About Old Head Golf Links
Few golf courses announce themselves the way Old Head Golf Links does. Set on a dramatic headland that thrusts roughly two miles into the Atlantic Ocean near Kinsale, County Cork, the property is ringed by sheer cliffs on three sides. The peninsula has a long past: it once held an Iron Age promontory fort, later a medieval castle stronghold, and the lighthouse at its tip has warned ships off these rocks for centuries. Nearby waters are also tied to the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, a reminder that this stretch of coast has always been wild and unforgiving.
The golf itself is a relatively recent chapter. The course opened in 1997, created by the Murphy family, with a design team that included Ron Kirby, Paddy Merrigan and Joe Carr, along with Tom Hanley. Their brief was less about imposing a layout and more about finding one that the headland already suggested. Routing golf holes along cliff edges, over natural rises and around the old ruins was a bold undertaking, and the result was quickly recognised as one of the great links-style experiences anywhere in the world.
Because the land is so exposed, the setting does much of the work. Ocean views appear from almost every hole, and on many of them the sea is not just scenery but a very real hazard. It is the sort of place where you stop mid-round simply to look around.
👉 View the Old Head Golf Links print at Fairway Prints — minimalist wall art from R349.
The Course Experience
Playing Old Head is an exercise in nerve. Fairways run right to the lip of the cliffs, and several tee boxes sit on exposed outcrops where the wind pulls at every club selection. The par-3 holes are especially memorable, with tee shots played across gaping inlets to greens that seem to hang above the water. Accuracy matters far more than distance here, and even a well-struck ball can be carried off line by an Atlantic gust that appeared from nowhere.
The atmosphere matches the drama. Rounds feel unhurried, with caddies, sea birds and shifting light for company. The clubhouse looks back over the course, and after a round it is easy to see why golfers travel from across the globe to play just once and remember it for decades. The course is private and access is limited, which only adds to the sense of occasion for those lucky enough to walk it.
A Legacy on the Fairways
In under three decades, Old Head has earned a place in the conversation about the finest coastal courses in Ireland and beyond. It has hosted professional and amateur events, and its holes are widely photographed, yet no picture quite captures how the land falls away beside you. That combination of sheer scale, natural drama and thoughtful design is what gives the course its lasting reputation.
For golf enthusiasts, Old Head is a reminder that great architecture often begins with respecting the ground. The routing is simple in spirit, dramatic in effect, and unmistakably Irish.
Bring the Course Home
Fairway Prints has captured the clean lines and headland shape of Old Head in a minimalist design, available as a print, canvas or framed piece, and shipped across South Africa. It is a fitting way to keep one of golf’s most spectacular settings on your wall.
Explore the Old Head Golf Links print at Fairway Prints.
