What to Know About Lahinch, Host of the 2026 Walker Cup

Lahinch Golf Club's Old Course hosts the 2026 Walker Cup this weekend, with 10-player teams representing the United States and Great Britain and Ireland squaring off in County Clare, Ireland. It is a rare back-to-back edition of the event; after this year, the Walker Cup returns to its traditional two-year cycle.

Who designed Lahinch?

Founding member Alexander Shaw and a group of colleagues staked out the original routing when the course opened in 1892. Old Tom Morris reshaped the layout in 1894, and Alister MacKenzie added strategic bunkering and multi-tiered greens in 1927. Around the turn of the 21st century, architect Martin Hawtree rebuilt greens and tees, re-routed four holes closer to the coast and added two new par-3s, while leaving the course's two most famous holes untouched.

Three different architects have reshaped Lahinch across more than a century without erasing what the first one built.

What makes the Dell and Klondyke holes famous?

Both holes date to Old Tom Morris' original design and are famously blind, asking players to fire at a green hidden behind a dune. The par-3 Dell, the shortest hole on the course at 154 yards, takes its name from the hollow the green sits in; players aim at a white stone marker atop the dune rather than the flag. The par-5 Klondyke is named for the 1890s Yukon gold rush, a nod to the size of the sand hill blocking its green.

What else has Lahinch hosted?

Known as the St. Andrews of Ireland for its ties to the town and to Old Tom Morris, Lahinch has staged the South of Ireland Amateur Open, the country's oldest provincial championship, every year since 1897. The club also hosted the 2019 Irish Open, won by Jon Rahm, ahead of which it added a short-game practice area and an indoor training facility called the Academy. Lahinch's second layout, the Castle Course, dates to 1963.