Lahinch

[Michael Dugger]

Hey everyone.  These are from the www.lahinchgolf.com
website.  Aren't these just the coolest images!!!  What a golf course!

1 & 2


3 & 4


5 (dell) & 6


7 & 8


9 & 10


11 & 12


13 & 14


15 & 16


17 & 18

[Sean Walsh]

Thanks for posting these.  I haven't visited the web site and it is a delight to remember my 2003 visit.  Lahinch was the best course I played in Eire.  (I missed Ballybunion, RCD, R. Portrush and Portmarnock).  

Although the pictures do provide some insight into the terrain the elevated nature of them takes away some of the drama.

For instance the green at 1 is dramatically uphill.
The blind drive on 3 is scary.
Klondike doesn't appear that narrow from the tee.
The dell is as enigmatic as ever.
The second to 6 is sharply downhill
12 is reminiscent of 12 at Kingsbarns and 3 at Tasmania Golf club
13 is a wonderful short 4 with a very deep swale short and left of the green.
I found the closing holes solid although not a match for the first 13.  These except for the par 3 sixteenth are played over the flattest terrain of the course.  Much the same as the middle holes of Enniscrone.

Ahh the memories..

Gladly I look forward to experiencing it again in 2007

A must play on any trip to the West Coast.

[Jack_Marr]

For me, this is the best course in the country. I will be joining if I get an opportunity in the future.

[mike_malone]

 I am developing my own style of comparing courses. High on my list is distinctiveness. Why bother playing a new course that is just like every other one.

   Lahinch rates high in "distinctiveness". #3 with the  drive up into the dunes while you stand on a tee with the bay to your left is a good start . Then you have Klondike and the Dell which are incomparable as a duo.

[john_stiles]

Thanks for posting web photos.

As mentioned above, there is quite a bit of vertical movement throughout the course which really adds to the interest of the play.

The ninth is one of the best par 4s on the course, but looks pretty mundane above.  The tee shot needs to be postioned as far and as left as possible for best approach to an elevated green.  Green site has a severe drop on the left and a large false front that sweeps the ball to the left as well.

The fairway helps move the ball left unless you are too far right, or carry too far down the right side with your titanium and pro V.  An approach from the right side of fairway is very difficult.  

We were fortunate to play to a front pin placement which may be the most difficult and fun to approach.

The photo does show the ridge that feeds the tee shot to the left.  Also, you can almost see the great false front at the green as well.

[Jason Topp]

Here is a picture of #9 from the back tee:

[Scott_Burroughs]

What a great set of pics!  

I think they need to work on getting that 1st tee a little closer to the clubhouse, the walk must be a bear!

[john_stiles]

The dell, the 5th, from behind the green



The 7th from fairway and the shot is a little more difficult than indicated


The 8th, par 3, from above & right of green

[Aidan Bradley]

Sorry!!!! Couldn't resist. I'm weak. Pass the Bushmill's............

#12


#8


The Dell #5


#14


#12 Pano


#6

[Matt_Ward]

Can't say enough about the couse -- agree with the demands of the 3rd tee shot -- the canyon bunker in the fairway appears from the photo as more benign than it truly is.

The 4th is also a grand hole -- especially when played from th extreme back tee that forces you to hit over a slice of the 3rd green.

Don't very much care for the Dell Hole. If they lost the rough on the hillsides it would likely play a god bit more fair than what you see now. Landing it near the hole and remaining in that spot is a testament to Divine Providence -- or simply put LUCK -- than a skillful blow.

Nonetheless, Lahinch gives a wide range of joys and is more beguiling than many imagine and that includes Ballybunion / Old IMHO.

[Andy Doyle]

I'm very fond of Lahinch as it was my first Irish links experience (actually my first links experience, period).

Here are some ground-level perspectives from the front 9:

The cool teeshot on #3:


I found the teeshot on Klondyke to be incredibly narrow.  I stood on the tee feeling there was almost no chance to find the fairway (and I didn't):


If you do manage to find the fairway, here is your view:


And if you pull off your second shot successfully, here is your reward:

Yes, that's my ball short and left of the green.  And yes, I chipped it close and made my birdie!

Tee shot on #5 Dell, you can see the white aiming rock.  Over to the right you can also see the tees for 18 which cross over this hole.  Unfortunately I didn't get to play this hole, but had to play to a winter green over to the left:


Cavernous bunker in the middle of the 6th fairway, with the green outlined against the ocean:


You don't want to be in there! (Note the aiming rock!)


Cool drive on #7, similar to #3:


With the approach to the wonderful 7th green.  I think this is one of the places they had to do some significant shoreline stabilizing:


The new 8th, discussed on here as not really "fitting in" with the rest of the course.  I found it difficult in a strong left-to-right wind:


Another view from the tee on #9 showing a little more clearly the oblique ridge in the fairway:

[Andy Doyle]

Lahinch back 9 images:

Intimidating tee shot on the par 5 12th.  Unfortunately they have marked the beach as OB:


With the runup to the green:


Tee shot on one of my favorite holes, the 14th.  You can see the approach to the green between the 2 dunes just to the right of the golfer on the right:


And if you pull your tee shot, here is your approach:


The surprisingly downhill par 3 16th:


Tee shot over the wonderful ground at #18 (now I'm thinking #17):


Making sure to stay out of these:


Time for a Guinness!


Andy

[Matthew Mollica]

What do people think of the square teeing grounds?

MM

[Andy Doyle]

I thought they were fine - seem to fit an old course like this.  There are a number that are somewhat irregular.  Circular certainly would have seemed out of place - don't you think?

Andy

[Kevin Pallier]

What do people think of the square teeing grounds?

MM

MM

Such grounds are popular in the UK - and suit IMO.

Round tee boxes are more commonplace on many modern courses esp: resort one's and wouldn't suit Lahinch.

KP

[Tom Dunne]

I played Lahinch three weeks ago with a couple of members (one of whom was a Benedictine monk!). Both thought the renovation had added 3-4 shots of difficulty to the course. What do you guys think? (It was my first visit to Lahinch.) I did find the course plays very tough on a first-timer. Can't wait to get back--I was a bit disappointed that, as it happened, we could see the flag on the Dell hole! (It was positioned in the extreme right-hand corner of the green....none of us could get close.)

[Andy Doyle]

Tom:

I played as a single and got hooked up with a member and his 2 guests.  I bought a par saver, plus the member was very gracious giviing information and advice about the course.  It was my only experience playing the course, so I have no comparison r.e. the renovation.

Of my 3 rounds in Ireland (Lahinch, Waterville, and The European Club), I scored the best at Lahinch and found it to be the most playable of these as a first-timer.  The conditions were good - windy to me but not really howling.  I was playing well, but not incredibly so - I scored pretty well for me with a lot of chip & putt saves (i.e. not always hitting the greens in regulation).  I always seem to shoot 5-10 strokes above normal when playing a course for the first time, but shot closer to my usual mid 80's at Lahinch.

I was driving the ball pretty well, but still found several holes to be very difficult from the tee - particularly #4 and #12.  I thought the Klondyke was incredibly narrow and hit my tee shot up on one of the dunes to the left.  Managed to find it and recover with a 5-wood over the crossing dune, leading to a birdie with a good chip and putt.  The drive on 12 was very intimidating with the ocean, beach and OB stakes down the left - leading me to take a way too conservative line with my tee shot which wound up way right and long.  Again, there were recovery options that kept me from completely blowing up on the hole.  I found Lahinch to be far less penal than Waterville if you were off the fairway.

I unfortunately didn't get the play the Dell - they were giving it a rest.  Instead, I had to play a small alternate green dug out of the hillside off to the left - a very difficult hole.  I also didn't get to play the new/restored(?) 11th, but played the alternate green (which can be seen to the lower right in the aerial).

Andy

[Ally Mcintosh]

For someone who has lived in Ireland for nine years, I'm ashamed to say that last Friday was my first visit to Lahinch....

... I think I've just played my favourite course in the country - it was an absolute marvel...

I've scanned the other threads and have an idea of some of the work Martin Hawtree undertook but I'd really appreciate someone summarising the entire scope of his work and explaining what the pre-Hawtree routing was.

Holes 3 to 8 must be the most distinctive, fun stretch of holes I've ever played - Not a normal shot amongst them... The back nine may provide the overall better golf holes but there's nothing to match the exhilaration of playing that front nine...

Too many things to list about what I loved...

Perhaps the only (or main) negative I could find (if pushed) was a very small sense of deflation whilst playing the ninth looking down and realising that there are five holes layed parallel to each other on the landward side between yourself and the road. Even though they are not played one after another, this part of the routing was maybe not ideal... Something didn't feel quite right about heading up 15 after playing back towards the clubhouse on 14...

But that's a minor.

I really did absolutely fall in love with this course... As I said, I'd like to know the previous routing and other changes in the detail... and how it played before.

Thanks,
Ally

[Rich Goodale]

Ally

I wrote an essay on Lahinch earlier this year, and as best I could determine, here are the changes that Hawtree made:

1.  Lengthened 2nd, by building a new green geen closer to the town.
2.  Eliminated the old 3rd which was a 157 yard hole uphill towards the middle of the course
3.  Lengthened the 4th
4.  Moved 7th green closer to the ocean to reproduce Mackenzie hole previously lost to erosion.
5.  Built new 8th hole
6.  Built new 11th hole out towards estuary (old Mackenzie green to the left still in use in winter)
7.  Lenghtened 12th by 125 yards by adding new tee
8.  New green on the 15th

The overwhelming consensus is that Hawtree has greatly improved the course, which had been mongrelized by various Committees after Mackenzie left.  Hawtree has restored the Mackenzie feel (that was his brief for the work), "modernized" the course by adding length, whilst keeping the Old Tom Morris' "Klondyke" and "Dell" holes, as well as Mackenzie's esquisite shaort par-4 13th.

That being said, the old course was also a thrill and joy to play.  It was the first course I ever walked 54 holes on (my first visit in 1979), and if I hadn't got so stuck into pints of Guiness and craic in the bar afterwards,  I might have walked 18 more that day.....

Rich

[Thomas MacWood]

Rich
OTM designed Klondyke and Dell? Where did you come up with that information?

[Ally Mcintosh]

The Dell was certainly an OTM hole, Tom... I just read that a minute ago (Lahinch website maybe... short term memory isn't great).

Thanks for doing that, Rich... In the detail, what did Hawtree do?... It was obvious he reshaped a good number of greens and put in a good few new tees... What about the bunkers?... I'm a big fan of the current bunker styles (mainly sand faced fake blowouts with the odd revetted pot bunker)...

Anyway, great stuff! I will be going back soon hopefully...

[Rich Goodale]

Tom

As Ally said, from the Club and other sources which I can't remember off hand.  Of course they could be wrong

Ally

Me too!

Rich

[Thomas MacWood]

I don't believe OTM designed any of the holes at Lahinch, although he did make some minor suggestions.

[Rich Goodale]

I disagree Tom, but that's nothing new.

Perhaps you have mistaken Lahinch for Portrush, where OTM did visit for a day or two in the 19th century but left without recommending any significant changes to the (then) existing course.

[Thomas MacWood]

Rich
No I wasn't confusing Lahinch with Portrush. A golf course at Lahinch had existed for two years when OTM visited in 1894. The Dell was part of the original golf course. At the time of his visit it was reported he was very impressed with the golf course and only made minor suggestions.