Why it matters
Waterville sits on the Ring of Kerry between Killarney and the Atlantic — a links rebuilt to its modern form by Eddie Hackett in the 1970s and tweaked by Tom Fazio in 2006. Payne Stewart played here the week before winning the 1999 US Open and his statue stands by the clubhouse. The course is dramatic, exposed, and the back nine in particular runs straight along the ocean.
How to play it
Walking only. Caddies recommended for first-timers — the course is genuinely hard to read without one. Two and a half hours by car from Shannon, three from Dublin. Pair with Ballybunion Old or Tralee for a Kerry / Limerick four-day links trip.