a — Golfing Gems on the Emerald Isle —

Lahinch Golf Club, Old Course
            Lahinch, County Clare, Ireland

             "The St. Andrews of Ireland"

LENGTH & PAR: 18 holes
    Championship Blue Tees: 6882 yards, Par 72
   Men’s White Tees:           6559 yards, Par 72
    Men’s Green Tees:          6305 yards, Par 72
    Ladies’ Red Tees:           5364 yards, Par 74

Open & Playable Year Round

GREENS FEES: €145 per round

TEE-TIMES: Required. Course bookings essential and best made prior to US departure for Ireland.

VISITORS welcome weekdays; weekends except Saturdays from 9-10AM and 1-2PM;
                and Sundays from 9-10:30AM and 1-2PM.

MINIMUM HANDICAP: Men—28; Women—36; all players must provide handicap certificates.

FACILITIES:
                Golf Carts: NO
                Pull Cart (Trolley): YES
                Club Rental: YES
                Shoe Rental: YES
                Caddies: YES- €25-€40/bag/round
                Full Bar & Restaurant
                Driving Range
                Golf Shop—Full Service; well-stocked

ALISTER MACKENZIE'S DIFFICULT
11TH HOLE AT LAHINCH OLD COURSE
Lahinch Photo

LOCATION: From central Ireland (western County Tipperary and eastern County Clare), drive southwest on the N7 to Limerick; then northwest on the N18 to Ennis, then west to Lahinch on the N85.

BOOKINGS: Tel:  011 353 65 708 1003 from the USA
                    Fax: 001 353 65 708 1592 from the USA
                    e-mail: info@lahinchgolf.com
        OR reserve a round through HOME AT FIRST as part of your holiday in Ireland!

NEAREST HOME AT FIRST LODGINGS: In Killaloe eastern County Clare, 100 minutes drive from Lahinch.
    The scenic village of Killaloe is on the River Shannon at the southern end of 32,000-acre Lough Derg.
    The village is 15 miles from Limerick City and approximately 30 miles from Shannon Airport.

      More information about HOME AT FIRST's CENTRAL IRELAND TRAVEL PROGRAM


THE HISTORY: Golf at Lahinch began in 1892, when members of the Limerick Golf Club with help from Scottish military officers laid out an 18-hole course upon the vast expanse of sand dunes wasteland at Lahinch.
        In 1894 legendary Scottish golfer, Old Tom Morris (of St. Andrews) was invited to come to Lahinch and suggest improvements. Old Tom was taken with the natural golfing terrain. He believed his course revisions put Lahinch on a par with the great links courses of Scotland. Because of the Old Tom Morris connection Lahinch Old Course is often called the "St Andrew's of Ireland".
        Even with Old Tom’s redesign, the club was not finished tinkering with Lahinch. In 1927 Dr. Alister MacKenzie (Augusta National and Cypress Point are his triumphant USA designs) was brought to Lahinch. He relocated some holes into the dunes and created a number of elevated, undulating greens.

OLD TOM MORRIS
Lahinch Photo

        In 1935, the club renovated the course again, altering several greens and tees. Lahinch continues to be a work in progress, as more modifications are planned or underway for the Old Course.

THE OLD COURSE AND SOME NOTABLE HOLES: Today Lahinch offers two 18-hole courses, the Old Course and the Castle Course, added in 1975. While the Castle Course has a different personality and set of challenges, it will be the focus its own in-depth article.
        Lahinch Old Course, beside being one of the top-ranked courses in Ireland (4th, behind Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, and Ballybunion), is rated 23th in the world outside of the USA by GolfDigest.com. You can expect every hole to offer unique challenges. Here are descriptions of a few of the more interesting of these:

        The 4^th. This most difficult hole on the course is a 428-yard par-4. It requires a drive over a thirty-foot dune to an elevated lie. Here the green is visible over a number of humps and hollows kept as rough. A properly played second shot flies this area and avoids an unseen bunker protecting the front left of the green.

        The 5^th. The next two holes rank among Ireland’s most famous, and both are unique designs of Old Tom Morris. Number 5, called "The Klondyke" (5th) is a short (less than 500 yards) par-five, requiring a blind second shot from a narrow valley over a great sand hill.

        The 6^th. Called "The Dell", number six is a short, blind par-3 played over another high sand hill into a green recessed in the arms of more dunes. It remains one of the most photographed and controversial holes in golf. Completely invisible from the tee, the hole has a white stone indicator moved along the barrier hill that shows the pin position.

        The 11^th. Another short (130 yards) par-3—this time a MacKenzie design—with twin challenges of an on-coming wind from the Atlantic to a protected but undulating green.
        With holes like these, it’s no wonder the Lahinch Old Course has been host to the South of Ireland Amateur Golf Championship annually—since 1895—every September.

LAHINCH OLD COURSE--6TH GREEN, "THE DELL"
Lahinch Photo

THE REGION: Lahinch (population less than 600) is located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean eight miles north of Spanish Point (home of a top-quality 9-hole links of the same name) and three miles west of the market town of Ennistymon. Lahinch town is adjacent to the golf club and is a classic County Clare town of small shops, lively pubs with traditional Irish music, and friendly locals.
        Around the bay to the northwest are the Cliffs of Moher, six miles of limestone cliffs. Almost 700 feet high the cliffs are among the highest in the British Isles.

THE CLIFFS OF MOHER

        Also nearby is a broad, rocky, limestone plateau called The Burren. The unusual landscape is made mysterious by its many prehistoric sites.
        Galway city is within reach to the north, and County Kerry, with its famous coastal peninsulas (and more great links golf courses) is immediately south of County Clare, across the expanse of the Shannon Estuary.
        Inland, eastern County Clare, Limerick and County Tipperary, with their green hills, clean rivers and great lake, Lough Derg, are easily reached. This is the home territory of Home at First’s Central Ireland travel program, an ideal location for travel throughout much of the Republic of Ireland.

Want to learn about other courses throughout the British Isles
including some of the greatest tests of golf in the world?
See our SCOTLAND, IRELAND, ENGLAND, and WALES Course Guides for more information.