[bbarkley]

One of my favorite short par 4's is the 13th at Lahinch.  The length is just under 300yds.  The safe play is a long iron hugging the left side of the fairway.  This will give the best angle into the triple tiered green.   Anything pushed right will end up in a deep hollow short of the green.  The real enjoyment to this hole I believe is the incredible green complex.  My favorite feature is the "mysterious dune" protecting the front of the green.  I love  how even if one can drive it 250+ accurately, luck of the bounce will still come into play.  I am interested to hear from those who are familiar with the original green complex.  Here is the write up from the Lahinch website....

A temptingly short par four of two hundred and seventy-nine yards,
but much can go wrong. The cavernous pit on the right of the fairway gathers anything pushed a little in this direction, and the green is well protected by bunkers and hollows. The green has three well-contoured tiers to reflect MacKenzie's original intention. A mysterious dune lies just in front of the green and will give pause for reflection and no doubt much discussion.

Now for the photos...

Tee shot....


From 150 out.....


From the right "cavernous pit"...


BW of green complex....


View from 16th tee... (this made a fun 200yd par three)...


My question is... What was "MacKenzie's original intention"?, what is the opinion of Hawtree's changes?  Would the opinion of the green complex differ if it actually played as a long par three.  

[BCrosby]

I've never been to Lahinch, but what a terrific looking hole. Even better is that the hole presents several playing options none of which is obviously the best.

Do we know how much is still MacK?

Thanks for posting the pics.

Bob

[Padraig Dooley]

The only change that Martin Hawtree made was to the green.

The green was changed to the three tier green from one which sloped moderately from back to front.

I much prefer the new green, I think it does reflect the type of green MacKenzie would have designed having similar features to his original ones (9th and old 11th) which are still around today.

I love the hole, beautiful distance, it is an archetype of a par 3 and a half, although a 5 or 6 is lurking there as well, if you're not careful.


A good few years ago a tee was added further back not too far from the old 12th green to lengthen the hole, but it didn't take too long to find out there was greater charm in the shorter length and was abandoned quickly afterwards.

I don't think my view of the green would change if it was a long par 3, it does sometimes play as a long par 3 downwind, but into the normal gale, and when you're down in the mine on the right, it's a good par 5 .

[Paul Jones]

BBarkley,

Thanks for the picture.  I leave on Friday for Ireland and playing Lahinch on Saturday afternoon.  I cannot wait, espically after seeing pictures like those.

Sorry I cannot add any insight to the changes.

Regards,
Paul

[Tom_Doak]

Bob:

It's a great golf hole, one of the best of that length I've ever played.

That's the first time I've seen a picture of the new green.  (The last time I played the course, about half the greens had been redone, but that one hadn't yet.)  MacKenzie's original green was also three-tiered, but it had been flattened by the pro/greenkeeper to make it more fair ... from what I was told the original was perhaps the most severe green on the course.  Looks like they didn't take it back quite that far.  

[Patrick Glynn]

Tom - your knowledge never ceases to amaze me. My Uncle wrote the Centenary History of Lahinch in 1992 and I think you know as much/more about Lahinch's evolution through the ages.

Here are a few pics from different angles of the 13th Green:

Front Right:


20 yards Short:

[Doug Siebert]

I really love that hole too.  I made a possibly ill-advised attempt to drive it last time into about a 35 mph wind.  I took a big cut at it and got out of synch and pushed it about 70-80 yards right of the green, not too far from the 12th fairway.

Even though that's a pretty crappy spot, I still think I was in better shape than my playing partners, all of whom laid up to 100-120 yards well left -- due to wanting to avoid the "cavernous pit" -- and had what appeared to be much more difficult shots with those nasty bunkers short left and the big mound in front to deal with.  From where I was nearly pin high I could just aim behind the green and let the wind pull it in a bit at the back (pin was front, but I wasn't gonna mess with it from where I was)  Its pretty safe back there.

I think if you do try to drive it, just make sure you miss right and play your second to the back of the green unless you are sure you can avoid those bunkers.  I saw a couple doubles made by guys who put their second shots (after the layup) in there and took two to escape when the first ball came out of one bunker just short of the green and then rolled right back in the other one!

Par is a great score on this hole.  I love the tiny par 4s where par is a great score, because that means anything between a 3 and an 8 is possible.

[Michael Ryan]

Ignorance is bliss, as my only time around Lahinch, I was not aware of the "pit" and it's possible pitfalls and hit a 3 wood that ended up about 40 yards short of the green.  I still remember the feeling of a crisp pitch that took a hop and stopped about 8 feet away.  Walked away with birdie.

My question is, is Lahinch similar to some other great courses where your first time around is probably your best chance to score as you have less "fear" of some of the trouble spots lurking?

I have had the pleasure of playing Pine Valley only once, and fared pretty well (79 playing off of a 5 handicap) but I hear that almost any member will give me odds that I can't beat that score on trip #2...of course I'm hoping my host obliges this year with an invite.  

Anyway, hoping to hear about some other great courses where people feel it's harder to get around on their second trip around.  Personally I think places like Winged Foot West, Baltusrol and Pine Tree in FL are always difficult, but there isn't a "fear" of what is now known that sneaks into a golfer's head.

Interested to see what some others think...

Mike

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