Lahinch Golf Club - The Old Course Part 6

Hole 16

Par 3

195 | 192 | 176 | 128 yards

The walk to the 16th tee reminded me a lot of the other-worldy shagginess of Streamsong in Florida. This area is similar to the teeing ground on the 8th hole with the thickest grass found on the course.

Turning your attention to the hole itself, this is the longest par 3 on the course.  A downhill tee shot must avoid the circle of bunkers ringing the front half of the green.

Your view is definitely dominated by those bunkers.  Aside from that obvious danger, the green here has pretty wicked contouring as well, making simply finding the surface no guarantee for a good score.

The bunker directly in front of the green is not actually green side.  There is probably 12 yards of room over the bunker before the green.

The right front portion of the green should be avoided, even if the pin is located there. A ball hit there can easily run off the green and into the bunker.

A look back from behind the green shows a spine running across the hole separating it into two levels, with the front being the lower half.  Our pin position was probably the easiest you could have on this hole.

Hole 17

Par 4

436 | 408 | 398 | 318 yards

The penultimate hole plays as a straight away hole.  Again the fairway is partially obstructed from the tee by mounding where the walking paths are located.

The proper line here is to favor the left side of the fairway.  A large shaggy bunker sits down the right side, only around 210 yards from the tees.  Hitting into this trap will require at least one extra shot as advancing the ball down the hole from there would be very difficult.

Another feature of this hole is a ridge of mounding running down the center of the fairway.    Even a well placed drive here could find an awkward lie on your second shot on one side or the other of this ridge.  The left side is the largest flat area and then offers the safest angle into the green.

Your second shot must avoid the two front bunkers flanking the hole about 10 yards short of the green.

This large oval green has one additional bunker to the center left.  A shot deep right on your approach is the safest path into the green to avoid any troubles.

Hole 18

Par 5

534 | 503 | 497 | 354 yards

The finishing hole is a par 5 that plays essentially straight away.

The view off the tee is dominated by the town coming in.  The clubhouse is ahead in the distance.  The hole features 2 large bunkers down the left side of the fairway in the landing zone off the tee.   Another 4 bunkers sit further off the fairway  The best played tee shot will be down the right side, as the fairway slopes left.  The bunker visible here is down the right side of the fairway at 180 yards from the tee.

A closer view of the hole.  The caddie said the best line is the Irish flag in the parking lot.  Rick, hit is shot but at the American flag which proved too far left and he found his ball had trundled into the bunker down the left side.

Here you can see the first of 2 bunkers down the left side of the hole.  The other his hidden over the hill.

If you attempt to go for the green in 2 you must negotiate 4 more bunkers framing the edge of the fairway just short of the green.  There is room to run it up the middle though.  If played as a three shot hole, the left side of the fairway will offer the best 3rd shot into the green.

The shot into the green is just slightly elevated.  This green is another very large rectangular shaped hole offering a large target to land, but also allowing a lengthy putting proposition if you are not accurate with your approach.

A view looking back down the hole, with the out of bounds wall down the length of the left side of the hole.  It should not come into play except possibly near the green where it is close enough to be in play on a very poorly hit shot.

I finished my round with 4 straight bogeys.  I did clean things up a bit coming home and carded a 42, for a total of 87.  I felt that to be a really good score for my first time around this very challenging course.

Conclusion

My play was nothing spectacular.  After discovering I lacked any wedges while playing my second shot on the first hole, my primary objective was to stay out of the bunkers at all cost.  Many of the greenside bunkers are so deep that you really need a high loft to get out.  I accomplished my goal, save but once.  I felt happy I was able to escape that bunker on the first try by laying my pitching wedge wide open.  Wedgeless, I struggled around the greens.  I probably surrendered 6 shots or more with poor chipping.    Given the gale force winds, and the unrelenting course I was elated to have carded an 87.

I feel Lahinch is the most difficult course I have ever played.  Particularly hole 3-8 is the most grueling string of unrelenting holes I have played.  They are "hang on and pray" difficult.  That is not to say the other holes on the course are not challenging, as they were still plenty difficult. On many of the more "open" holes, longer approaches, elevated greens and howling winds still make them play far more difficult that their layouts look on paper.  That being said, Lahinch may be one of the most perfect locations to have a golf course.  The ocean side location, tumbling hills and valleys, and brisk Irish weather make for about as truthful links experience as you can find.

Lahinch is not a course to be visited once and mastered.  I could envision truly coming to love this course if I could play it repeatedly.  I have a feeling its secrets can only be excised after getting to know it much more intimately.  For me, a first time visitor, the challenges of its unknowns provided too much for me to feel it offered a fair test that you might find at more "modern" courses.  Lahinch doesn't offer any apologies for this.  It is what is, a classic, that has been around longer than all but a handful of courses in the United States.  The course has evolved for over 100 years.  It  has seen numerous "renovations" and "re-designs" but still retains some of its quirkiness that set it apart from any course I have ever seen.




The Old Course Part 1
The Old Course Part 2
The Old Course Part 3
The Old Course Part 4
The Old Course Part 5

Lahinch Golf Club - The Old Course Part 5

Hole 13

Par 4

279 | 267 | 250 | 230 yards

A short par 4 with plenty of trouble near the green.  This is a drivable hole but missing left or right will found trouble.  The hole falls into a valley off the tee before rising back up to the green. A mound just short of the green will repel shots that come up short of the green.

Looking behind the tee, you have a great view of the ruins of Dough castle, for which Lahinch's other course gets its name, The Castle Course.

Me preparing to tee off on the 13th.

A view of the 13th hole from the 16th tee boxes.  You can see how the hole rises towards the green, with hills to the right and deep bunkers to the left.

Another closer shot of the green from atop the 16th tee.  The green here has 3 distinct tiers from front to back.

The hole can be played more conservatively off the tee.  With its short length an iron is really not a bad play.  it is around 180 yards to the fairway.  From that position you will be above the valley with around 100 yards in.  Anything longer will find an uphill approach to the green.

I hit a tee ball that faded left onto the hills that border the fairway there.  A poor second shot caught the breeze and rolled into one of the deep bunkers left of the green.  It was my first sand of the day and not an easy proposition without a wedge.  I opened the pitching wedge wide and managed to get out but the ball rolled across the green far from the pin.  Two putts later I was in for a bogey.  Something I was happy with given I had found the sand.

Hole 14

Par 4

461 | 451 | 429 | 429 yards

The 14th is a straight ahead downhill par 4.  The focus of the hole has to be the narrow gap to the green.  A single well placed bunker down the right side sits around the common landing zone.  A right to left shot placed just left of that bunker will provide the most run on this long hole.

A closer shot of the aim down the 14th hole.

The fairway has a large shelf running across the hole around 221 yards from the tees.  The hole continues to tumble down towards the hole as you reach the mounds fronting the green.

Lisa takes her second shot into the green.

I hit a good 5 iron from around 200 yards that looked to be on the green.  A large trench runs across the hole as the fairway passes between the mounds.  My ball actually was  short of the putting surface.

As you approach the green you can see how narrow the gap is and how shots not hit long enough will be repelled by the ledge in front of the green.

To add danger, 2 hidden bunkers sit on either side of the green over each of the mounds.  These would only come into play if the pin is tucked into one side.  With a central pin they should not be in play on this large rectangular green which is 35 yards wide and about the same deep.

Walking to the the next tee, when you turn and look back at the 14th green you can also find the one lateral water hazard on the course.  You can also see how large the green is.

Hole 15

Par 4

466 | 439 | 428 | 374 yards

Another long par 4, this one offers a much more intimidating look than the last hole.  A winding walking path crests the hill that hides most of the fairway on this hole which turns left from the tee.

The fairway is actually fairly wide until around 270 yards from the tee.  The bunker you see in the distance down the left is at 270 yards and after that the fairway narrows as you approach the hole.  The best line is a right to left shot aimed at the left edge of the round-roofed green shed in the distance.

As you start to walk up the hole it still looks like a very narrow  hole until you crest the last hill before the fairway.

Once you come over the hill you can see the room you have to land your ball.

I managed to find the fairway though I had a good 200+ yards into the green.  The hole rises slightly the entire length for your second shot.   The green here is turned sideways with a much wider surface to aim at than it is deep.  2 bunkers guard short right, and another sits short left.

I imagine a lot of balls find one of those 3 bunkers with the length of this hole.  I came up short of them with a less than stellar second shot.  I did manage a bogey though on this, the number one handicap.

A look back down the hole from across the green.  Only about half the green is visible here, with the hill obstructing the other half.  Missing long here is a lot safer than missing short.

The Old Course Part 1
The Old Course Part 2
The Old Course Part 3
The Old Course Part 4
The Old Course Part 6

Lahinch Golf Club - The Old Course Part 4

Hole 10

Par 4

441 | 424 | 403 | 362 yards

An intimidating tee shot with a fairway turning left away from the tee, and the landing area hugged by hills on all sides.

Chris tees off on the 10th.  He was a very steady player, whom seldom found trouble around the course.  This was only the second time golfing in about 8 months and his last round was here at Lahinch.  Strange, since he lives in Wisconsin.

A better shot showing the aiming line of the hole.  A right-handed draw would be ideal on this hole.  If played straight, the pink colored house is a good line.

Walking onto the fairway, you can see the fairway is pretty wide.  That is a good thing for if you stray off of it you will find a tough side hill lie in some of the thicker grasses on the course.

The goat from the 8th tee decided to find the leeward side of the hill and was chilling out on the left side of the 10th fairway while we played up.

The approach on your second shot is to an elevated green protected by a large shelf in front of the green, with 3 deep bunkers flanking the hole.  Another bunker sits left of the green.

An extra club is needed to reach this green.  If you can't safely reach here in 2, the best play is to hit short of the bunkers and leave a safer chip up onto the green.  While it looks like there is a back stop to use, there is actually a false back to the green.

A view from behind the green shows the contouring of the green, as it falls off to the right and rear of the hole.  To the left of the green is that deep bunker.

Hole 11

Par 3

170 | 156 | 141 | 105 yards

Hole 11a - 138 | 134 | 131 | 123 yards

Normally, this hole plays as a longer hole with no room to miss, making it another tough par 3. Playing again back into the winds with the ocean in the background, choosing the proper club here is not as simple as you'd hope.

For our round we played the alternate 11th hole,  the 11a.  This normally is a hole played in the winter months only but we got the chance to experience this shorter hole.

The hills in the foreground hide the trouble waiting near the green.  Behind each of the hills is a deep pot bunker protecting the front corners of the green.  Again played into the wind, the best play is to take extra club here and try to use the hill behind the green to kick the ball back onto the green.  This takes the bunkers out of play and allows you to work the ball back left towards any pin location.

You can see short of the green, the hole falls off into a collection area between the bunkers.  This may be smallest green on the course at only around 20 yards wide.

One more view of this green, taken as you leave for the 12th tee.

Hole 12

Par 5

577 | 514 | 494 | 460 yards

The longest hole on the course, the 12th stretches along the entire length of the northern border of the club.  To the left is the Inagh river.

Straight ahead your view is dominated by the towering remains of Dough Castle.  The Castle originates back to the mid 1300s when the O'Connor clan built the first fortress here.  None of that castle remains.  Instead what is ahead of you is from the 1500s.  The castle suffered not from the ravages of war but from poor planning.  Being built on the sandy soil that makes it ideal for golf courses, made for a poor foundation for a building and it suffered collapses numerous times until it was left in ruins.  Dave, our playing partner's caddie said they used to practice wedge shots as kids through the various windows of the ruin.

To your left your view is dominated by the sandy beach and the wind pickets, erected to attempt to hold back the shifting sands from encroaching on the course.  The fairway off the tee has also suffered damages and is currently under repair.

Lahinch's primary concern is to ensure it is in great shape for the annual amateur tournament held here.  To that end, they are willing to effect the playing experience the rest of the year to ensure the course is ready for the tournament.  Understandable, and really not that big of deal when we played.

From the tee, the castle is a good aiming point.  The best line is 10 yards right of the castle.

Apparently the sands don't normally stretch this far inland but the winds have pushed the beach inland and caused the green on this hole to need to be rebuilt several times over the last few years.

The bridge you see in the distance actually has 5 arches, but the 2 to the right have been completely filled in with sand blown in.

Lisa tees off from the forward "tees".  The tee box had been closed and they actually had a matt to hit off, but Lisa chose to tee the ball off the ground.

Modified rules and penalties are posted near the damaged fairway areas.

A view of the hole, turning left as it follows the curve of the river.

The green is protected from long shots in by a series of 3 bunkers crossing short of the green.  The best place to hit here is between the left 2 bunkers where a deep swale collects shots short of the green.  If you are not aggressive, the second shot can be played to whatever distance you are comfortable approaching from.  Very little trouble is present on the hole away from the green.

A view of the sweeping 12th from the 11a tee box.

Another shot of the approach into the green and the bunkers protecting the front.

Played more conservatively, you can lay up short of the bunkers and still have an easy chip over them to the length of the green.  Ensure you hit long enough to avoid the elevated face of the green.  Obviously, also avoid going right into the single green side bunker.

Lisa hits in from very near one of the front bunkers.

The Old Course Part 1
The Old Course Part 2
The Old Course Part 3
The Old Course Part 5
The Old Course Part 6