When it was announced that Tralee Golf Club would play host to the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup, it was a match made in heaven for many reasons.
Though the history of the club itself dates back to 1896, it was the 1980 purchase of a stretch of coastal property in Barrow and the subsequent decision to enlist the Arnold Palmer Design Company to create a new, 18-hole golf course that redefined both the club’s fortunes and Palmer’s reputation as not just one of the greatest golfers of all time, but as the figurehead of one of the game’s leading architectural firms as well.
Palmer, affectionately dubbed ‘The King’ for his on-course exploits and playing style, and for his charm, charisma, and friendliness off it, is one of the most influential and beloved figures the game has ever known.
And while the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational on the PGA Tour may be the most recognisable modern-day event that bears his name, it’s the Arnold Palmer Cup which best showcases his ethos.
Pitting the top Collegiate players from the United States against the top Collegiate players from around the world – both male and female – in matchplay, Ryder Cup-style format, the Arnold Palmer Cup is the only major international event where men and women play side-by-side as partners and equals, and, for the 30th staging of the event which was first held at Palmer’s beloved Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Florida in 1997, Tralee Golf Links, arguably ‘The King’s’ greatest creation, is where the drama will unfold.
Palmer famously said that he had “never come across piece of land so ideally suited for the building of a golf course”, and even more famously remarked that he “may have designed the first nine, but surely God designed the back nine.”
Despite instantly becoming one of the finest golf courses – and easily one of the most scenically spectacular – on the planet when the fairways first opened in 1984, the links at Tralee has seldom opened its doors to externally organised events, never mind one of high international standing, but that’s going to change from July 3-5, 2026.
“It’s the 30th year and the 30th edition of the Arnold Palmer Cup, and it was a very fitting event for us to take our first real steps into the international tournament sphere,” said Maurice O’Meara, Tralee Golf Links General Manager.
“The overlap between the Palmer Group and the ‘Palmer’ name made for great synergy for us, alongside the nature of the event and the way it promotes both male and female amateur golf. So, the anticipation and excitement ahead of it is huge here.
“When we were first approached about hosting it, it was easy to say ‘yes’, because it just seemed so perfect for us.
“In March of 2025, we put together a five-year Strategic Plan called ‘Our Club, Our Future’ of which the overall mission is to ensure that we are one of the leading links golf destinations in the world, and one of our core goals was to host a major international event, so this is huge for everyone at the club.”
The Arnold Palmer Cup is jointly run by the Golf Coaches Association of America and the Arnold and Winnie Palmer Foundation, and Tralee Golf Links has never lost sight of the significant role that Palmer and right-hand design man Ed Seay played in making it one of the most highly-regarded golf courses in a nation littered with highly-regarded golf courses.
“We’ve always kept in close contact with the Palmer family, and are now working closely with Sam Saunders, who is Arnold Palmer’s grandson and Drew Donovan, who is Tournament Director for the Arnold Palmer Cup and Tournament Director for the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill,” O’Meara explained.
“They’re great guys to deal with and, together, we’ve put extensive plans in place to ensure that all the logistical requirements are met for the week and that the players, spectators, and guests of all kinds will have the best experience possible.”
Tralee Golf Links will be the sixth Irish golf club to host the Arnold Palmer Cup, following in the footsteps of Doonbeg, Ballybunion, Royal Portrush, Royal County Down, and Lahinch, with the latter staging the event in 2024, and the list of golfers who have competed in it before going on to have glittering professional careers is extensive and littered with major championship winners in both the men’s and women’s codes.
In 2022, Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg was part of the winning International Team in Switzerland, and just over 12 months later was helping Europe to Ryder Cup victory in Rome.
“It’s an extremely democratic event,” O’Meara suggested. “And it fits very much into the modern world because it goes by the rankings so if you’re a college golfer, and you’re good enough, then you’ll get the chance to qualify and play in it.
“And those who do qualify really are the best of the best.
“Spectators who come and watch will see several players who will be on their TV screens in a few years’ time, and, not to be selfish about it, but we are really excited to see how they play our golf course and how our golf course challenges them. And I think a lot of other people will be really keen to see that too.”
Hosting any event requires significant buy in from the club members and the wider community, and, co-ordinating an event in one of the south west’s tourism hotspots in the middle of the summer is no small undertaking.
And volunteers aren’t just welcome, they’re vital.
“The members have been so supportive ever since the idea was first floated,” he said. “The anticipation is really high all across the club, and because this is our first event of this stature, they’re really keen to help out in any way that they can and that’s crucial because without their support and their volunteerism, it wouldn’t be possible.”
While the benefits of hosting an event such as this for members include a wealth of 19th hole talking points, the chance to see future greats in unrivalled up-close-and-personal fashion, and the prestige of belonging to a club whose stature rises as a result, you do lose playing access for the best part of a week in the height of summer.
But, as the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats and, in the months following, the Walker Cup will be held at Lahinch and the Irish Open at Doonbeg, and the Ryder Cup heads to Adare Manor the following year, so the wider region will be very much in the spotlight for an extended period.
“It’s a collective effort really,” O’Meara said. “We’re all really keen to showcase our own courses, of course, but we’re promoting the entire region, and the hope is that we’ll all reap the benefits in the future.
“We’re very proud to be mentioned in the same breath as those other courses, and we believe we’re every bit as good as they are. You could look at us as competitors, but we’re really allies, we all talk to one another, support one another, and we all work closely together.
“I’ve been in regular contact with Paddy [Keane, Lahinch General Manager] for advice following the 2024 Palmer Cup there, and he’s been very helpful.”
As for the golf course itself, Palmer’s famous quip about the back nine is simply too good to ignore, but in a way, it undersells the front nine which boasts similar breathtaking scenery and more than its fair share of excellent holes.
But Tralee are very much aware of the need to evolve and improve and have been making subtle changes to enhance all aspects of the golfing experience over the past few years.
“We laid out an eight-phase master plan in 2019, and five of those eight phases were focused on the front nine,” O’Meara explained. “There were no design changes, but we enhanced the bunkering, the on-course services, the general housekeeping, and phase eight will be completed in February, so the timing is perfect.
“Our greenkeeping team have the course in incredible condition, and the feedback we’ve received from members and visitors over the past few years has been incredible.
“Some of the Palmer Cup organisers were here recently and they were blown away. It helps when the weather is nice, of course, because that’s when any links golf course shines brightest, but with any luck that’s exactly what we’ll get in July.”
Arnie was a man who bled red, white and blue, so the event’s scheduling over American Independence Day weekend is poetic, even if accidental. A competition that bears his name and embodies his spirit, on a golf course that’s among his finest post-playing achievements, and on a weekend befitting the event; it’s not to be missed.
The Arnold Palmer Cup by the numbers
30th staging of the event at Tralee Golf Links in 2026
15 – The United States holds the advantage, winning 15 of the 29 previous editions with Great Britain & Ireland/Europe/Internationals winning 13, and one tie
6 – Tralee Golf Links will be 6th Irish club to stage the event, following Doonbeg, Ballybunion, Royal Portrush, Royal County Down and Lahinch
26 – The number of Irish players who have competed in the event, with Graeme McDowell, Justin Kehoe, Gareth Shaw, Gary Hurley, Stuart Grehan, Olivia Mehaffey, Lauren Walsh, Max Kennedy, and Ryan Griffin each playing in two
14 – Arnold Palmer Cup players have gone on to win a combined 20 major championships
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