The south-west is home to some of the best golf courses in Ireland, but ask anyone in the country to rank the most beautiful places to visit, and Killarney will be high up on that list. The town is charming and you are never short of accommodation options.
Alongside, Ireland's full beauty is on display, wrapped up in the Killarney National Park – all 41 square miles of it – and so entwined with the towering MacGillycuddy's Reeks and the shimmering Lough Leane.
Within this park, at the foot of those mountains and running alongside the lough, is the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, home to two swaggering parkland courses: Killeen and Mahony's Point.
The clubhouse sits on the water's edge, the long driveway revealing the club's extra cherry on top: a herd of 700 red deer. It is the last indigenous such herd in Ireland, and they roam the courses freely and come surprisingly close.
A big reputation
The Killeen course has hosted four Irish Opens, with Nick Faldo winning back-to-back titles in the 1990s. It also hosted the men's 2025 European Amateur Team Championship, won by Italy. The place has always had pedigree.
The course's opening holes cling to Lough Leane. I'd suggest avoiding a fade on the dogleg par-4 1st or long par-4 4th, or there will be water in your future. Both greens bring the lough terrifyingly close while the par-3 3rd plays across the water.
It's a powerful introduction to both the lough's and Killeen's beauty. There is so much colour everywhere and it blends with the vibrancy of the Reeks rising above you, an endless display that lured me along, hole after hole.
Killeen has a strong set of holes with a start and finish I won't forget. In the middle, comes the picture-perfect par-3 10th. It plays out into the lough, with the green well protected by water on three sides.
The final hole, played towards the clubhouse, lough and mountains, is also staggeringly beautiful – and yet it may not be the best 18th hole here.
The Mahony's Point course possesses a more relaxed air, a more calming flow. It might be the understudy to the muscular, championship Killeen, but there's no second fiddle here, especially with one of the best finishing stretches in Irish golf.
It may be simpler to suggest that your round will be one of old-school charm. Greens feel more naturally sited, fairways and first cut offer more room, and the bounce in my step resembled more of a stroll. That is the beauty of Mahony's Point.
The finishing stretch
The final run for home on this course is sensational. The closing three holes are part of the original design from 1939 and this is where Mahony's Point and Lough Leane collide impressively
I played the short, downhill par-5 16th knowing that the full beauty of the region would be revealed when I reached the dogleg. The green below has the lough pressing in from behind and the mountains rising to meet the sky. It's an approach shot of sheer joy.
The par-3 18th surpasses even that thrill, for this is one of Ireland's most stunning short holes. You play over the lough's waters to a green cocooned by enchanting pines. Like me, you'll pray for the sweetest of swings.
After my stay at the conveniently located Killeen House Hotel, a round at Beaufort beckoned. Set on the 300-acre Churchtown Estate, this parkland layout enjoys space, elegance and constant views of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks
I enjoyed its lazy, enticing rhythm, especially the par-3 15th next to a 15th-century castle, and the 403-yard SI-2 18th, which doglegs around a lake. A worthy finish to a fine taste of parkland golf.
Play
Killarney
Killeen: par 72, 6,652 yards
GF: €125-€225
Mahony's Point: par 70, 6,371 yards
GF: €100-€175
Beaufort
Par 71, 6,506 yards
GF: €50-€100
Stay
Killeen House Hotel Aghadoe, Lakes of Killarney, Co. Kerry
W: killeenhouse hotel.com
(Prices correct at time of publication in April 2026)
