A Very Warm Welcome

It is a great honour for us to be elected as Captains of Lahinch Golf Club for 2023 and we look forward to welcoming all our members, guests and visitors to the Golf Club for this coming year. We are looking forward to a full and rewarding golfing season ahead which we obviously don’t take for granted given the disruption from Covid in recent years. We offer our sympathies to all who were impacted by the pandemic and our support to those in our community who have been displaced by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Championship Course, founded in 1892, was originally designed by Old Tom Morris and further enhanced by the world-renowned course architect, Dr Alister MacKenzie, in 1926. It was returned to its natural beauty, in more recent times, by our current course Architect, Dr Martin Hawtree. It is a true links with many towering dunes, overlooking Liscannor Bay. The ever-changing Atlantic weather provides a variety of golfing challenges and enjoyment to golfers but is also worthy of respect. Indeed, the Club has invested considerable sums over recent years to protect the course from the many storms which roll in from the sea.

Lahinch is the permanent home of The South of Ireland Championship, which was first played in 1895 and has rightly, over recent years, regained its status as the premier Amateur Open Championship in Ireland. The South, as it’s known by many, has been won by Major Champions Graham McDowell and Darren Clarke and by recent Ryder Cup Captain and honorary member, Paul McGinley. Another recent Ryder Cup Captain and three times major winner, Padraig Harrington, won the Irish Amateur Close Championship when it was played at Lahinch.

The Championship Course is currently rated number four in Ireland. Many of the world’s greatest golfers have played the course, particularly in preparation for the Open Championship. We were visited by Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Adam Scott as part of their preparation for the 2022 Open. Two of our Overseas Honorary Life Members, Phil Mickelson and Stewart Cink, have indeed been past winners of that trophy.

We are fortunate to also have the adjacent Castle Course which is a true links with high quality greens and testing and interesting holes. Coupled with our short game academy and our new state of the art indoor teaching facility, it provides golfers with multiple opportunities to hone their skills.

We are especially proud of our Ladies Senior Cup team who have won the Irish Senior Cup on three out of the last four years and are the current title holders.

Lahinch Golf Club was the proud host in 2019 of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open which featured fifteen of the world’s top 50 players and finished with Jon Rahm as the worthy winner. The tournament took place in splendid weather conditions and the week was also memorable for the accompanying festivities in the village. Lahinch has long been known as the St Andrew’s of Ireland due to its proximity to the village and to the knowledgeable and friendly welcome that our golfers and visitors enjoy within the local community. Later in 2019, we hosted the Home Internationals featuring the top amateurs on these islands. Next year, we will host the Arnold Palmer Cup which pitches the top amateur students from the USA against those from the Rest of the World. This will be a terrific opportunity to see the future stars of both the Men’s and Ladies’ professional games.

We extend a warm welcome to all our members and visitors, and we hope to have the opportunity to meet you during your visit to Lahinch in 2023.

Valerie Shannon & Kevin Molony
2023 Captains