Review of the Month - July 2023

The purpose of the Review of The Month feature is twofold. Top100GolfCourses has always aimed to salute and encourage those who are putting admirable effort into reviewing the world’s great golf courses. Moving forward, we are also looking to learn from these experts! We’ll be chatting with the month’s star authors and discussing topics such as golf in their area, what they like to see in a strong course review, and of course dig a little deeper into their own winning review.

July 2023’s Review of The Month comes from Matt Williams, who’s thought long and hard about how he might reroute Lahinch Golf Club’s Old Course.

Let's get the big one out of the way first: You suggest that with a better routing, Lahinch may be the best golf club in the world. Be bold and offer a suggestion to do so! Move the clubhouse? Redesign the closing stretch?

Great question, and it’s one I’ve been thinking about ever since I played there. Seeing that the routing was changed with each subsequent architect that touched this course, everyone’s got an opinion.

Here’s mine: Turn the 15th hole into the second hole, the 16th into the third, the 17th into the fourth, and then play the standard routing from holes nos. 5-14. Then No. 2 becomes No. 15, No. 3 becomes No. 16, the Klondyke becomes No. 17, and you play the standard 18th back to the clubhouse (see picture below).

What you lose with this routing is a slight bit of walkability, as we’re adding a longer walk between holes one and two, and between 14 and 15. It also breaks traditional rules with back-to-back par fives and uneven nines. But what you get in return is a much more thrilling routing that leads back to the ocean by the 16th hole, and turns the Klondyke 17th and the 18th into a great closing set of holes, especially for match/tournament play. Imagine going eagle-eagle to win a tournament or a bet? Amazing! With the Klondyke usually being staffed by an attendant directing traffic, this crazy routing could actually work in practice.

Now, for the really bold suggestion…if you reversed the direction of play on the 18th and 1st holes (i.e. move the tee to the green location and vice versa), you’d gain some of that walkability back and would avoid having back-to-back par fives to close the round. The reversed No. 1 would turn into No. 18, and the reversed 18th would be the starting hole, reducing the need to cross the Klondyke multiple times.

You mention several of the blind tee shots featured at Lahinch. They obviously appealed to you, but many dislike such features. Do you think this links can universally appeal, or is it designed to divide opinion?

The scenery and history at Lahinch will inherently have universal appeal, and I think that’s why so many golfers are drawn here. It’s just such a beautiful setting with the surfers on the beach, the buzz of the town, and the local Irish who’ve made their weekend trip out to the coast for some R&R. While I haven’t traveled to Northern Ireland (yet), I found the vibes at Lahinch to be the best in Ireland as it perfectly and authentically coalesced the golf with the surrounding town.

As for the golf, I found the blind tee shots on so many holes to be incredibly charming, and the caddies did a great job of not giving out too much information to spoil the fun. There’s such an old-world charm to hitting your ball over a massive dune and wondering where it ends up. That thrill can appeal to a golfer of almost any skill level, assuming they’ve accepted the fact that golf can sometimes be a game of chance.

I understand why these blind shots may not appeal to all, but there’s a childlike silliness with these blind shots that is akin to mini-golf, which I absolutely love. Lahinch isn’t a course for ball-strikers, it’s one for shotmakers, and that need for constant creativity makes it such a joy to play and really aligns with the qualities I care about most in a great course.

Lahinch features bloodlines back to both Old Tom Morris and Alister MacKenzie...quite a pair! Have you played other courses by this duo? If so, are there comparisons to be made?

While I’ve played a few courses by Dr. Alister MacKenzie, this was my first Old Tom Morris course. I found his holes at Lahinch to be incredibly thrilling, and in talking with the members and staff about the history of the course, they told me his original routing featured even more blind shots over dunes, similar to the Dell and Klondyke. What a joy that would have been to play!

Most of the MacKenzie courses I’ve played are in California, including Cypress Point. While his courses in California are vastly different from Lahinch, there were definitely some design parallels, like the fifth and 18th holes crossing each other (similar to nos. 4-7 at Claremont Country Club), and big plateaued greens on many holes. The biggest difference that I saw between the MacKenzie courses I’ve played and Lahinch was the routing. Cypress Point was a masterclass in routing that plays like a Mozart concerto (except maybe the controversial 18th), and Lahinch left me wanting more from the finishing set of holes.

More intimidating: Dell or Klondyke?

The Klondyke, no question. The tee shot into the fairway on the Klondyke is hard to put into words; it’s almost like hitting into an Olympic snowboard halfpipe that’s no more than 20 yds wide at any point, and the fairway snakes from left to right. There are only a few playable landing areas in the fairway measuring roughly 20 square yards each, and hitting the fairway here is an accomplishment unto itself. The next shot over the Klondyke dune is unlike anything I’ve experienced in golf. It’s near impossible to pick a line (or a club) to hit over the dune, and it's genuinely a “hit-and-pray” situation on the approach shot. However, a well-struck shot funnels down into the approach and green, leaving a great chance at birdie for anyone who successfully navigates those two challenging shots.

The Dell is a much more straightforward hole, as the white rock on top of the dune gives you an ideal target, and the green is essentially a massive punchbowl that will funnel shots down toward the putting surface. For the Dell, it all comes down to club selection on the tee.

The Klondyke requires multiple good, and lucky shots in order to walk away with a par, and that intimidation factor is felt immediately as soon as you step onto the tee.

Now that you're a celebrated "Review of The Month" winner, let us know what factors you appreciate in a strong golf course review!

What an honor! I grew up as the grandson of a PGA club pro, and the son of a greenskeeper, so I’ve been lucky enough to see quite a few golf courses in my time. Usually, there are about 10 key factors I look for in every golf course, the most essential being fun factor, turfgrass condition, and architectural interest. A great course is one that leaves me on the 18th hole with a smile on my face regardless of how I’ve played, and I’ve found it has to have those three things in order to make that happen.

When reading a review, I really want to know about the turfgrass, vibes of the property (casual, stuffy, resort, etc.), fun factor, and standout holes that the reviewer felt when playing. These are the big things that can make or break any golf course, and I love to hear about them before experiencing a course myself.

What's one course that you're excited to write a review for in the upcoming year?

I still need to write reviews for some of the courses I played on my recent Ireland trip, including a couple of spectacular rounds at The Royal Dublin Golf Club and Enniscrone.

I’m also excited to review Torrey Pines (both South and North). I lived in San Diego for six years and was lucky enough to have Torrey as my home course for that time. There are quite a few things about both courses I’d love to get out there to help properly set expectations for folks looking to make a trip out to La Jolla for some golf.