Tralee Golf Club: Tralee

Tralee, on rugged sand dunes astride Tralee Bay in the southwest corner of Ireland, has long been considered the finest design of Arnold Palmer. Working with architect Ed Seay (partner in Arnie’s design firm) and their associate Bob Walker, the layout was fashioned in the early 1980s in the same manner that Norman would later route Doonbeg, by locating greensites and then scouring the landscape to figure out natural fairways that would lead to them. Tralee is a captivating design, starting along high cliffs, like Pebble Beach, and finishing in high dunes similar to those found at No. 17 Ballybunion. Twelve years ago, Brandon Johnson added a new alternate par-3 seventh on land just crying out to be used as a hole. This is Tralee’s first ranking since 2018.