Hidden GemWild Atlantic WayGreat Value

Kilkee Golf Club

Kilkee, Co. Clare · Designed by Eddie Hackett / Ken Kearney (1994)

Kilkee Golf Club is one of the oldest clubs in Clare, with golf recorded here from the 1880s. The original nine holes were extended to a full 18 by Eddie Hackett and Ken Kearney in 1994, and the layout they produced combines the original links terrain with a clifftop nine that is among the most dramatic in Munster. Holes 1 and 2 play with the tees looking directly out to the Atlantic; the 3rd overlooks Chimney Bay; and the 4th tee drive is played over a cliff edge. Balls lost to the sea are a real hazard, not just a rhetorical one.

Kilkee town was one of the great Victorian seaside resorts. A paddle steamer service from Limerick opened it to fashionable visitors in the 1820s; by mid-century the horseshoe bay — protected from Atlantic swells by the Duggerna Reef — was attracting Charlotte Brontë, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and in 1896 the Crown Princess of Austria. The bay's natural shelter is what makes the beach so calm while the golf course directly above it can be genuinely brutal in a westerly.

Doonbeg Golf Club is 9 kilometres away; Lahinch 30 kilometres north. The Loop Head Lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula — 90 metres above the Atlantic, maritime origins since 1670 — is 30 minutes by road and one of the finest viewpoints in Clare.

Holes worth knowing

14th (par-4) — the tee shot is played over a cliff edge. A genuine Atlantic drop below; the fairway on the other side looks reassuringly wide until the wind arrives.
23rd (par) — tee overlooks Chimney Bay, a clifftop ravine carved into the headland. The view stops you mid-backswing if you're not careful.

Highlights

Clifftop holes over the Atlantic
Victorian resort heritage
9km from Doonbeg

Good to know

→Drive Loop Head after golf: sea stacks, wild cliff edges, and the Loop Head Lighthouse (90m above the Atlantic, tours daily). One of the most undervisited drives in Clare.
→Doonbeg is 9km south — natural two-course Clare day for those who want to follow a clifftop links with a world-class dunes links.
→The Strand Bistro on the seafront has been family-owned for 130 years: fish and chips, prawn linguine, and a window directly onto the horseshoe bay.
→Naughton's Steak & Seafood is the local's pick for dinner — the chowder is consistently singled out.
→The horseshoe bay's Duggerna Reef protects the beach from the full Atlantic swell. The calm inside the bay looks peaceful from the fairways above; it's the contrast that defines Kilkee.

Visitor Information

Getting There

1h drive

1h 15min drive

Common questions

What is special about Kilkee Golf Club?

Kilkee is a nine-hole cliff-top links perched above the Atlantic on the Clare coast — one of the most dramatically situated small courses in Ireland. The ground hangs above the sea on several holes, with the Kilkee Bay visible throughout. It is raw, exposed, and memorable in a way that no amount of greenkeeping or design investment could manufacture.

Is Kilkee Golf Club reliable to visit?

Kilkee has seasonal restrictions and availability can be irregular outside the main season. Check before visiting in early spring or late autumn. During the summer months it is open regularly and bookable through GolfNow. The nine-hole format means a round takes under two hours — easy to fit around a West Clare day.

What makes Kilkee a worthwhile detour on the Wild Atlantic Way?

Kilkee is on the Wild Atlantic Way between Shannon and Lahinch — a natural stop for golfers driving north from Kerry into Clare. The Kilkee cliffs and bay are spectacular. The town has good seafood. Loop Head Peninsula, fifteen minutes south, is one of the most striking coastal landscapes in the west of Ireland.

How do I book Kilkee Golf Club?

Kilkee books through GolfNow when open. Check availability ahead of a visit, particularly outside June to September.