Ballybunion - Old

• Location: Ballybunion, County Kerry
• Open: 1906
• Designer: Lionel Hewson
• Major Course Updates: Tom Simpson
• Events Hosted: Irish Open
• Key Rankings: #1 golf course in Ireland, Top 100 Golf Courses (2022), 24th best golf course in the world, Golf Magazine (2021)

 
In Tom Doak’s Confidential Guide to Golf Courses, he wrote that most golf courses have too many fairway bunkers, but Ballybunion’s Old course is one of the rare golf courses that breaks that cliché given how strong the land is. Not surprisingly, if the land can virtually be void of bunkers and still be interesting, the course will rank highly, and Ballybunion’s ranking of the best in Ireland and a top 25 golf course in the world proves just that. A trip to Ireland without Ballybunion is still a great trip, but the Old course here further adds to a bucket-list trip.