Old Head Golf Links — Attraction in The Municipal District of Bandon-Kinsale

We played Old Head Golf Links on a cool, cloudy and relatively calm day in late August. This was our third visit to this spectacular venue, and the course delighted one again. Old Head is, simply stated, the most beautiful coastal course I have ever played and the scenery alone makes the course a mandatory stop on our visits to Ireland. The course was in pristine shape, and Ireland's recent drought appeared to have had no effect. The greens were manicured, fast and true. Truth be told, Old Head, at least from the middle tees, is not an overly difficult course and is "fun" to play (in contrast to most of the "bucket list" courses in Ireland, which are VERY, VERY difficult for the 15 handicapper from the United States). There are very few blind shots and the rough, while penalizing, is not unplayable. I played the round with a single ball, which is more a credit to our EXCELLENT caddy (Brian) than to my abilities. The pro shop and the grill/restaurant are also absolutely top shelf. While the merchandise is pricey, its quality is superlative. I still frequently wear a rain jacket I purchased in the pro shop in 2010 (and remember complaining about the price which in retrospect was a bargain). Our post-round lunch was superb. The staff are universally outgoing, knowledgeable and helpful. In a sentence, Old Head is one of the most beautiful "fun" golf courses you can play, and I urge golfers visiting the Emerald Isle to include Old Head on their "must play" lists. It is an...

John my caddy was amazing. Guided me around perfectly. Views were amazing and the course is in amazing shape. The clubhouse and halfway house were awesome also. Range, practice range top notch. From the second I pulled in the people were top notch. I can explain how great that was. Now for the bad part. Rental clubs. They were in great shape, but I requested stuff shafts multiple months in advance. They told me they would try to accommodate. Turns out, they never gave left handed stiff shaft rentals. All they have to do is let me know that, and I bring my own clubs. $500 for a once in a lifetime round, I want the opportunity to play my best. For $500 they could have bought stuff shaft clubs. Also, both Irish courses I played charge considerably more for everything compared to their European counterparts. The pro shop prices are ridiculous. Everything was at least 50% more...

We had the experience of visiting the Old Head Golf Links when we went there for dinner after a friendly local recommended it us while out on a walk. I can only imagine how grate it would be to play the course but we got the experience of its beauty from the restaurant and it’s patio that over looks the course to the lighthouse and sea. The scenery is stunning. We ate inside the restaurant because it was pretty windy when we were there but it also has a very large outdoor patio that has lots of space to sit relax and eat or just take in the views. The food was very good and the staff was very friendly. Our experience of the Old Head Golf Links and restaurant was one of our favourite meals and experiences on our Ireland trip and the memory still comes up every once in a while in our conversations. We all said we would come back here again if we are...