OOH LA LA

Our round today will be at Lahinch, just down the road and around the corner from our hotel, and based on all your comments and advice, we are in for a fantastic round of golf. The weather forecast is for rainy drizzle ending at 10am, with rain commencing at 2pm. We have the first visitor tee time of the day at 9:57, so if all goes well and the forecast is correct our round should be bone dry once again.

As always the day starts in the dining room, and today I end up with a second breakfast the waitress thought Jutta had ordered ordered……couple of poached eggs, which I supplement with the usual, adding in some Ayrshire bacon which is delicious here.

We zip around to the course a little early because they have a short driving range and J&S want to hit a few………checked in, and met our forecaddy for the day, and stupid us, after three holes nobody can remember his name. Good young local lad, but his distances, provided without the aid of a rangefinder, are not always spot on, so Jutta and I are using our devices to confirm before we hit. Blind shots are a well known feature of Lahinch, and you are introduced to them in a hurry on the front nine. This is no easy walking course either…….pretty good hiking to get up to many of the greens and tee boxes. But all that said, Lahinch is a wonderful golf course, in terrific condition, and every hole requires the best you have to make par. I am playing off the White Tees at 6,613yds……wind adjusted, more than that, par 72, and J&S are off 5,502yds. par 74.

The course wind through, up, and over the hairy dunes along the shore, with some brilliantly designed holes…….originally laid out by Old Tom Morris, many of the holes have been changed or modified over the years, but #4 and #5 remain untouched from his original design, and are the holes that most will talk about following the round. Hit a good drive on #4, par 5, and all you can see in front of you is a huge hairy dune with a little flag on top……..that is your target line if you want to try and clear the mound and go for the green in two………#5 is next, par 3, and you can see maybe a corner of the green…….the rest is tucked in behind yet another big hairy monster……..what a hoot! The views are just fantastic looking out over the bay, and up the coast to the start of the Cliffs of Moher……more on that later. We all agree that playing this one twice would be worthwhile……we loved it.
Talk about some tough finishing holes…..into the wind….#14 – 451 par 4…..#15 – 439 par 4…..#16 – 192 par 3……..#17 – 408 par 4……..and #18 – 503 par 5…….all played super long……I hit the ball well and didn’t reach a green in regulation (except for the par 3)……..hitting 3 woods and utility clubs for approach shots, I was starting to feel like………hmmmmmm…….which name should I choose?

Following the round we scooted up the coast and did the quick and dirty visit to the Cliffs of Moher…….absolutely stunning……many walks and hikes available along the cliffs, but we just had a pretty good walk on course, and even the mountain goats are happy to head back to the hotel.

We are determined to eat out tonight and our forecaddy, what’s his name, suggested Vaughan’s Anchor Inn, a pub in Liscannor the next village up the coast. We book it, hoping his restaurant recommendations are better than his yardages. It turns out, that this place is a culinary delight…….what a menu……not even close to pub food, except for their signature fish and chips made with 20 year old starter batter and chips (fries) that are cooked in beef drippings……..three generations of Vaughan’s have operated this Inn, and have opened two other locations in Lahinch. J&S order the oysters, and wash them down with a flight of champagne, following that with a local lobster dish…….they are gasping with delight…….don’t know what got into me, but I ordered smoked eels served with beets and a horseradish laced sauce over top….followed that with a filet of Irish beef that was strong tasting, even venison like…….all absolutely fantastic………you know what they say, “If you are ever in the area”…….you must.

So outside of a good nights sleep, that wraps our stay in Lahinch……..tomorrow we head for Killarney which will be our last stop before returning to Dublin next week. We have rounds scheduled at Old Head, Waterville, Tralee, and Ballybunion…….stay tuned. Cheers.