Ballybunion's reimagined €10m Cashen course unveiled after two decades in the making

The view from the seventh tee at Ballybunion Golf Club's redesigned Cashen course. Pic: Kevin Markham

A man sat down beside me at the bar in Ballybunion’s clubhouse and introduced himself. I was a fresh face, on my own, and he was interested to hear about my experiences of playing Ballybunion. We must have talked for an hour as we discussed both the Old course and the Cashen. It was 2008, and I had played them both as part of my adventures to play every golf course in Ireland.

My adulation for the Old was expected, but he was particularly interested in my opinions on the Cashen. I had loved it. Big drama, huge dunes, hero shots at every turn, and demands on your golf game that would make many go weak at the knees. Tight fairways, voracious rough and blind shots tend to do that. He told me it was not the most popular of courses with Ballybunion members. It was too difficult and the designer, Robert Trent Jones Sr, had built a links which favoured target golf. That is not what links golf is about. Most interestingly, however, he told me that there was a war chest of several million, which had been put aside to revamp the Cashen. That was in 2008, and the man I was talking to was the late, great Tom Corridan.

Rumours about changing the Cashen have been doing the rounds for years but, as of Thursday, the newly reimagined course, designed by no less a legend than Tom Watson, alongside Graeme Webster, opens to members. 

Looking back, I guess you could say it is two decades in the making, but it’s far more complicated than that. Having a war chest is one thing: finding the right designer, the right opportunity, and the right people to make it happen is something else entirely. And all of this while following the strictest environmental protocols. The golf club, after all, is part of an SAC.

The rebuild began in 2024, and finished almost two years ahead of schedule. That is what happens when things get done correctly, the best people are brought in – in this case, Atlantic Golf Construction – members are excited by the evolution, and trust is established with the necessary outside agencies.

In short, the project has been a huge achievement. It should also be noted that, post construction, habitats have increased by 20 per cent.

I was told more recently that my love of the original Cashen course put me in a small minority – about 20 per cent. The other 80 per cent were not fans. Little wonder, then, that there has long been an underground hum for change. I admit, I like my golf course’s dramatic and challenging, and having seen the new course I feel some of the sharp-edged, unique and demanding character has been removed. Then I balance my own experiences of the course with those of a member playing it every week. 

Shots into the original greens on 5, 13, 14, 15 and 17 were the stuff of nightmares. Absolute thrillers, for sure, but something that – week in, week out – could worm its way deep into your psyche and affect your very love of the game. And let’s not mention the number of balls that could be consumed by the rough.

So, what has changed?

The brief to Tom Watson was to make a course that was more member- and visitor-friendly, with larger green sites, defined surrounds, and more generous landing areas off the tees. It should embrace more traditional links characteristics.

Looking back from the 7th green at Ballybunion Golf Club's Cashen course

Watson has designed courses in North America, Asia, Ireland and England. We may not be familiar with his designs but he has tamed the beast that was the Cashen, and it has been renamed the Watson Cashen course, in his honour.

To the credit of the design team, the layout of the course has changed very little – holes 5 and 7 have swapped order – which emphasises the impressive routing of Robert Trent Jones, but the course has been softened considerably, with more links characteristics. If you want to read that as holes which embrace the ground game, then you are exactly right. Those original greens, perched on precipices, were sworn enemies of bump and run.

Today that is different.

In addition to a major upgrade in course condition – from grasses and irrigation, to pathways and aesthetics – the golfer will find wider fairways, bigger greens, greens with space and forgiveness around them, and less severe run-offs, as well as approaches which have been greatly softened and often raised to welcome the ground game. The rough is less lethal, fairway slopes and shapes have been toned down, and tee shot views have been improved, notably on the 8th, 13th and 18th. Even the bunkering on fairways has been made more obvious, allowing you not only to see it, but to use it as a line off the tee.

The new greens deserve a special mention, and not simply because they have increased in size – from approximately 300m² to 500m². Multiple hole locations are the immediate benefit but the new surfaces have strong if subtle shapes, introducing tiers and shoulders that barge in from the edges, Combined with the wider surrounds and run-offs your short game will be tested constantly. The ledge on the front right of the par-3 6th is decidedly entertaining.

Yes, the course has been softened, made fairer and more enjoyable – more ‘traditional’ even – but please don’t think that means it is easy. It still possesses teeth and some of the biggest dunes in Ireland. The bunkering has been sharpened up with an increase from 36 (30 on the front nine and six on the back) to 53, and while the large fairway bunkers allow plenty of opportunity to escape, the greenside pot hole bunkers demand much more of your skill. 

They are the main threat on approach. Bunkers should be tough hazards and it is a nice balance to see the enhanced playability of the course countered by some penal bunkering. You give with one hand… There are specific changes to note – specifically to green sites – and these are to the 7th (old 5th), 9th and 12th. There is insufficient space here to go through all of the changes – it would require a small book – but these three deserve a special mention.

The 7th green has been pushed even higher up the dune than before, in part to help reduce the climb to the 8th tee, but, off the tee, it is hard to believe that it looks even more daunting than before, even though it will play easier due to the more forgiving fairway. You can see the old green site location, right below the new one.

The 9th sees the biggest change. The green has been brought forward some 40 to 50 yards – allowing more room for the 18th green – which sees a 450-yard par-5 become the course’s longest par-4, at 397 yards. The par of the course changes from 72 to 71. The shaping of the dunes around the green also separates it more distinctly from the clubhouse.

The par-3 12th green has been moved and re-aligned. What was once a narrow green, front-to-back, set on a steep ledge, has been moved 20 yards closer to the tee, and is wide from left-to-right. The green has a tier, front-to-back, with a large bunker centred in front of the green.

I’ll add in a fourth change because the par-5 dogleg 15th is one of my favourites in Ireland, and the changes to the hole are everywhere, from the bunkering to the fairway widths to the green site. The green has been lowered by over two metres and is more accessible than the unreachable parapet that existed before. There is now space to land short and not be repelled. The floor of the valley, deep in the dunes, has been widened; so too the corridor that signalled the dogleg elbow. It is a more shapely and far fairer hole.

Golf should be about enjoyment and as much as I will miss the high-octane thrills of old, there’s no doubting that the Watson Cashen course has playability at heart, and classic links character in its DNA. Strategy remains key but much of the luck once needed is no longer required. Above all, it still possesses a ‘wow’ factor few can match.

The work, at a cost of €10.8 million, is close to being finished – some marram is to be planted, distance markers installed and back tees added – but the course will open for general play, from August 1st.