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.