Lahinch was a picture, bathed last weekend in a bright, winter's sun. Indeed conditions could hardly have been more favourable for phase four of a major restructuring programme, which is now in full swing.
This involves a reshaping of the first green; extensive restructuring of the old seventh and eighth holes; work on a new tee and new greens at the 12th and 13th. And as a key element of the process, architect Martin Hawtree was there to check on developments.
There was something decidedly odd about standing on the first tee and looking towards an elevated area of bare sand in the distance, with a yellow, mechanical digger busily moving earth.
Yet members and visitors seemed to cope easily with the disruptions, which included the use of temporary greens.
This has been the way since work began in October 1999 on a phased upgrading of the course which will be completed by spring 2003, at an overall cost of around £2 million.
Hawtree, whose father, Fred, designed the third nine at Portmarnock more than 70 years ago, is attempting to restore Lahinch to how it was after the celebrated Scottish architect, Alister MacKenzie, had left his indelible mark there in 1927.
"It has been a wonderful job for me, probably the highlight of my career," said the man whose work included a total restructuring of Royal Birkdale's greens for the 1998 British Open.
He went on: "It's been a very daunting task, given that there are no existing diagrams of MacKenzie's original work. I have had to use my imagination, trying to envisage how he would have done things. But at the end of the day, there's going to be a fair bit of Hawtree in there."
A proper appraisal of Hawtree's work won't be possible until the restructured course has been in play for at least several months. Some of his changes - at the 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th - have already been experienced, however, by competitors in last year's Cups and Shields finals and in the last two stagings of the South of Ireland Championship.
It is unlikely the completed work will meet with universal approval. But beyond question is Hawtree's quiet determination to preserve the integrity of a very special links, originally designed by Old Tom Morris, back at the end of the 19th century.
Much of its quirky nature will remain, including its notorious mounds at the fifth (Klondyke) and sixth (The Dell), though the green on the par three is to be raised to facilitate better drainage.
Peter Thomson, whose deep knowledge of links terrain was amassed through the winning of five British Open titles, submitted a design to Lahinch which would have eliminated the crossing of the 18th fairway by the existing fifth.
This raised the hackles of members aware of the special appeal of the fifth and sixth, especially to American visitors, who would never get the opportunity of playing such shots on their home courses, because of fear of litigation. At Lahinch, they subscribe to the old Tommy Armour dictum that there is no such thing as a blind shot to anyone with a memory.
In the completed work, the green at the second will be moved to the right, towards the sea, sounding the death-knell for the short third. So, the existing third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, will be played as the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. Then comes the new, short eighth while the remainder of the sequence will be unchanged, though the 12th becomes a par five.
Though Lahinch is currently experiencing a rebirth, traditionalists can rest easy. A wonderfully sympathetic architect is ensuring that it retains its timeless appeal.
