes in Ireland. You’re high on a rocky headland and the hole stretches 150 yards from one side to the other. The views, once again, are spectacular – taking in Ailsa Craig and Scotland on a clear day.

One hole I didn’t mention in the book is the 2nd at Old Head of Kinsale. After a straightforward ‘inland’ hole, you arrive at the tee to discover what all the fuss is about. The cliffs, the ocean and a dogleg that dances along the cliffs’ edge.

[Photo: Old Head and the lighthouse]