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
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