a — Golfing Gems on the Emerald Isle —

Old Head Golf Links
   near Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland
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Deluxe Golf in a Remarkable Setting.

"This is such a special place for the Irish and such a special place to build a golf course, I don’t know if there will ever [again] be anything like it."
—Course developer John O’Connor

"Old Head is far from cheap to play and the American market is obviously their intended catchment area, which is something of a shame. The Americans love the spectacular and they love the history. At Kinsale they can get both."
—Golf writer Peter Masters in his article
"The Most Spectacular Golf Course in the World"
in Golf Leisure & Lifestyle, Volume 1 2000

Hole 1, Old Head Golf Links. Photo © B. Morgan   

        Ireland is awash in Americans with clubs. Time was when American visitors to Ireland carried shillelaghs instead of 5 irons. But in recent years Ireland has become at least as popular as Scotland with Americans looking for great golf courses, great golf companions, and great golf history, if not great golf weather. Ireland didn’t fail to notice. The Americans have been lured by the (relatively) inexpensive, historic, authentic linkses that surround the island, places like Ballybunion, Lahinch, Royal Portrush, and Portmarnock, places with names at once as familiar and magical to Yankee golfers as Muirfield, Merion, and Medinah. The American golf invasion of Ireland has brought standing-room-only conditions to many of the legendary Irish courses, and created a demand for new links (and inland) courses that cater (and Cater) to American golfing taste. Thus a rash of new, American-flavored golf clubs—most but not all Triple-X: exclusive, expensive, and excellent. Include Doonbeg, the K-Club, Fota Island, and, most spectacularly, Old Head Golf Links.
        Looking for spectacular Irish scenery, challenging golf, and friendly environs that offer great food, hospitality, touring and accommodations? Willing to pay over $300/person for the experience? Even before the helicopter ride? Read on!

LOCATION:
        Old Head Golf Links
        Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland
        Tel: (+353) (0)21 477 8444
        Fax: (+353) (0)21 477 8022
        e-mail: info@oldheadgolf.ie

Open & Playable mid-April through October.

LENGTH & PAR: 18 Holes, Par 72
    Black (Championship) Tees: 7212 yards
    Blue Tees: 6866 yards
    White Tees: 6476 yards
    Yellow Tees: 5708 yards
    Red Tees: 5132 yards

FACILITIES:
   Clubhouse
   Pro Shop
   Golf Cart Rental: €60
     Carts must be reserved in advance.
     Carts must stay on designated cart paths at all times.
     Pull Carts: not available for hire.
   Club Rental: €40/round
   Caddie Hire: €30/50 per bag. Caddies must be reserved in advance.
  Fore Caddie Hire: €25/bag.
  Food & Beverage: The de Courcey dining room at Old Head is a five-star restaurant.
     Reservations are welcome. Breakfast and lunch are also served in our full-service Lusitania Bar.
     A beverage cart is available for refreshments on the golf course.
   "Heli-Golf" Jetranger helicopter service is available subject to pre-booking.
     Golfers fly to Ireland’s great links courses, cutting the significant time of road travel,
     and permitting spectacular aerial views of Ireland’s landscapes.
     Pick-up at the airport of arrival (Shannon, Dublin, or Cork, for most)
        in Ireland can be arranged for a transfer to anywhere in the country.

GREENS FEES (2006):
    Per Round (18 holes): €275 per person
    Per Day (36 holes maximum): €450 per person

Visitors Welcome: advance tee times required

SPECIAL RULES & REQUIREMENTS:
   Maximum Handicap Men: 24
   Maximum Handicap Women: 36
   Maximum time permitted to play 18 holes is 4 hours, 15 minutes.
   Tee-time intervals are every 15 minutes.
   Soft spikes only are required.
   Singles and couples will be obliged to team up with other golfers to make a foursome.
   Mobile/cell phones are not permitted on the golf course.
   Non-golfers are not encouraged to accompany golfers on the course.
   Children are not permitted in the Clubhouse or on the golf course at any time.
   Dress Code: denim, collarless/sleeveless shirts and sneakers are strictly prohibited at Old Head.

BOOKING OF TEE TIMES (required in advance):
    Reservations of Tee Times: Tel: (+353) (0)21 477 8444 ext. 201 & 203,
    or e-mail: reservations@oldheadgolf.ie

NOTES:
• All players' names, official golf handicaps and home clubs must be disclosed.
• Include: names, e-mail address, telephone, fax, number of players, preferred tee time date and time.
• Full payment by Credit Card is required at time of booking.
• Tee-times are not confirmed until full payment is received.
• Confirmation numbers will be issued for each reservation made. Please quote this number as a reference in any correspondence to us regarding a particular reservation.

Cancellations:
• Made 30 days or more in advance of date of play: 50% of the pre-paid green fee is refundable or transferable to another date in the same year.
• Made less than 30 days in advance of date of play: non-refundable and non-transferable.
• All cancellations/changes must be confirmed to Old Head Golf Links in writing, i.e. fax or e-mail.
• No Shows: failure to keep an appointed tee-time without the appropriate written notice (see above) will result in full forfeiture of pre-payment.

Course Closure: Weather tends to close the course at least one day a month, so it’s best to call ahead to check the conditions. In the event of course closure, where the management deems the course unplayable, an alternative date will be offered (based on availability) or payment will be refunded in full.

LOCATION: Old Head Golf Links is set on a promontory, The Old Head of Kinsale, that juts into the Atlantic Ocean south of the town of Kinsale, Country Cork, Ireland.

Hole 12, Old Head Golf Links. Photo © B. Morgan

Driving Directions:
• From Cork city or Cork Airport to Kinsale: From the city center, follow the signs for the Airport (south of the city). From the Airport follow the sign for Kinsale (R600).
• From Kinsale to Old Head Golf Links: Drive out of Kinsale following the signs for Bandon/Garrettstown until you come to the bridge. Cross the bridge following the road around to the right (Old Head is sign posted from here). Exactly 2 miles after the bridge, turn left at the junction. Follow this road for another 3½ miles until you reach the Speckled Door Pub. Head straight on for 1 mile. This will bring you to the gates of Old Head Golf Links.

NEAREST HOME AT FIRST LODGINGS:
    • in Kinsale, approximately 15 minutes from Old Head G. L.
    • near Cork City on Great Island, approximately 40 minutes from Old Head Golf Links.
See: HOME AT FIRST in SOUTHERN IRELAND

COURSE HISTORY:
        Old Head Golf Links opened for play in June, 1997. In a remarkably short time Old Head has become one of the most talked-about courses in the world. Frequently mentioned among the most spectacular golf courses in the world, it is the expressed goal of the management at Old Head to have Old Head ranked the world’s number 1 golf course.

Hole 17, Old Head Golf Links. Photo © B. Morgan

        Old Head was designed by a team that included Dr. Joe Carr, Paddy Merrigan, Ron Kirby, the late Eddie Hackett, Liam Higgins and Haulie O’Shea. Dr. Carr prefers the location of Old Head to the settings of the legendary California linkses at Cypress Point and Pebble Beach. "Old Head," he raves, "has the potential of being the eighth wonder of the world, in golfing terms."
        Old Head’s clubhouse lies by the 18th green with stunning vistas of the Atlantic Ocean and the 150-year-old landmark Old Head lighthouse on the tip of a 220-acre diamond of land, jutting out over two miles into the Atlantic. Beneath this sandstone promontory are 5 caves that have tunneled completely under the peninsula. Most of the former farmland has been converted into the links and practice area. The remaining 40 acres are steep, undeveloped cliffs that rise to 300 feet above the Atlantic, within sight of frolicking dolphins and breaching whales. Fourteen miles further out lies the hulk of the liner Lusitania, torpedoed by a U-boat in 1915 at the cost of 1,200 lives.

THE COURSE & SOME NOTABLE HOLES:
        Comprising of five par 5’s, five par 3’s and eight par 4’s, Old Head extends over 7,200 yards from the championship tees. Each hole has multiple tees, accommodating a variety of skill levels and providing a stern test to the touring pro and high handicapper alike. Nine holes follow the cliff tops, and all 18 holes offer stunning ocean views as well as potential exposure to strong sea breezes, salt spray, and horizontal rain. The weather limits Old Head Golf Links to operations only from mid-April to the end of October.
        Although every hole provides a different dramatic view, some are more memorable than others:

• The par-3 3^rd hole edges the cliffs and threatens watery perdition to balls hit left of the green.
• The signature 4^th hole (427 yards, par 4) is designed with the Old Head lighthouse as the fairway target.
• Similarly, a 200-year-old signal tower guides the way to the green of the par-5, 495-yard 6^th hole.
• Radical sloping of the 12^th fairway toward the cliffs along the left edge challenges your tee shot on this difficult (564-yard) par-5.
• The 258-yard 13^th is the longest par-3 on Old Head, made even longer when the wind is blowing against an approach shot to its elevated green.
• Toughest hole on the course is number 14, a 452-yard par-4 that can play like a 5.
• The tight green placement of the last par-3, the 195-yard 16^th, reminds you that the weather isn’t the only challenge on Old Head.
• But on the 17^th any headwind will remind you that weather is the greatest concern here. (Winds nearing 160mph were recorded at the lighthouse one stormy December in the 90’s.) Its 632 yards can seem endless when sea winds knock down even your longest hits.
• Finishing in style, Old Head’s 18^th (460 yards, par 4) asks black tee drivers to fly it the length of two football fields over a rocky shoreline to reach A-position.

        Amateur players and professional golf reviewers consistently rave about the scenery at Old Head Golf Links. Many think the course—still being tweaked during the off-months—deserves a much-higher ranking that the current 55^th in the world Golf Web has bestowed on Old Head. (Cypress Point and Pebble Beach remain #’s 2 & 3, respectively, and 5 other Irish courses are more highly ranked.) Unchallenging—if difficult to reach—greens, and disappointing fairway turf (rocky with topsoil fill rather than soft, forgiving, well-draining sand-based true links turf) have been cited as design flaws at Old Head. Still, the new course gets top marks for caddie service, restaurant quality, and hospitality to guests. So, let’s make that number 55 with a bullet.   Hole 4, Old Head Golf Links. Photo © B. Morgan.

THE REGION:
        The nearby harbor town of Kinsale is about 7 miles north of Old Head. Few model tourist towns in Ireland are more colorful, offer more restaurants and high quality shops, or provide better access to an international airport as well as to top golf. Cork—Ireland’s 3^rd largest city—is 30 minutes further north. Its historic harbor town, Cobh (formerly Queenstown), is worth a visit if only because of its associations with Irish emigration to America and two great maritime disasters: Titanic (1912) and Lusitania (1915). There’s more fine golf in Cork County, too. Within 40 minutes is Fota Island Golf Club, another important Irish club of recent construction, as well as clubs in Kinsale, Cork, Cobh, Mallow, Mitchelstown, Macroom, Monkstown, and Youghal. Southern County Cork is a fine base for exploring the many fascinating coastal villages of the region, from Waterford in the east to Bantry in the west. Also within reach are several impressive castles a few minutes inland in the county, best known of which is Blarney Castle home of the Blarney Stone tourist mecca.

More information about travel with HOME AT FIRST to SOUTHERN IRELAND.

More information about GOLF IN IRELAND.