Why it matters
Old Head occupies a private peninsula south of Kinsale, with cliffs 300 feet above the Atlantic on three sides and a 14th-century light-house at the headland. The course was carved in 1997 by a four-man team led by Ron Kirby. It is unambiguously a spectacle — also unambiguously expensive (the most expensive green fee in Ireland) and divisive among architecture nerds, who note that wind and cliffs do not automatically make a great course. Play it once for the photographs.
How to play it
Cart standard (cart paths between holes are non-negotiable on the cliff terrain). 30 minutes south of Cork airport. Pair with a Kinsale stay — the village is one of the prettier food towns in Ireland — and a round at Cork Golf Club or Bandon Dunes (the Irish one) for a Cork two-day.