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.