The Keating Championship at Ballybunion
The Road to Ballybunion Began . . .
As part of a 1987 Scotland-Ireland trip, John Keating Senior and John Jr. played Ballybunion completely unaware that the course and the town would become a constant of camaraderie and competition for the next three-plus decades. With an affinity for all things Irish, John Sr. declared that father-son trip to be the Keating Championship and deemed it to be an annual event so long as it be held on Irish soil. The event expanded to in-laws, and then to friends who’ve accepted the Keatings as an acquired taste. Thirty-nine years later, the Keating Championship, an unheralded major on the golf calendar but an unrivaled week of bucket-list golf and Irish hospitality, continues.
2026 Championship: July 10-16
Competitors: Five-time champion Bob Buesinger returns
to defend his 2025 title against multiple winners Michael Keating,
John Keating, Larry Den, and Scott Templeton, as well as Ray Parris, Marc Boots, and Michael Templeton
Experiencing Ireland's Best
Some 60 players have been to Ireland with the Keatings, playing
links classics Ballybunion, Royal County Down (above), Lahinch, Ballyliffin, Doonbeg, The European Club (now Brittas Bay), Portmarnock, Tralee, Waterville, and Old Head.
"Ballybunion"
"After playing Ballybunion for the first time,
a man would think that the game of golf originated here. "
–Tom Watson
"When I asked for Herb Kohler's instructions on how to build Whistling Straits,
he said ''Make it look like Ballybunion,' and walked away."
– Pete Dye
“If you want perfect fairways, no rough, flat greens and calm balmy days, Ballybunion is not for you. But if you are one of life’s seekers, a Ulysses with three pitching wedges, seeking what lies beyond the western star, go to Ballybunion.”
– Jack Whitaker, Links Magazine
"I have played more than 600 golf courses in the past five years – and the round at Ballybunion was my all-time favorite.”
– Steve Habel, Cybergolf
"I’m with Tom Watson on this one. I’m totally smitten with the wild contouring, ocean views, towering dunes and remarkable variety – no matter what the weather.”
– Joe Passov, Course Rankings
“In golf there are certain places that send emotional charges
through the bodies of avid golfers. Yet even among the select,
few courses boast the romance and awesome power of Ballybunion."
– John DeGarmo, "The Road to Ballybunion"