Lahinch Golf Club (Old)  *****

Lahinch, County Clare

Nearest main town: Ennis

 

The small town of Lahinch overlooks Lisconnor Bay and the Cliffs of Moher, and its fabric is inextricably interwoven with the life of the golf club - hence its nickname of the Irish St Andrews. It's traditional but very fair, imposing and rewarding, and so natural you'll even see the goats milling around the course. They will tell you the weather forecast - if the goats come off the dunes and are sheltering by the clubhouse, don't bother going out: the heavens are about to open.

The Scots introduced golf to Lahinch in 1893, but it was in 1928 that Dr Alister Mackenzie, who had recently completed work at Cypress Point and was soon after to collaborate with Bobby Jones on Augusto, revised the links. Mackenzie was not allowed to touch two holes, the 5th und the 6th. The former, known as Klondyke, is a long par-4 with a second shot that has to clear a mound very much in the fashion of the 16th hole at South port & Ainsdale. The 6th, 'Deli', is a blind par-3, an unachronism that is not without charm.

The toughest holes at Lahinch are at the end. After the short par-4 13th where a birdie is up for grabs, it just gets better and better. The por5 14th plays to a landing area that serves the 15th as well, before running up to a green guarded on both sides by treacherous hills and Impenetrable rough. You'll need to land the ball on the front of the green at the short par-4 16th before facing up to two cracking finishing holes, with the 18th playing across the 5th fairway.

The course has been subject to modifications, but the many faces of Lahinch are the products of the wind off the Atlantic that whistles through the dunes and the huge rocks and the squalls that rush in on many occasions. Members will soy you can never really work out the nature of this links, but the bottom line is that if you keep it straight and are familiar with bump-and-run shots, then you cannot go too far wrong.

 

Secretary: Mr A. Reardon

Tel: 065 708 1003 Fax: 065 708 1592

Professional: Mr R. McCavery

Tel: 065 708 1408 Fax: 065 708 1592

Playing: Midweek: round €120-€125; day n/a. Weekend: round €120-€125; day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: 1 0.30am-11 pm. Food: Breakfast, lunch and dinner from 9am-9pm. Bar snacks.

Comments: True golfer's course... Classic links made even more enjoyable by the friendly atmosphere... The whole Irish experience is tasted on the par-36th... Great old­fashioned links with very springy turf. .. The village and course as a unit are completely committed to golf. . . A must for all links lovers... Wonderful links with peculiar par-3 ... Great welcome, facilities and course... Intriguing, immensely enjoyable links and very friendly. . . Devilish course with best bunkering ever seen... Remarkable course on choice piece of land. .. Will never forget it.

 

Waterville Golf Links *****

Waterville, County Kerry

Nearest main town: Waterville

 

If it wasn't so alphabetically challenged, Waterville would appear near the top of most lists rather than near the bottom of them. On a western Irish coastline that has brought us such unforgettable giants as Ballybunion and Lahinch, Waterville, located somewhere between the two, has much about it to admire.

Surprisingly, the course is much younger than its neighbours, being opened in 1972 as the realization of a dream for its builder, Irish­American John Mulcahy. He has a hole named after him, the 17th, which is played from an elevated tee to a green that is set amid the sort of uninhabitable gorse and rough from which balls are rarely recovered. It is 153 yards from the white tees and, known as 'Mulcahy's Peak', it is the icing on the cake of a back nine that is both long and demanding.

Waterville has a reputation as a long-hitter's course, but it is interesting to note that from the back tees Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Portstewart, Donegal and even Enniscrone are all longer. With three par-5s, though, it is a long way home, especially when the wind comes buffeting in over the Atlantic Ocean.

There are few more tricky long holes than the 11th, which works its way through the dunes following a thin strip of a fairway before climbing to a green. The 12th, a par-3, is another signature hole. It is played over a chasm that is protected on all sides by vast dunes. It was here in the last century that the local priest would hold secret services at a time when the Roman Catholic faith had been banned.

 

Secretary: Mr N. Cronin             

Tel: 066 947 4102 Fax: 066947 4482

Professional: Mr L. Higgins

Tel: 066 947 4102 Fax: 0669474482

Playing: Midweek: round n/a; day prices on application. Weekend: round n/a; day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: 10.30am-11 pm. Food: Lunch and dinner from 10am-9pm. Bar snacks.

Comments: One of the greatest courses in the world... The best links in the world... Remote, wild and big... Fantastic greens... Remote but worth the trip for some holes of great beauty and thought... Back nine are as good as it gets... Some breathtaking holes... Long, cagey course. .. Back nine a slog.