A Fan's Photo Tribute to Lahinch - New 12th Green Photos Added

[Chip Gaskins]

this to me is the best hole in Ireland...and it has some good ones. 

man it doesn't get any better than this hole.  risk / reward tee shot to a bluff that overlooks the crumpled ground and awesome green complex...and oh yea, the ocean. 

my top ten in the world. 

partrick you are lucky man to play that everyday.

ps, was SFGC that good?  i am playing it in a couple of days for the first time.

[mike_malone]

I'm sorry. I was wrong. # 3 is the hardest hole in the world until you play #6 which is truly the hardest hole in the world.

[Ian_L]

What I love about #6 is that the view from the tee is so unspectacular, that when you turn the corner it all comes at you with even more force.  I think the saddest part about my experience at Lahinch was that both rounds I played I ended up short and right on the Dell, leaving me a relatively dull 2nd to a middle-right pin. 

[Patrick Glynn]

SFGC was amazing. My first AW Tillinghast and it blew me away (I didnt really know what to expect to be honest)

Hole 7 Par 4

411 Blue (only used for Club Championship basically)
366 White

Tee shot is the last blind shot on the course! Only realised this caddying, that all our blind shots occur in the first 7 holes. A great feature at Lahinch is driving up over a dune, but knowing where the fairway lies (if not exactly seeing it)



+ Further up:



The play on this hole is to hit a ~220 tee shot and to hug the left side. This is the view that awaits you from the left semi:



One can see that the green is angled such that you are hitting along the green from the left, and across it from the right. Great strategy IMHO.

This is from 80 yards short:



And this shot gives you an idea of the layout of the hole:



I am very interested to hear what others think about this hole. I personally love the tee shot, but think the green is too severe. I will save further comments until I hear other opinions.

Patrick

[Matt OBrien]

Partrick,
I heard you played PV on your trip also. How was that?

[Ian_L]

Leave it to me to find a bush on a links course .  I had to pitch out from the shrub short/right of the green...

[Patrick Glynn]

To get us through the winter blues, I felt it was time to resurrect this thread (my bad for letting it die)
Hole 8 Par 3

166 Blue
156 White

[Mike Bowline]

thank goodness for the auto-notification of past topics. I had missed the Lahinch posts and I am glad to see it alive again - Thanks!

[Tony_Muldoon]

Great tour, thanks.  I’m enjoying the leisurely pace of this round

The first time you see 8 is another wow moment, you are playing from one high dune to another. 


Overall it’s such a beautiful place.

[Patrick Glynn]

And now for one of my favorite holes in the world. For some reason I don't have a good picture of the tee shot, but I do have some pretty cool pictures & panoramas.

Hole 9
400 Blue
390 White

This is one of the best mid-length par 4s I have played. 9 is also one of the few original, intact MacKenzie holes on the course from the good Doctor's visit.

This is from the start of the fairway.




This is from the ideal position on the left hand side of the fairway, known as "Burke's Corner" by the locals.




This is the green in all its glory, a really tough chip from front right:


Trying to give an impression of its depth & undulations:




I thought this was an interview view of the natural plateau the 9th fairway & green complex rest on, and also gives an idea of the scale of the course (take from the 10th fairway looking back towards the 9th green ~ 200 yards away)


And a cool pic taken from the top of the Klondyke of the upcoming back 9:


Patrick

[Patrick Glynn]

oh and one more sexy pic (pays to live near the course so you can get the best light!)

[Chris Black]

Patrick,
My dad and I were there in July.  Pictures from our trip here:  http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisblack01.
You mentioned that 7 has the last blind tee shot.  Do I remember correctly that the tee shot at 17 is also blind?  Looking forward to your take on the back nine as well.
Best,
Chris

[Patrick Glynn]

Trying to keep up with Tim Bert's thread (I guess the life of a student is busy after all!)

Hole 10

441 Blue
424 White

A friend & GCA member (Ari Techner) recently pointed out to me that Lahinch's front 9 is a rollercoaster ride through large dunes and some of the most dramatic land anywhere. The back 9 is routed through the more "mundane" section of the property, but such is the quality of the design one never feels let down (unlike say the first 6 at Ballybunion)

The tee shot is one of my favorite. The ideal line is the Pink House in the distance, but with driver on this line the fairway is only some 20 yards wide. Interestingly enough, I sometimes use a 3 wood off the tee to the wide part of the fairway, followed by a long iron. I like this idea as most "lay-up" holes are either drive-pitch or 3 wood-wedge type holes.



From 220 out, one can see the fairway begins to narrow. The left side of the fairway also affords the best look at the green.
 & a flatter stance.



From further up the fairway, ~150 yards out. Look at how great that green site is!



A look towards the 9th tee!



One of the great qualities of this hole are the bunkers well short of the green. IF one misses the fairway off the tee, and then compounds the mistake by getting careless with the lay-up, a double or worse can happen quicker than you can imagine. This is from 50 yards short right, those bunkers see a LOT of action.



A tribute to our great greenkeepers here at Lahinch. The mowings line/maintenance meld is as good as can be. The banks are shaved tight, and the collection area to the right confounds the best players and total beginners alike.



The 10th green from the right. Notice the ridge in the middle of the green.



This ridge can catch any second shot that is turning over right to left and feed it into the bunker. Again notice the closely mown grass all around it to feed balls into the trap.

[Jim Nugent]

Really enjoying your photos and descriptions of Lahinch, Patrick.  How do top golfers do on this course?  Can they take it apart, or is it tough for them? 

[Patrick Glynn]

Just found this image in Google Earth. Really shows how Lahinch is part of the town.

[Ari Techner]

Great picture there Patrick.  You can really see how close the course is to the town and to your house    

I am sorry I missed the 9th hole discussion that is one of my favorite Par 4s anywhere.  That green is just spectacular and very unique.   

[Patrick Glynn]

Ari,

As you can attest to, right is just dead on 9

Hole 11 (the original MacKenzie)
~130 yards

Tee Shot:



From the back of the green looking back at the tee:



From the back right corner (what a natural green site!)



From way right, old school bunker:

[Patrick Glynn]

Hole 12 Par 5

577 Blue
514 White

One of my favorite changes Hawtree brought about. The old 12th was a solid par 4 yet somewhat uninspired/lacking interest. This new par 5 moved the green ~ 80 yards further back and to the left. The pictures will show what words can not express, but its a fantasticly routed hole now.

The back tee is very rarely used, only for the Club Championship & The South of Ireland Championship.

The square on view:



Panning to the left/green:


From the front tee - ideally you want to draw it onto the Castle and you can get a turbo boost off the fairway contours.


After a good tee shot you should be around 250 out. Certain people have complained that the green is too severe. The prevailing with is down off the right and it is quite difficult (read impossible) to stop a 3 wood on the green from 250 out. What I maintain is how this is a refreshing change of pace from the modern target golf mentality. One can draw a long iron into the valley pin high right and then 2 putt from there.





From 100 yards short:


Looking back giving an idea of the scale of the hole:

[Brendan Dolan]

I've played Lahinch once and really enjoyed it.  It is just an all around blast to play.

Thought I would share this link, which will hopefully take you to a turfnet video about Lahinch's maintenance practices: http://www.turfnet.com/tv_features.php

you may have to scroll down a bit, I think it is about the 5th or 6th video from the top.

Brendan

[Tom_Doak]

Patrick:

I noticed you skipped over the new alternate 11th hole that Martin Hawtree added.  That was by far my LEAST favorite change to the course ... the 11th is one of the only two original MacKenzie greens still in existence, so I would hate to visit and have to play the alternate.

How often is the alternate green used?

[Deucie Bies]

I loved Lahinch even though the weather was miserable.  I will definitely include it in my next trip to Ireland! 

[Patrick Glynn]

Tom,

I skipped it because I did not have any good pictures of it! I remember having an discussion with you about the merits of both holes, and I realise now just how good the "old" 11 really is. I still like the new 11th but the green surface takes a beating and the MacKenzie 11th has been in play for the last few months. I would imagine it will be there until the June Bank Holiday weekend and the new 11th will be in play for the summer.

I am collecting a few older pictures of the greens at Lahinch, I wish we had the resources you had at your disposal for Pasatiempo's restoration. The one key difference (as I see it) is Lahinch has always have a very evolving layout, there have been changes from 1892 to 1895 (OTM) then Gibson from Westward Ho in 1905, a couple more before MacKenzie's arrival and then Burke's alterations after that.

If you have a minute, could I ask you what you think/thought of:

The bunkers short right of 1
The old 3rd, the Par 3
The double fairway feature on 14/15. I was only 14 when this was changed and to be honest had no appreciation for angles or strategy and just found the holes "easy" because of the wide fairway.

[Patrick Glynn]

Aside:

Thought I would highlight some of the changes Hawtree did at Lahinch with before and after photos.

Links courses, particularly those in Ireland, tend to have quite bland par 5s. The new 2nd straight away sets Lahinch apart, both the tee shots and approach shots are wonderful. I have been researching the history of Lahinch a bit more recently (consulting with my uncle who wrote the book in 1992) and it seems MacKenzie had the original 2nd green more towards the right than the one pictured below. I am unclear as to why exactly it moved, but it was quite a dull green with very little internal contour. I did like the chipping areas around it as there were some lovely closely mown banks but the putting surface held very little interest especially considering it was only a ~500 yard Par 5.

Approach Shot:



Pitch:



Pin High Left:



As opposed to this:

[J_ Crisham]

Patrick,  I enjoyed the old 3rd but you wer either onthe green or screwed. The greenside bunkers were quite severe as was the green and you could see players hitting from bunker to bunker. The old 3rd sure made the old 4th a much easier teeshot than the present 3rd! Probably the most demanding tee shot on the course with a left crosswind or the wind into you.      Jack

[Patrick Glynn]

Trying to resurrect this old topic, mia culpa for letting it tail off...

Great short par 4 to get us up and running again:

Hole 13 Par 4

279 Blue
267 White

A fantastic short par 4 that offers up a change of birdie, or even an eagle. I remember watching Mickelson play here a couple of years ago & loved how he flighted a 3-wood (draw) to run up the angled green.

Tee Shot: Ideally a left-to-right ball flight is needed to hit this green. Notice the big knob just short on the green that will kick the ball right or left, into the carnivorous bunkers on the left.



Approach Shot: This is take from ~80 yards out and gives you an idea of the fantastic green site. The pin middle-right is one of the more accessible as there is a backstop beyond it that can be used to feed balls back towards the hole. If my history is correct, the original MacKenzie green was quite undulating but the members found is (too) difficult and over the years it was flattened. Hawtree's work in restoring this green to the original MacKenzie intent is amongst his finest IMHO.



Chip Shot: the knob in the foreground will kick all but the best drives off into trouble.



Bunkers left of green (deep) - I would consider myself a good bunker player, but would just at only taking 3 to get down from either bunker left of 13.



View of the green take from front right and looking up the green to the left. This front pin is probably the hardest on the green to get anywhere close to.