How Hard is Lahinch?

[Rick Sides]

While vacationing here in Ireland we are staying in the town of Lahinch. I was able to walk Lahinch today while the Irish Amateur was being played here . I have not played it but was wondering if anyone has, how difficult is it? Some  holes had narrow fairways not but wider than 20 yards. The fescue grass was in some spots up to 2 feet. The greens also had a lot of movement. There were a few blind shots and the wind was also up today . I played off a single digit and it looked a bit scary !

[Kevin_Reilly]

Played a bunch of courses last month with my boys and we had an afternoon time at Lahinch with a nice breeze.  It was a very enjoyable round with no extra inherent difficulty.  The blind shots were fun. 


We also played Cashen, and Lahinch is polar opposite in terms of enjoyment.


PS, have dinner/drinks at Vaughn Lodge and thank me later!

[Rick Sides]

Kevin funny you said Vaughns, we passed it this morning . Lahinch looks like a lovely course . The dunes are so large and I love how it’s in the middle of town .

[Ira Fishman]

Rick,


Lahinch is my favorite course in the world, and I do not say that lightly. We played it last month, and they had the rough up and thick in anticipation of the Arnold Palmer Cup earlier this month and the South of Ireland that you visited. But generally the fairways are reasonably wide. It is a difficult course especially for my mediocre game, but I thought Ballybunion meaningfully more difficult.


And yes, Lahinch is a lovely town.


Ira

[Rick Sides]

Ira, Lahinch is a lovely town I could gladly live in my entire life ! What was your favorite before Lahinch ?

[Ira Fishman]

Rick,


I played Lahinch for the first time in 2013 and that trip was what really spurred my interest in gca. I would say that probably Pine Needles, Cog Hill 4 (pre renovation), or Primland were my favorite. Since that first play we have been fortunate to play a number of great courses in the US and the UK&I. I was quite curious if on our play last month, Lahinch stayed as my favorite. It did. I am not saying that it is the best course I have played. It is that I love the routing through the dunes, the quirk, the green complexes, and the overall experience. Favorite is a fully subjective category, but so is Best.


And if you think that you could live in Lahinch forever, you need to visit North Berwick and Dornoch.


Ira

[Rob Marshall]

I loved Lahinch, It was my favorite course in Ireland. I thought Ballybunion, RCD and Royal Portrush all played harder.

[Mark_Fine]

Tell me what the weather is like and I will tell you how hard it is    Was just there again last month.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Hard in what sense? Relative to par? Fun for match play and great surf town.

[Sean_A]

Hard in what sense? Relative to par? Fun for match play and great surf town.

Who is Mark Bourgeois?

Oh, yes, Lahinch is not difficult relative to other GB&I big guns.

Ciao

[John Handley]

Lahinch is an amazing fun course to play.  I have played several times and each one was unique.  I agree with the others, the weather makes the difference. 


One trip we played 36 and the first 18 it was windy and just pissing rain.  We were soaked.  We dried off, ate lunch, drank a few Guinness and went back out.  The rain stopped and the wind shifted. On #11, I had hit a nice 9 iron into the green.  In the afternoon, it was a nuke 4 iron.  So like I said, depends on the weather.


But in the Republic of Ireland, it is my favorite course.  I hope to get back soon.

[Pierre_C]

Rick,
   I've played Lahinch a hand full of times, most recently 2 summers ago. I wouldn't classify Lahinch as a difficult course. A caveat for not being difficult is dependent on wind speed and fescue. My last round I had several shots miss the fairway and found the fescue. The fescue wasn't bad, and I had some luck, so I was able to get my club on the ball.


Lahinch's organic routing makes it fun. In order to play well, I think you need to be comfortable with blind shots. The 4th or 13th hole is the narrowest fairway, while the other fairways are not as penal for a bad shot. The greens are perhaps the most challenging part of the course, a lot of movement.


My favorite stretch of holes are 11 - 13.
11th - great par 3 (wind in play, gigantic mound on left, little to no room for a miss shot on 3 sides of the green)
12th - par 5, great driving hole with risks/rewards depending on the wind.
13th - great short par 4, this hole is all about strategy & club selection off the tee.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Hard in what sense? Relative to par? Fun for match play and great surf town.

Who is Mark Bourgeois?

Oh, yes, Lahinch is not difficult relative to other GB&I big guns.
Ciao

I’m here for the slaps!

[Mark Pearce]

And if you think that you could live in Lahinch forever, you need to visit North Berwick and Dornoch.

North Berwick in Winter does not strike me as somewhere I'd want to live.  It's a quiet dormitory town.  With a great golf course, and a good one.  And a Law.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Good to see Mark B make a rare appearance…. his week in Lahinch with 36 a day and surfing mid-afternoon always sounded like the most enjoyable endurance I could ever dream up…


Lahinch is my favourite in Ireland also…. Portrush the best but I’d have Lahinch in 3rd ahead of BallyB and RCD.

[Mark Pearce]

Lahinch is my favourite in Ireland also…. Portrush the best but I’d have Lahinch in 3rd ahead of BallyB and RCD.

Off topic, I know, but I read that as you having RCD 5th in Ireland?  Do you have Portmarnock 2nd?

[Ally Mcintosh]

Lahinch is my favourite in Ireland also…. Portrush the best but I’d have Lahinch in 3rd ahead of BallyB and RCD.

Off topic, I know, but I read that as you having RCD 5th in Ireland?  Do you have Portmarnock 2nd?

I bounce RCD around anywhere between 3 & 5, Mark yes… BallyB I bounce between 4 & 6 (sometimes I think County Louth deserves a top-5)…. I always have Portrush at 1 (In fact I sometimes have it at 1 in GB&I)… pretty consistently I have Portmarnock at 2.


St Patrick’s has been at 7 since it opened, in some ways because I can’t quite decide how to rank it as it’s very different to the 6 above. Part of that really shows how pointless ranking is.


Carne is 8. One might say that is bias. I say it’s because it has 18 unique holes that are all different to each other. I could easily put it higher. But I don’t.

[Mark Pearce]

Thanks, Ally.

[Jim Hoak]

Lahinch is a wonderful course, but I do not consider it overly-difficult.  It may even be considered fun--which may be somewhat the opposite of difficult.  And its members may be the nicest anywhere--even when measured against the other terrific residents of Ireland.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Interesting stuff. I found Lahinch as difficult as Ballybunion Old. I played them back-to-back twice and scored similarly on both courses. Straight driving is very important at Lahinch. Love them both. I agree. I could happily live in Lahinch.

[Rick Sides]

Lahinch is one of the most beautiful towns I have ever visited. My wife and I have even talked about relocating there one day we loved it so much !