Published
A week of links golf in the west: Lahinch, Doonbeg, Ballybunion and Waterville
Four links courses on the west coast fit into one week with a single driver. Lahinch is 1 h 10 min from Shannon Airport, a 20 minute car ferry joins the Clare courses to the Kerry ones, and Waterville is 1 h 30 min from Kerry Airport. In our own bookings and enquiries, these are four of the courses golfers ask for most: Doonbeg 19 times, Lahinch 11, Ballybunion 8 and Waterville 7.
Why these four, in this order
The four courses run down the coast from north to south: Lahinch and Doonbeg in County Clare, Ballybunion and Waterville in County Kerry. Played in that order, every day moves the party a little further south and nobody drives back on themselves.
Fly into Shannon and out of Kerry, or the other way round, and the week has no long empty transfer at either end.
A sample week
This is a starting point, not a package. The tee times decide the days, and we build the driving backwards from them.
| Day | Golf | The driving |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival | Shannon Airport to a base in Clare, clubs in the boot |
| 2 | Lahinch | Up the coast road, 1 h 10 min from Shannon Airport |
| 3 | Doonbeg | South along the Clare coast |
| 4 | Rest day or a second round in Clare | The Cliffs of Moher and the Burren are on the same road |
| 5 | Ballybunion | Car ferry from Killimer to Tarbert, 20 minutes, then down the Kerry coast |
| 6 | Waterville | A day of its own on the Ring of Kerry, 1 h 30 min from Kerry Airport |
| 7 | Departure | Kerry Airport, or back to Shannon |
The ferry that saves the drive round
Between Clare and Kerry lies the Shannon Estuary. Shannon Ferries runs a car ferry from Killimer on the Clare side to Tarbert in Kerry, and the crossing takes about 20 minutes. The car, the clubs and the party all cross together.
Without it, the road goes inland through Limerick. With it, Doonbeg and Ballybunion sit on either side of a short crossing. Sailings end earlier in the evening outside summer, so we plan the crossing for the day the party moves south, not after a late round.
One car for four golfers and four bags
An Executive MPV takes four golfers with four bags and four cases, so nobody travels with a driver on their knees. Larger groups move to a Minibus rather than splitting across two cars.
Between rounds the chauffeur waits at the clubhouse. The hours the car is held are set out in the quote, and if a round runs long, we agree the extra time with you on the day.
If Kerry is the base
Some parties stay in Killarney for the whole week and drive out to each course. Killarney is 2 h 05 min from Shannon Airport, from EUR 405 for the whole car, and Ballybunion and Waterville are both day trips from there.
The Clare courses are then the longer days. If Lahinch and Doonbeg are on the list, two nights in Clare at the start usually means less time in the car than a single base.
Sources
- Irish Transfer bookings and enquiries, analysis of 8 August 2026
- Shannon Ferries, Killimer to Tarbert crossing (shannonferries.com), read 27 October 2026
- Irish Transfer journey times for Shannon and Kerry airports
- Irish Transfer price list for the route to Killarney