Lunchball
Lahinch is the spiritual home of “sporty” golf, a place where Old Tom Morris looked at the massive dunes and essentially said, “Let’s hit over them.” While Alister MacKenzie polished this gem in the 1920s to give us the clever routing we play today, the heart of the course remains the audacious blind shots left behind by Morris. The famous one-two punch of the Klondike (4th) and the Dell (5th)—a blind par five followed immediately by a completely blind par three nestled between two dunes—defies every rule of modern architecture, yet remains infinitely more fun than almost anything built since.
The vibe here is pure Irish magic: rugged, exposed, and famously forecasted by the club’s resident goats. If the goats are huddled near the clubhouse, rain is coming; if they are out on the dunes, you’re clear. It lacks the stiffness of some Open Rota venues, offering instead unadulterated, wild links golf that demands creativity over yardage books. At Lahinch, the ground game is king, bad bounces are part of the contract, and you’re playing the wrong sport if you can’t laugh at the absurdity of the Dell.
Comparison: 5th (The Dell)
The Dell
Lahinch
Prestwick Himalayas
Prestwick Golf Club
Architectural Analysis
Both are controversial masterpieces of the blind shot heavily influenced by Old Tom Morris, prioritizing adventure and anticipation over modern fairness.