Lahinch Golf Club (Old Course)

Old Tom's Lines Through Lahinch

The Old Course at Lahinch Golf Club began in 1892, when Alexander Shaw, Richard Plummer, and Black Watch officers marked out holes across the dunes on both sides of Liscannor Road. Old Tom Morris arrived two years later and directed play deeper into the sandhills, leaving the Klondyke and Dell as enduring parts of his work.

Charles 'Mo' Gibson extended the sea holes in 1907. Alister MacKenzie then produced a new layout in 1927, adding bold contours and tiered greens that made approach position central to the round.

Martin Hawtree's 1999 modernisation rerouted four holes towards the Atlantic, added two par threes, rebuilt sixteen tees, and reshaped fourteen greens in keeping with MacKenzie's character. He left the Klondyke and Dell untouched.

The course now changes direction repeatedly through dunes, valleys, humps, and hollows. Blind targets ask for trust, while exposed sections bring Liscannor Bay's wind into club selection. The 4th sends the second shot over Klondyke Hill, and the 5th requires a carried tee shot over a dune to a green hidden beyond it.