A golf weekend in Cork

Cork makes an unusually well-rounded golf weekend. It has one of the most jaw-dropping courses on the planet, a couple of excellent supporting rounds, its own airport for anyone flying in, and — in Kinsale and Cork city — arguably the best eating in Ireland for the evenings. It is a trip you can sell to a non-golfing partner, which is not something you can say about the Mullet Peninsula.

Old Head is unlike anywhere else in golf: a course laid out on a diamond of rock that juts two miles into the Atlantic off Kinsale, with nine of its holes running along cliff edges the guts of three hundred feet above the sea. It is not cheap and, on a foggy day, it can be a very expensive walk in the mist — so watch the forecast and book for the clearest day you can. But on a good day it is a genuine bucket-list experience, and the sort of place you photograph more than you play. Give it the Saturday and stay in Kinsale that night.

Cork Golf Clubat Little Island is the connoisseur's pick — an Alister MacKenzie design from 1927 with several holes cut through an old limestone quarry on the banks of the River Lee, a proper piece of golfing architecture and far less money than Old Head. Fota Island, a former Irish Open host on an island in Cork Harbour, is the parkland option and an easy, enjoyable round with a hotel on site. For a good-value finish, Blarney (about €50) pairs a decent resort course with the obvious castle stop for anyone travelling with non-golfers.

Kinsale is the base for Old Head and the food — a gorgeous harbour town that takes its restaurants seriously. For easier access to Fota and Cork Golf Club, and a bigger night out, stay in Cork city. Our Cork golf guide has the detail, and the planner will line the rounds up against your dates.