Ballybunion Golf Club (Cashen)

The Old course at Ballybunion is a tough act to follow and when new land was purchased in 1971, Robert Trent Jones had his work cut out to create a complementary second course. He was clearly thrilled to have been asked to fashion the new layout and he said: “When I first saw the piece of land chosen for the new course of Ballybunion, I was thrilled beyond words. I said that it was the finest piece of links land that I had ever seen, and perhaps the finest piece of links land in the world. With the ocean on one side and the river on the other, its tumbling, undulating, free-flowing rhythm of line is beauty beyond description.”

In the early 1980s, Ballybunion’s new course, the Cashen, was ready for play and ever since, American visitors have besieged the place. The Cashen is set amongst even taller, more alarming, sand dunes than the Old course and its feel is slightly harder, despite being over 300 yards shorter in length, possibly because the fairways are tighter. It is a cliché to say that the course looks natural and plays as though it has been laid out for a hundred years rather than a couple of decades, but it is a tribute to Trent Jones; he resisted the temptation to do anything other than going with the flow of the land and using its natural form to full potential. The result is a solid golf course despite a lack of the ground option and the greens being rather too small.

Ballybunion is an unforgettable experience, with two thoroughly bewitching courses. Everyone comes here to play the Old course, which is understandable, but don't dismiss the Cashen. It is an interesting second course and despite dividing opinion it's certainly not dull.