Wonderfully natural links but also showcasing the very best in design. It’s a must visit for golfing purists and it’s quite simply, great fun to play.
Lahinch Golf Club Old Course Review
Top 100 Ranking 2021/22 – TBC
Previous Rankings
2019/20 – 32
2017/18 – 28
2015/16 – 26
2013/14 – 23
2011/12 – 16
2009/10 – 11
Summer Green Fees
Round – €240
Visitors: Welcome, but must take at least one caddie per group
Medal Tee: Par 72 – 6,613 Yards
Changes since previous ranking
New Championship Tees on Holes 13 & 18 extending course length to 7066 yards
Significant work was completed on grass surfaces, bunkers and all areas of the golf course ahead of the hosting of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in July 2019
Work completed on the rough as part of the club’s “Environmental & Ecological Policy/Plan.”
New halfway facility opened during 2020.
Extensive repair/maintenance programme of work on coastal defence structure (rock armour).
New practice facilities including driving range tee box complex and the construction of an indoor performance centre.
Lahinch Golf Club Old Course Review
Lahinch played host to a thrilling Irish Open in 2019, won in some style by Jon Rahm. The event showcased the quality of the design and test offered by the Old Course.
The 13th at Lahinch
Golf at Lahnich on the County Clare coast began in 1892 when two officials of Limerick Golf Club laid out 18 holes with the assistance of officers from the “Black Watch” regiment. Old Tom Morris made improvements in 1894 but it was Dr Alister MacKenzie who, in 1927, created the course largely still in play today.
Related: Dr Alister MacKenzie: Augusta’s Designer
The Old Course is one of the finest examples of MacKenzie’s architectural prowess. His use of natural slopes and raised greens created a superb and rugged test of links golf.
Between 1999 and 2003 Martin Hawtree completed a renovation project to bring the striking links into line with the modern game in a way sympathetic to the MacKenzie design. It was a great success.
Related: Top 100 Courses UK and Ireland
A round at Lahinch is an exciting adventure and an exacting test. It’s a supremely natural course and one where every shot in the bag will be tested. The fairways run through huge grass-covered dunes to fast greens with devilish run-offs.
Combine all this with perfect bunker placement, you have a supremely strategic test.
There’s a great mix of holes, some asking for raw power, others for a more subtle approach. The natural contours of the land and the ever-present wind make for a superb natural test.
Assessor Feedback
I strongly feel this is an essential venue for all serious golf course enthusiasts to visit. The overall design is simply so natural but perfectly designed. It’s amazing that 100 years on Alister MacKenzie’s designs can seldom be bettered.
I love the short par-5 5th. Where else would you have a risk and reward in attempting a blind approach to a green over a monstrous dune known as Klondyke?
GM Verdict
Wonderfully natural links but also showcasing the very best in design. It’s a must visit for golfing purists and it’s quite simply, great fun to play.
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