Hogs Head Golf Club

The Finglas Meets Ballinskelligs Bay

The golf course at Hogs Head Golf Club opened in 2017 as Robert Trent Jones II's first original design in Ireland. The project replaced most of the short-lived Skellig Bay course and reshaped the headland on a far larger scale. Sand capping and three coastal fescues were used to create firm, fast surfaces.

The opening sequence follows the Finglas River, a salmon and trout stream that influences the first five holes. The routing then climbs towards Ballinskelligs Bay, where holes 8 through 16 run beside 100-foot coastal bluffs. Wide fairways leave room for changing winds, though the best angle into the greens still matters.

Jones gave the course several distinctive putting surfaces. The par-five 6th has a Biarritz-style green, while the 9th finishes at a small punchbowl. Holes 11 and 14 share a double green, and the par-three 13th has two separate targets so the club can respond to difficult weather on the exposed main green.

The course returns inland for the downhill par-five 18th, bringing the river and Waterville village back into view.