Course Review: Old Head of Kinsale in County Cork, Ireland

It’s no easy thing, standing up to play a shot in 50 mile-an-hour winds. Add in the fear of being blown over a 300 foot cliff into the raging Atlantic below and golf becomes something of a survival sport.

I was visiting – I say ‘visiting’ because no part of my golf could be described as playing – Old Head of Kinsale Golf Links, in the beautiful Irish county of Cork.

There’s a new par three (the 13th)… perched on the edge of the cliffs… and it’s visible as you drive along the winding road that sweeps elegantly from the neck of the peninsula towards the clubhouse. The sun was out and I stopped to take a photograph of this new addition. Bad idea. My baseball cap was torn off my head and sailed out to sea. As omens go, it didn’t bode well.

Old Head of Kinsale remains one of the world’s most dramatic golf experiences. Laid out on a peninsula that juts into the Atlantic, this is cliff-top luxury golf. Holes flow over the landscape, coming perilously close to the cliffs, with tee boxes and greens threatening to fall towards the crashing waves hundreds of feet below. The peninsula’s red and white lighthouse is a focal point for the entire round, with the 4th green tucked right underneath it and the 18th tee just as close. On 18, caddies will often lure their golfers to the back, black tee for the most dramatic of tee shots and views.

A stunning view from of the 18th green from the clubhouse at Old Head.

Old Head opened in 1997. Its reputation blossomed immediately, which is hardly surprising given the location, the drama and the quality of the course. Playing golf here is like playing on velvet. Now, consider this: when you play the par three 16th, chances are that the green is only a year old. Most winters, the Atlantic storms rise up and rip away the green. It will make you appreciate the maintenance work involved and the devotion of the greenkeepers to keeping Old Head in such pristine condition.

Every hole has a picture-postcard look, flowing over rhythmic fairways to emerald greens and numerous ocean backdrops. Pampas grass frames greens and fairways, and bunkers appear rich and golden. It is close to soporific.

The course is not designed to be difficult. That was never the purpose of Old Head. The key defense will always be from the wind, which changes the course completely, whipping in over the cliffs. Fifty mile-an-hour winds are an exception (any faster and the course is likely to be closed) but you’ll want a breeze to make things that much more interesting.

The Golf Course

There are several tees here, but the white tees measure a very manageable 6,450 yards. At Par 72 you will also feel that the white tees present scoring opportunities, and so they should. The holes have strong shapes, there are fall-offs around the greens and the bunkers are plentiful… but Old Head is always playable. If you don’t hit your shots over the cliffs you’re unlikely to lose a ball.

Old Head has five par fives and five par threes… four of which are perched on the cliffs. That adds a lot of fun and, all told, there are ten tee boxes and greens sitting above the Atlantic. It is far too easy to be distracted by the setting and the views… and the caddie who serves as a tour guide.

The 1st hole is a mild introduction, but the drama kicks of in style on the walk to the 2nd tee. There are some lengthy green-to-tee walks but they really show off the course, and the 2nd is the one that gets the adrenaline pumping. You pass ruins of the old lighthouse until you arrive at a stunning tee box… for the hole doglegs sharply around the cliffs. Lush fairway slides off the land and down to the waves below, and the green has nothing behind it but ocean. The 3rd and 4th follow suit, with greens so close to the edge you worry they might disappear before you reach them.

Holes 7, 12 and 13 are similarly cliff-top bound and your day wraps up with a stunning four hole finish above the ocean. In between are lazy holes, with sweeping curves and elegant shapes. Not surprisingly, they lack the same drama, but they are fine holes nonetheless.

Yes, the wind can blow and the fog has been known to roll in as if straight off a movie set, but Old Head of Kinsale offers the kind of adventure that every golfer has to experience… if only once.

Looking down the fairway at Old Head towards the 12th green.

Key Holes

• Par 4 4th: Razor’s Edge. This par four is straighter and tougher than the beautiful dogleg 2nd hole. At 415 yards it requires a long-ish approach and every shot you take, including your putts, is at risk from the drop to the ocean. The green is pressed into a narrow gap under the lighthouse, only sparkling seas behind.
• Par 5 12th: A big, sharp dogleg skims across the cliffs, with the fairway sitting out of sight above the tee box. You drive at the cliff face and if reach the fairway you should celebrate. But only briefly, for more cliffs threaten your approach.
• Par 3 16th: 163 yards parallel to the cliff top, with the lighthouse providing the backdrop.

Green fees are not cheap. $220-$300 will hurt most wallets but this is as pampered a golf experience as you will encounter in Ireland – both on and off the course. There is also no ‘private’ element so anyone who wants to play the course is welcome to do so… between April to October. Outside those months the Atlantic wreaks havoc, and you could lose a lot more than a baseball cap.

All photos by Kevin Markham