A recent video of U.S. Open Champion Rory McIlroy’s personal practice facility. Just shows that at this level preparation is everything. Love the fact that he can tweak his greens to match the speed of what he is going to be playing in the next major.
(Click here to see video of Rory’s practice facility)
July, 2011
This is a blue collar quirky links course that is nothing short of enchanting. As with so many of the old links courses Lahinch is embedded in a quaint summer resort town-complete with the “vacation trailer park” and probably a carnival midway if you come in the right time of the summer. It sits just a few miles down the road from the famed Cliffs of Moher, Ireland’s version of Mt. Rushmore without the faces.
The village has that quaint Irish seaside character and the course holds a very special place among the great links of Ireland. This is not a rich man’s golfing ground-it is everyman’s golfing ground where all are welcome as long as they love to play golf.
18th Hole and The Town (Photo from http://www.golfclubatlas.com)
The collection of holes is quite remarkable-the original routing was done by none other than Old Tom Morris at the end of the 19th century. But what we see today are the refinements done in the late 1920’s by the esteemed Dr. Alister MacKenzie who designed Augusta National and Cypress Point. There are simply holes here the likes of which you will not see elsewhere. Largest sand hills in Western Ireland except for the back side at Tralee-when my wife first saw the golf course from the edge of town her response was “what golf course”- the players and the greens just seem to be dwarfed by the grandeur of the hills. Now add to the mix windswept hard undulating greens, real Mackenzie bunkering-strategic and intimidating, exposed windy conditions, and an occasional rain squall and you are in for a day of golfing challenges that will thrill and enthrall.
6th Hole Par 4 (www.lahinchgolf.com)
There is certainly no pattern to the routing of the course, you play a five par with a mountain in the middle of it followed by a three par where the green is hidden between two mounds that will remind you of some Grand Old Opry cleavage. Pay attention on this tee because the driving area of the finishing hole literally crosses the driving line toward this green. The next hole has a bunker in the middle of the driving area in which you could hide a herd of very large circus animals (6th hole shown above). And so it goes-one very interesting, very quirky, and very challenging hole after another. When you are done playing this course the first time you cannot sort out the holes in your mind-it is like a Rorschach Test with grass.
New Par 3 (www.dochara.com)
The course was renovated in 2002 and they have added and substantially changed a good number of holes. To my eye a brilliant rehab job-the new holes are a wonderful fit-you would not know the additions were not original if you had not played it before. The modifications just strengthen the character of an already strong test.
Goat Barometer (Photo from JamesT1 flicker site)
And don’t start your day without consulting the town meteorologists-take a look at the goats on the hill above the first tee-if they are scattered about the weather will be fair-if huddled take the umbrella and rain pants. Rain or shine or both, you are in for a real golfing thrill ride this day.
Architect: Allister MacKenzie
Tees Par Yardage Rating
White 72 6559 127
If you would like a printable PDF of this posting including yardage book quality hole-by-hole descriptions of how to play the course click the moegolf logo below.
Better identified by what he does rather than by what he is. He never misses an opportunity for a game of golf, births, deaths, and marriages excepted. Weather is no consideration, but, oddly enough, the quality and design of a course are of paramount importance. Many a Real Golfer has sat on the beach or watched a football match on a sunny day with a third rate course convenient to him. But the same gent would travel miles out of his way to get a game on a first-class course in the most appalling conditions and in the face of the most rabid domestic dissension.
G.A. Finn
Lazy Days At Lahinch
During this holiday season it is a great time to reflect on the sacrifices the men and women of our military are making on your behalf in the active military theaters around the world every day.
The Folds of Honor Foundation provides a vehicle for you to support military families by providing post secondary scholarships to the spouses and children of active military service men and women who have died or been seriously wounded serving our country. You can visit the Folds of Honor Foundation website link below to learn more about this incredible program.
(Click here to visit the Folds of Honor Foundation website)
The Salute Military Golf Association support the rehabilitation of wounded returning service men and women in the Washington Metropolitan Area under the direction of Jim Estes at the Olney Golf Park. They provide free golf instruction, sourcing of assistive devices, and access to golf courses around the area to Wounded Veterans and their family members as part of a return to a normal life in our community. You can visit the SMGA website link below to learn about the fine work of this nationally recognized non-profit organization.
(Click here to visit the Salute Military Golf Association website)
Take this opportunity to support those who are protecting our freedom every day. Click on the “Donate” button on their sites to make a donation to support these great causes.
Chris Millard’s review of Golf Channel’s new ‘Feherty’ program appeared in Golf World this week. After two episodes that I have seen I share his view that this program is too formula driven, overproduced, and not taking advantage of it’s best asset, David Feherty as himself. The Golf Channel people are just trying too hard-they have put together a golf version of the Craig Ferguson Show on steriods. They would be better served, as Millard suggests, to let it be a simple live interview show in the mold of the old “Golf Talk Live”. Likely that corporate dollars will prevail and they will kill this golden goose right out of the shell.
(Click to see Chris Millard’s review of the ‘Feherty’ show on Golf Channel)
Chris Millard
Golf World Magazine
July, 2011
Every once and a while in sports a professional athlete posts a score that mere mortals cannot relate to….it seems beyond human for them to have done it….it reaches so far beyond the pale of what we think is possible.
Roger Bannister running a 4 minute mile in 1954…..Wilt scoring 100 against the Knicks in ’62…..Bob Beamon breaking the long jump record in the 68 Olympics by almost 2 feet……Isner and Mahut playing the fifth set at Wimbledon to 70-68 in a match that was played over 11 hours and 4 minutes……
These are numbers at the time that we could not relate to-they just seemed huber human.
Well Nick Watney shot 27 on the back nine in the third round of the ATT National at Aronimink Golf Club yesterday…..this was not a casual round….it was in a full field PGA event on par 70 course that plays over 7200 yards and has only two par fives.
He scored the back nine in base 3. He took only 11 putts. It was just a routine two pars, six birdies, and an eagle. 8 under on the back nine!!!
Either the greens keeper replaced the cups with suction drains or the pins had duck pin gutter guards on either side of them on every hole.
People don’t contemplate 27 on the back nine at their local Putt-Putt…..even there they would expect a 5 to ruin the card when they get a bad bounce off the windmill and get stymied under the house. Guess there were no clown’s noses or windmills at Aronimink yesterday.
Maybe we could imagine 27 on the back nine at Augusta…..playing EA Sports Tiger Woods 2011 Masters video game…….at three in the morning after a six pack of Red Bulls.
The majority of the pros who played at Aronimink yesterday had 27 on their back nine scorecards by the time they pegged it on the par three 17th with two holes to play.
When asked about the round Nick said, “For some reason……the hole just looked really big on the back nine….”. That explains it……..we just need holes the size of ash cans.
July, 2011
Own your defeats and you will be defined by your victories.
Oakley Golf Ad featuring Rory McIlroy
June 2011
Ron Sirak wrote this column for Golf World the week after Rory’s captivating U.S. Open victory at Congressional. He captures the sentiment that so many of us felt in cheering for this prodigy as he found his ballast between the last two majors. In the same issue the Oakley Golf ad says it all, “Own your defeats and you will be defined by your victories”. I for one cannot wait for many sequels.
(Click here to read Ron Sirak’s column on Rory)
Ron Sirak
Golf World Magazine
June, 2011
Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock did a first rate job with a first rate piece of land. This course is routed through the mountainous dunes north of the Old Links course where the terrain offers lots of elevation changes and visual feature. It was a challenge to start and end the course in the flatlands by transitioning up the towering dunes in the middle of the property and then back down to the clubhouse. Both on the front and back ramp up slowly to the dunes through a series of par fours and then bring you down precipitously fast with one abrupt and dramatic downhill par three. It seems to me that the holes have the right proportion no matter the wind direction-it is evident that certain bunkers are upwind bunkers and others are downwind bunkers.
A fan reflecting the Irish Open held at Ballyliffen in 2018
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Much like the European Club the flow of the holes to the land is marvelous-it just seems like the links belong there. Plenty of room to play in, the dunes just seem to frame the holes without being overly threatening like at Tralee or Enniscrone. They demand plenty of penance for the wayward shot so you must carefully choose your shot lines of approach. The bunkering is just stupendous-mostly the curved edge collection type that seem to gather any approach shot played without conviction. The bunkering is not overdone-usually a few framing the driving area and two carefully placed ones around the greens. The greens are sizeable and have plenty of slope so you are going to get those long sweeping breaks whether you like it or not.
Staring down the dramatic drop on the Par 3 7th at the Irish Open
Embed from Getty Images.
The difficulty in scoring is primarily in the sequence and proportions of the holes. Just three five pars and three par threes makes for a stiff challenge on those pesky par fours. Only one par three on the back gives you two runs of four long holes on that side. The par threes are visually stunning holes-you will not forget them. Make sure to consider the wind when picking your tee length for the day. It is no crime to play at the whites when the wind is up-and that is pretty much all the time. It is plenty hard and more enjoyable if you do not have to kill yourself with 400+ par fours.
170 yard downhill Par 3 5th with Glashedy Rock accent in the background
If there is any criticism of the course is that the end is not that strong. Back in the flatlands the last four holes are a longish par four, two medium par fours and a medium five. Clearly the wind can make these harder but they are not memorable holes for such a distinctive course.
This is just a jewel in the links tiara of Ireland-a must play for anyone who appreciates links golf. Go out of your way to play this one.
Ballyliffen, Northern Ireland
Architect: Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock (1995)
Par Yardage Rating
Gold 72 6884 73
White 72 6466 71
If you would like a printable PDF of this posting including yardage book quality hole-by-hole descriptions of how to play the course click the moegolf logo below.
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