When Robert Trent Jones first saw the Irish ground that would eventually become Cashen Course at County Kerry’s Ballybunion Golf Club, he commented that he was looking at “perhaps the best links land in the world”. Bounded on one side by the Atlantic and on the other by the River Cashen, the Cashen Course immerses its players in a golf experience that rises and falls as freely as the course on which it is played.
The Cashen Course at Ballybunion Golf Club was designed and built to take full advantage of the natural contours of the Ballybunion terrain, including the menacing sand dunes that seem to rise into the stratosphere from their bases at the mouth of the River Cashen. With its many elevated greens, the Cashen Course in Ballybunion tests a golfer’s ability to fly the ball to the pin.
Completed and opened for play in 1982, almost 90 years after the opening of its sister club, the Ballybunion Old Course, the Cashen Course has retained the remarkable feel of the old course, with a planned layout that provides a natural approach to each. hole. The addition of the links from Cashen to Ballybunion has only enhanced the reputation of this little corner of Ireland’s south west as one of the world’s premier golf venues, not to mention the most magical.
Visiting golfers have long known that reserving a tee time at the Ballybunion Old Course must be made months in advance, and may be impossible during peak golf season. The Cashen Course offers golfers who were turned away at the old course a chance to test their skills on holes that some people who have played both courses say are at least as challenging.
Public access to the Ballybunion Cashen course is limited to weekdays and all invited players must be accompanied by members of the Ballybunion Golf Club. The Golf Club, however, has drawn up conditions that allow international players to enjoy its facilities.
Golfers wishing to play the Ballybunion Cashen Course must pay for their rounds in full within 28 days of making reservations. They must have disabilities no greater than 24 for men, and 36 for women. They must provide their disability certificates when making the reservation. And they must play in groups of four.
The Ballybunion Golf Club has established a dress code that prohibits current sleeveless and collarless shirts, as well as tank tops. Shorts must be tailored, must be shown in church, and sweat suits, leisure suits, and clothing with slogans or advertising are not allowed. Pant legs must be outside the socks.
Golf carts are now available at the Ballybunion Cashen Course at a price of EUR3.50 per round. The Cashen course, unlike the old Ballybunion course, also allows buggies. When you play any of Ballybunion Golf Club’s courses, you’ll be playing on courses maintained with all the experience that more than a century of golf course driving has created. Playing at Ballybunion will give you one of the most satisfying golf holidays Ireland has to offer.
