Old Head Golf Links: A Championship Round on the Edge of the Atlantic
Old Head is built on a narrow headland that reaches more than two miles into the Atlantic. Nine holes run along the cliff edge, and almost every view brings the sea into the game. The setting is spectacular, but the course is a considered design rather than a scenic walk with golf added.
Old Head Golf Links occupies a 220-acre promontory south of Kinsale, projecting more than two miles into the Atlantic Ocean. The headland is almost an island, with cliffs falling dramatically towards the water and caves running beneath parts of the property. The golf course uses that extraordinary geography, but it also has a clear playing structure: nine holes follow the cliff tops, the others work through the inland ground, and the prevailing sea breeze changes the demands from one side of the headland to the other.
A peninsula course built around the edge of the ocean
Construction began in 1993 and the links opened for play in 1997. The design was a collaboration rather than the work of one architect: Ron Kirby, Eddie Hackett, Dr Joe Carr, Paddy Merrigan, Liam Higgins and Haulie O’Shea brought golf design, playing knowledge, agronomy and construction experience to the project. The links and practice areas occupy about 180 acres, while a further 40 acres of protected cliff landscape frame the course.
The course is par 72, with five par fives, five par threes and eight par fours. The cliff-top holes are its most recognisable feature, but the inland holes provide necessary rhythm and variety. The lighthouse at the tip of the headland is a visual reference throughout the round, and the Atlantic remains visible from all eighteen holes.
Exposure, sea breeze and the precision of a cliff-edge target
The daily setup responds to the prevailing weather, so the same hole can play differently as the wind changes. On exposed holes, the player must judge the height and flight of the ball as well as the line; a conservative target can be more effective than chasing a flag near the cliff. Some greens sit close to the edge, making both the approach and the short game unusually consequential.
The course is designed primarily for walking, and the club encourages golfers to use a caddie. That is more than a formality: local knowledge helps interpret the wind, the ground and the safe side of a target. A round at Old Head is a test of shot-making and judgement, with the scenery intensifying the decisions rather than replacing them.
A modern links shaped by a once-in-a-generation site
The headland was acquired in 1989 by John and Patrick O’Connor, whose ambition was to create an international golf destination on a site that had long been used mainly for rough grazing. Work on the course began four years later, and the opening in 1997 transformed the way golfers viewed the Old Head of Kinsale.
The location also carries a deeper maritime history. The passenger liner Lusitania was sunk off the Old Head on 7 May 1915, with the loss of 1,198 lives. That history belongs to the headland itself and should not be confused with the modern course story; it gives the landscape a gravity beyond its dramatic golf views.
