Saturday, Aug 20, 2011 --- Back to Dublin and Portmarnock

We travelled across the country (West to East) to get back to Dublin for our final round at the prestigious Portmarnock Country Club. The forecast was for clear, 68-70⁰ weather. The trip was a lovely one, and we arrived back at our hotel to check-in with a plan for a late lunch and a tee time at 3:00 PM. As we were departing the hotel for Portmarnock (only 5 minutes away), Steve commented to Tim about how warm and sunny it was, and he was going to leave his rain pants packed away (OK, for you literary geeks, I hope you see the foreshadowing here). Tim noted that the warmth almost suited him, but conceded that it was the loveliest day yet.

We took the short drive to the Golf Club, and when we got out of the bus, we all commented how the air temperature had changed and the wind was kicking up – but it was still sunny. We did the obligatory shopping – logo balls, ball markers and the like – only to find when we returned outside (not more than 5 minutes later), it was raining like crazy. We scurried to get our bags under cover and suit up for a rainy day as the clouds had moved in very rapidly and there was no sunshine anywhere to be seen. The vagaries of Irish weather!!

The next thing we noticed as we proceeded to the clubhouse for lunch is that we were grossly under-dressed (see Club Rules below). John Peer who was a shorts-wearing maven throughout the trip had to borrow Marty Lynch’s rain pants to cover up his shorts. We all had to “borrow” shoes from the closet behind the front desk since all of us had merely worn our golf shoes. Now, here is a situation – did you ever see an Irishman with size 14 tug boats? I haven’t, and it appears they don’t exist, which presented quite a predicament for Tim who was negotiating with the Club Sergeant at Arms about whether he would be allowed in the clubhouse for lunch or not without shoes. Finally, they came up with a 12½, and Tim merely flattened the back of the shoes and wore them like slippers. It was quite a sight to see Tim shuffling through this heavily decorated and ultra-fancy clubhouse up the steps to the dining room (PS: no cell phones allowed either).

We got to the first tee suited for wind and rain. Once again, we encountered the quintessential links golf course – some holes along the water (an estuary to some river that ran into Dublin Harbor), goat path fairways (very tight lies were a problem all day), deep bunkers, rough, gorse, etc. However, the course had reasonably wide fairways and they were basically flat. So, the course was definitely challenging but playable. I do not recall a lot of holes, and I would not describe the course as particularly scenic like some of the other courses we played, but it certainly had its charm. John Peer (ever the golf course evaluator and critic) thought it was a wonderful course and most others enjoyed it very much as well.

I thought the 13^th hole offered the nicest vistas and was most fun to play. Honestly, on the 15^th hole, when it started to rain pretty steady, after 8 days of golf, I think our group was ready to just take it in and call it a great experience. Fortunately, as with most Irish weather, we fought the rain for only a couple of holes and the sun reappeared for the 18^th hole – so we got to finish in grand style.

View Behind the 13th Tee at Portmarnock

THE 18^TH AT PORTMARNOCK

By the time we were done, the clubhouse had closed up and our driver wasn’t due back to pick us up for 30 minutes. We were standing in the parking lot of one of the world’s prestigious golf courses, a little wet, a little tired, out of golf balls, thirsty, hungry, but still discussing the course, the holes we liked best and the hole in 1 Chan almost got on the 12^th.

We went to the hotel and met up with Debbie and Chris, who had returned from their trip, and we had a wonderful group dinner at the hotel. It was up early the next morning and off to the airport for the long flight home.

So, here I am at the end of the story not knowing how to finish it.

As the narrator/photographer/historian for the trip, I think I can say that we had an experience that has created memories to last a life-time, perhaps an experience that will be unmatched by any future golf trip. A friend of mine in Kansas City said, “I would rather buy experiences than things.” How true! There are so many remembrances that I wanted to write so that they would not be forgotten, but I am sure there are too many to capture. Things like:

·         The 127 yard green at the European Club where John Peer had an 80 yard (not feet) putt. He sank a 20 foot putt to save a 3-putt.

·         Pat’s caddy commented on one of Pat’s wicked slices at Waterville: “I do believe you’ve hit it out of the country,” as we watched it splash in the ocean 50 yards right of the fairway and 40 feet below.

·         John Emhardt spilling a full glass of Guinness at McGann’s Pub. The locals howled.

·         Emmie had his credit cards cancelled, so he owed everyone everything (pounds, euros, dollars).

·         John Peer had an 80 foot putt at Ballybunion that rolled 150 feet before it stopped off the green and down a swale.

·         Seeing people swimming in the 60⁰ surf on the coast at Lahinch.

·         Pat making the world’s stupidest euchre play in the history of euchre (having called trump, the other team having taken 2 of the first 3 tricks, being the last to play on the 4^th trick with an off suit and a trump in his hand – Pat opted to play the off suit and hold his trump card to make sure he won the last – albeit meaningless – trick.!!! Go figure).

·        Why does JZ like pub food? Because it’s in a pub!! And all its corollaries … Why does JZ like pub music? Why does JZ like pub pictures? Why does JZ like pub waitresses? Wait … it’s not only because they are in a pub.

OK, I will end it here simply using the following Irish blessing that I had the chance to sing for the group while on the bus (ask Pat, it was a pretty good rendition).

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.

                        May the wind be always at your back.
                          May the sun shine warm upon your face,
                       And the rains fall soft upon your fields.
                       Until we meet again …
                       May God hold you in his hands.

So long Ireland. I’ll be back. And until then, I hope the Good Lord sees fit to hold me in his hands.

Friday, Aug 19, 2011 --- Real Irish Golf - Lahinch and Doonbeg

This is the day we are scheduled for 36 holes – 18 at Lahinch and 18 at Doonebeg (optional). We had met some other travelling golfers earlier in the day and they said that Lahinch was their favorite of all the courses – a very tall statement since they had played many of the same courses we had played. It was right down the street from our hotel so the 8:30 tee time on the Castle Course was easy to meet. It was rainy and dreary, and the forecast for the day was not an optimistic one.

We teed off in a light rain that we would battle off and on for the first 14-15 holes. The course was great! On the first hole Stevie Wonder (Wander?) put a 165 yard fairway shot stiff for a kick-in birdie to start the round (and a skin). As usual, there were many good views and challenging holes with notable elevation changes. There was a lot of really thick rough (a swing and a miss did happen on occasion to more than one golfer), but no gorse or heather (remember the distinction?).

Our group had a stellar caddie – Dennis. He worked so hard for all of us and he traversed the cold and rain with only a heavy wool sweater (that thing must have weighed 15 pounds soaking wet).

We played through gorgeous holes and some ruins of ancient castles. Playing this course on a sunny day would have been unimaginably wonderful, and this writer can see why the other itinerant golfers we met said it was their favorite.

The last 4 holes were in a steady rain and driving wind. We were all pretty much worn out from the conditions. The last 4 holes were basically dead into the wind so the 408 yard par 4 Hole 17 pretty much played like a 550 yard par 5. No one was even inside the 100 yard marker in two. Once again, Bob looked like Nanuk of the North and of course Mittens … well let’s just say we all know how he likes cold, wet weather. I don’t think it reached anywhere close to 60⁰ that morning.

The schedule called for lunch at the Greg Norman-designed Doonebeg clubhouse (just about 8 miles away) and 18 for the afternoon with a forecast of more hard winds and rain. Some of us felt like, as the saying goes, “We didn’t come here to get our nails done” and others fell into the “Eighteen holes in the rain is enough for one day” camp. So, Tim (no surprise), Pat and John Emhardt henceforth became known collectively as “The Ladies” with Emmie landing the nickname Buttercup and Pat acquiring the nickname Sweet Pea (of course, the P has a double entendre given his first name and his incident at the Cliffs of Mohr).

On to Doonbeg - at least for the MEN

The MEN (JZ, Chan, Bob, John Peer, Steve and Marty agreed to join us to make 2 threesomes) were off to golf at Doonbeg. This was a wonderful place for many reasons:

• It is very new by Irish standards (only 14 years old) and has an exquisite clubhouse;
• There was a wedding that evening and it apparently involved bride, bridesmaids and guests who were all super models (more on that later);
• The seafood chowder in the dining room was outstanding (very needed on the cold, damp day);
• The caddies were excellent (Marty even got his favorite caddie Maria – or is it caddiette?).

The caddy master asked if we were really going to go out and play in this weather and we assured him we were committed to the entire 18. At that point, the caddies were drawing straws to see who had to go out with us, and John was the unlucky one with me. When one of the caddies hooked up with us and we were introducing ourselves, we went through Marty, Steve, Bob, John, John and Chan. At the last name he repeated “John?” because I suspect he heard a slightly different pronunciation from the previous two John’s. Chan repeated “Chan” to which the caddie questioned incredulously “Sean?!?!?!” most assuredly thinking Chan did not look Irish. We spelled it for him, and then he was on board. I was very glad to have John (the caddy) – he was engaging, knowledgeable and certainly helped with club selection given the weather conditions.

We teed off in a howling wind with hard rain, and Hole 1 was a long par 5 that ended with a green surrounded on three sides by 30-40 foot dunes (Note: the old son-of-a-gun Marty had the long drive on the first hole by far, which he parlayed into a birdie). You can see the dunes in the distance straight-away where the green is nestled – of course the driving rain is obscuring the view.

As good fortune would have it, the rain stopped about the 4^th or 5^th hole, but the wind never relented, as we guesstimated it was in the range of 35-40 mph, which was confirmed by our caddies.  By the back nine the sun had appeared and we had a glorious (recall that means 65⁰ and very windy) afternoon of golf. We all loved the course as it had many scenic holes and was well-designed. My caddy told me that he caddied for Luke Donald who played the course from the tips in a steady rain and high winds (something like we were having that day, but all 18 holes) and shot a 68 (the course record is 67 by Greg Norman)!

 

It has some very interesting holes - #12 with a sandtrap in the middle of the green (below left), and the signature Hole 14 which was a 90-yard par 3, tucked on a hillside, facing straight into the ocean and a 40 mph wind (see below on the right). Chan hit a crisp 7-iron that got blown off course and landed short of pin-high on the hillside on the right. Steve (with advice from the caddie) played an 8-iron back in his stance and nailed a low bullet that got just past pin high. By the time it got there it had no momentum and literally stopped in its tracks 15 feet behind the pin. It was amazing to see such a low, hard-hit shot not roll at all.

Hole #12 Doonbeg

Hole #14 Doonbeg

The finishing hole was right on the ocean with the clubhouse/resort right behind the green. It was a great way to finish with the sun getting low in the west over the ocean.

After the round, the supermodels were sauntering all around the grounds and getting organized for what looked like a rehearsal dinner. One of them had a camera. As we were getting on the bus, one of the super models mistakenly started to come on our bus! She got up the steps and was actually on the bus when we all started being fools and yelling at her to take our picture and join us for a beer etc. Our usually alert bus driver did not close the door fast enough, and she was able to back out with a good laugh – a good laugh for her and a major disappointment for us.

Later that night we had a great dinner in Lahinch town at the Atlantic Hotel (who knew you could get Kashmiri Curry Chicken in Ireland?). It was getting late, and we were walking back to our hotel (less than a mile away), when Pat and Z decided to stop in a bar (as opposed to pee outside the window). The rest of us walked on, but it appears that the two of them were kicked out of the bar within minutes and rejoined us on the walk. Who knows what they did inside, but they are holding to the credo, “What happens in Ireland, stays in Ireland.”



 

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 --- The Venerable Ballybunion

Our third stop on this swing (pardon the pun) was to the well-respected and highly rated Ballybunion – the Old Course nonetheless. The day started on the dreary side with some light rain pelting us on the first few holes. As advertised, most of the first few holes are near the road (with a trailer park and a grave yard of all things) and are a bit unremarkable.

The exception is the second hole, which is a long par 4 with a huge elevation change for the second shot. As I recall, John Peer was the only one to par the hole. There were several “net pars” which cut each other, and John Emhardt (HGB in the fullest sense) invoked an arcane rule that says a par doesn’t get a skin if there are any net pars … whatever.

Hole #2 at Ballybunion from the Tee

Hole #2 Green – View from the Fairway

By the 6^th hole, things started getting interesting. The tee is elevated and there is a view of the ocean in the distance. The left side is covered with thick grass and the right side is out of bounds due to the road and houses on the right. It was Emmie’s “favorite hole”, owing largely to the fact that some old farmer had refused to sell part of his land, and the out-of-bounds protrudes into the fairway partially blocking the approach to the green. Such is the quirkiness (and charm) of Irish golf. Now, the rest of us hit shots into the green safely, but I am thinking by now you have guessed why this is one of Emmie’s “favorite holes.” I suspect a certain farmer would have been whopped with a nine iron had he been standing on his property line at that moment.

The other interesting thing about Hole 6 is that the first group, which Steve was in, saw some dolphins just off shore. They were jumping and spinning – probably laughing at our play.

The scenery improved significantly from Hole 7-18 with outstanding views of the shoreline/cliffs and the rolling dunes that cover this part of the course. Actually the weather was improving as well – the rain had stopped by Hole 5 and the clouds were starting to blow out by the back nine. It was on the par 3, 185-yard, uphill, 8-handicap Hole 12 (below left – note that the green is at the very top center just right of the high dune) that JZ hit a spectacular 3-hybrid (actually, so did Peer and Ruberg). Being so far below the green, we could not see who was close or not. When we arrived, Z breathed a sigh of relief (he was stroking on this par 3) as his ball had travelled 30 feet past the pin. We were all giving him a very hard time about lagging his putt. He calmly stepped up and gently struck the ball, and then immediately said, “Oh, no!” He had mis-judged the slickness of the green as they had dried out and the downhill run. The ball rolled right to the edge of the cup, peaked in the hole and then dropped FOR ANOTHER NET 1 !!! Congratulations Z!!

Hole #12 Ballybunion

Hole #17 Ballybunion

Now, there was some wrangling about the rules and the reason for installing the Net 1 policy at Old Oakland. In the end it was determined by the HGB that the spirit of the Net 1 policy was to make high handicappers pay for stroking on high handicap par 3’s at OO, NOT on some of the most difficult holes on the course (as is the case with a number of par 3’s on these courses). So, JZ was off the hook. Such is the life of the HGB who rules with an iron fist – democracy be damned for all those who wanted another free drink from Z. However, in the spirit of sportsmanship, Z did buy a round for everyone. Thanks Z !!!

Another piece of fun was on the 135-yard, par 3 14^th where Steve had put his tee shot just left into one of those deep swales alongside the green. It was about 3 feet below the green and the pin was tight. There is always the option to putt up the steep hill, but it is not a shot that we have typically in the US. So, in discussion with his caddy, Steve used his familiar line, “I haven’t chipped in all day. Give me the 60 degree.” Steve repeated the line as he lined up the shot, and when he hit it, it felt really good. He then said, “Until now” in typical fashion. The ball rolled right in the cup for a birdie. Well, the caddie was flabbergasted and crying, “He called it. I don’t believe he just did that.” Of course everyone else in the group tried to tell the caddie, that Steve uses that line all the time and once a year he chips one in, but my caddie was loyal to his partner and remained amazed by “the call.”

By the end of the round, the skies were mostly blue. Steve had crafted an even par on the back nine to finish with an 80. The group went shopping in the pro shop to get some memorabilia, and we went to the clubhouse for lunch looking out over the 18^th fairway on an absolutely beautiful afternoon. We compared gifts and other souvenirs. John Peer said that he got Dee a ball marker. (This is my best attempt to vilify John Peer since he is such a steady, high-quality guy unlike the rest of the riff-raff and schmucks on the trip – yes, recall even Chan got corrupted.)

After Ballybunion we had some time, so our really nice driver took us to the Cliffs of Mohr. It’s quite a sight to be on top of 800 foot cliffs peering down into the Ocean. While there, some aforementioned riff-raff had been drinking too much beer on the bus and had to release some of it back into the environment. They made a good faith effort to find a restroom, but the facility had closed as we arrived just after 6PM. So, one unscrupulous lawyer decided to go around back to get out of site to do the deed. He was joined by another drinking buddy (who will remain unnamed but had a penchant for Net 1’s). What they didn’t realize is that they were peeing near a window … yes, the window of the Manager’s Office. Inside a nice young Irish lady was pounding on the window waving her hands frantically. Did you ever try to stop peeing in midstream? It ain’t easy, but these guys shut ‘er down right quick. I wasn’t able to get a picture of the said lawyer in his new bracelets as he was escorted away (just kidding).



The evening was spent in a real Irish Pub – McGann’s. It was very crowded, just like you see in the pictures – low ceilings, noisy, lots of beer and food. We weren’t sure if we could get a table to eat dinner (it was 8:50 by then), but we suspect our favorite Irish driver Martin pulled some strings and suddenly in the back a table for 10 appeared. We ordered food quickly – mostly fish and chips and lamb shank – and it was delivered equally quickly (by 9:00!!). Then some music broke out about 9:30 PM and we listened in for a while before heading back to the Lahinch hotel.

Wednesday, Aug 17, 2011 --- Waterville, The Favorite of Payne Stewart

We arrived to another glorious day – windy but mostly sunny. Now, I say “glorious day” because the Irish standard is high temperatures in the mid-60’s with intermittent clouds and even a spontaneous light shower for a few minutes (note that we were never out of the 60’s at any point on our trip and most of the time we were at 65⁰ or less - down to 50⁰ at some points). We were greeted by the club Captain (all the courses have one of these) who made sure we had everything we needed. We were told that Payne Stewart liked to come here to play, and so he is memorialized in a statue behind the clubhouse near the putting green.

The course was another links course with all the aforementioned challenges, except the fairways were a little more generous and flat, the elevation changes a little less dramatic and the bunkers a little less intimidating. All agreed that it was a very playable. The scenery was also striking at points, but the course also had some inland holes that were more protected from the wind.

Now, we all know golf is a dangerous sport and the risk of serious injury is not trivial. To that end, Steve had decided to forego a caddy and get a trolley (aka pull cart) – one of the old, two-wheel kind. Of course, the preferred mechanism is to pull the cart, but one can also turn it around and push it. (OK, get ready, I am about to vilify myself.) As Steve was pushing the cart ahead of him near the green at Hole 2, he walked over a small mogul at a rather brisk pace on the downhill side, and as the terrain began to turn upward, the front of the cart (without a third wheel mind you) jammed into the ground, came to an abrupt halt, and the handle impaled Steve. Fortunately, the blow came just above the family jewels, but nonetheless resulted in severe low blow by any boxing standard, a loud groan and a fall to the turf. After lining up their putts, Steve’s playing partners came over to the green side to see how he was doing as he was writhing on the gorund. With some aid from his partners, Steve barely got to his feet, but promptly two-putted for his par (thanks goodness one does not have to stand up straight to putt!).

It was at Waterville, on the par-5 Hole 18 that we had our most striking and dangerous hole that went right down the beach. Tim was cogitating on whether to hit “Mr. Trusty” or pull out the driver on the long hole. He had been driving the ball well that afternoon (after no less than 2 grip adjustments to his swing), and after seeing Steve stripe one 303 yards down the middle (mind you the winding was blowing strong from behind), he went with the driver. Well, a few seconds later we were madly yelling fore to all the people on the beach, and Tim re-teed. Now here is where the mystery comes in. After Tim played his second drive and we were strolling down the fairway, Bob Lazard saw a 5^th ball in the fairway and confirmed it was Tim’s Pinnacle with a green dot. Could the wind have blown the ball back into the fairway? Could it have hit a rock along the beach and bounced the 46 yards back into the fairway? Did someone on the beach heave the ball 46 yards? Was our caddy right in saying that sometimes people on the beach carried golf clubs and hit balls off the beach onto the golf course? Were there other supernatural forces at work for this lucky Irishman? We will never know, but this author is subscribing to the leprechaun theory.

After golfing, our really nice driver took us to a mountain top in Waterville that had a spectacular view of the towns and bay below. It was there that the longest drive in the history of golf occurred – it carried an estimated 1,760 yards with another 1248 yards roll-out. It was an amazing drive that disappeared into the distance. OK, enough said about that.

Tuesday, Aug 16, 2011 --- Tralee, Designed by Arnold Palmer

We arrived at the golf course at Tralee on a sunny, cool morning with mild winds. We were psyched to play another links course with high standing.

As you can see from above (here is my shot at vilifying Bob), Bob Lazard was dressed in about 4 layers of shirts, sweaters, jackets, long underwear, pants and rain gear. This was typical of Bob, which often prompted the question from us and the locals, “Did you think you were playing in Alaska?”  To which Bob would reply, “No, it’s warmer there.” Nonetheless, the extra clothing did just enough to restrict Bob’s swing as he played quite well throughout the trip.

Just prior to the round, John Zehner (JZ for short) was concerned with a sore, stiff back that was restricting his swing considerably (that is to say, more so than it usually needs to be restricted). After consulting with the Team physicians, he consumed 1,000,000 nanograms of ibuprofen and 1,000,000 nanograms of acetaminophen. With hopes for a rapid onset of pharmacologic activity, JZ conferred with playing partner Steve, who suggested that JZ merely needed a hug. With arms outstretched, JZ submitted himself to a lift, hug and place from Steve that popped his back into alignment and … viola – relief. There wasn’t even an assessment for a chiropractic fee.

This course was a very fun links that was a bit of “A Tale of Two Nines.” Both were very scenic, but the back nine had much larger dunes and contours and elevation changes that were very dramatic. There many views of the coastline and mountains that made the course especially scenic.

Now, this is the course with the very, very deep depression in front of the par 3, Hole 13 green. The hole is all carry to a green with little depth, and the surroundings aside and behind the green are pretty much all high dunes with very thick grass. So, one had to plop the ball on the green and make it stop amidst windy conditions. Emmie didn’t quite make the green, and by all accounts, his ball found a way to bounce on top of the thick, spongy grass well down the hill in front of the green. Being the consummate golfer that he is, Emmie followed the “play it where it lies” rule and hacked his way up the hill in a mere two shots to get to the putting surface.

It is somewhat obvious from his climbing technique that he is unlikely to scale Everest in this lifetime.

This hole was also the site of JZ’s back-to-back birdies on Holes 12 (in the background) and 13 (in the foreground below). It was the latter birdie that got JZ in the most trouble. He tried to lag his putt close from just off the back of the green, but he hit it too hard and it went right in the cup for a NET 1!  Drinks on Z!!  This picture is taken from atop Hole 14 tee and shows one of the panoramic views provided by Tralee.

Now, a really cool feature at Tralee, was that we had an early enough tee time that we called an emergency nine, and the Club Captain was able to work us on the back nine. As a bonus … there was no replay fee either. Note that JZ had 2 birdies on the back nine the first time around and birdied two other holes on that nine when we played the second time. Nice job, JZ !! The chiropractic work paid off (well, sort of, since he had to buy drinks – see below for details).

This is my opportunity to vilify John Emhardt (as all must be). After a particularly mediocre drive (on Hole 11 I believe), Steve’s caddy asked John’s caddy with tongue firmly planted in his cheek, “Did you hand him the driver?”

We retired to the bar for ‘drinks on Z’ and of course everyone was respectfully conservative with their orders – Steve getting a fizzy orange (aka orange drink which is popular in Ireland) while some others merely ordered shots of Middleton’s at €15 per shot (translates to $22). Z was very happy to get a Net 1 as he noted it comes with all the cost and none of the glory of a real 1. I will also note, that on the next stroking par 3 (#17), he made sure his birdie putt was significantly short.

It was in Tralee that the group declared its interest in real, Irish pub food. So, we were off to O’Donnell’s for drinks and food. What we learned is that pub food in Ireland has been significantly up-scaled. While one can get fish and chips, there is also lamb, sesame crusted salmon, sea bass, ribeye steaks, etc. All of it was excellent, and the Irish whiskey was flowing (the favorites seem to be Bushmill, Jameson and Middleton) as was the Irish beer (Guinness of course and Smithwick’s – “pronounced Smiddick’s you idiot” to coin a phrase).

Accommodations at the Brookside Manor were delightful as we took over the Bed & Breakfast entirely for the 3 days we were there.

Monday, Aug 15, 2011 --- The Greatest Golf Course in the World

The next day was a 3 hour drive to Kinsale to play The Old Head Golf Course. When we arrived the weather was very dreary – steady, light rain with a pretty consistent 15-20 mph wind. After a nice bowl of seafood chowder (let me tell you, the Irish know how to do a very hearty seafood chowder) to warm us before play, we readied ourselves for a real test (as they say in Ireland). We got our caddies and proceeded to the course to play, fully garbed in rain suits, gloves and hats to ‘protect’ us from the weather. The first hole was somewhat normal albeit in immaculate condition. We quickly learned that the course was more American in style – less wooly rough, gorse and normal sand traps like we are used to. The greens were incredibly fast, much quicker than Old Oakland even in the rain, which presented a problem for many of us. Three putts were common over the course of the day.

We got to the second hole (first picture below) and began to see the unbelievable beauty and awe that is The Old Head. You really need to go to Google Maps, find Kinsale or The Old Head Golf Course and get the satellite view. It is built on a tiny, elevated peninsula (just big enough to hold the golf course) sticking out into the Irish Sea. Most of the remaining 17 holes had some spectacular view of the cliffs and rugged coastline. We caught a break with the weather in that the rain stopped after hole 4-5, but the winds persisted which made playing conditions difficult on a very difficult course.

 

When we got to the par 5 12^th hole, we were absolutely stunned with the view from the tee. In fact, it looked like one of those fake holes that are pictured in some pro shops or other golf venues.

VIEW FROM THE TEE BOX

The fairway is elevated, so the view is only of the cliffs and the cave that cuts through the peninsula connection. The green we are playing to is that tiny bright green dot tucked into the hillside just above and to the right of the large cave! It is hard to imagine when you are standing there that you have to get the ball to that green somehow. The drive has to go to a target up the hill (see the small stone marker to the right in the picture). After teeing off, I was walking with Chan along the trail that you see in the picture that goes right along the hillside gawking at the amazing scenery. I said to Chan, “This is the most beautiful hole I have ever … Wait! I did read before we came that Hole 12 at Old Head was Golf Digest’s most beautiful hole in the world!”

VIEW DOWN THE FAIRWAY TO THE GREEN

The ensuing shot is down a narrow fairway to a green that sits right on the cliffs with a view of the sea on both sides. The most amazing story that goes with this hole (besides the view) was that Pat Elward birdied the hole with a 10 foot rock solid putt. Well done, Pat!  The only ugly part of the birdie was Pat’s very poor imitation of an Irish jig after the putt went in. And so it was. To a man we agreed that it is the most picturesque, amazing, challenging and fun hole on the planet – worth the price of admission.

The wind was whipping up very strong on the back nine. When it was in your face it was a 3-4 club wind. Steve nailed a 9-iron from 76 yards out on the 11^th hole (which was facing directly out to sea and into the wind) and fell 25 feet short of the pin. It was in the air for about 30 seconds (or so it seemed). Others had similar experiences. The second group ended the round with a driving rain and wind on the last 2 holes (blowing sideways).

Now, some on the trip may argue with me and Tim about this being the most beautiful and amazing golf course in the world, but all would agree that it is way up the list of the greatest golf courses in the world.

We went to a great little restaurant in Kinsale called Man Friday for dinner. There was excellent food, wine, Irish whiskey and beer. We recounted the holes at Old Head and all of us ong for the day when we can play it again, perhaps with more clement weather. We boarded the bus for the 2 hour drive to Tralee where we would stay for the night.