Hide your charms. Keep a spirit of mystery. Build the anticipation. Keep them coming back for more. These are the skills that this mistress Eire uses to full advantage.
A wonderful day yesterday. We took off with the Duffys to play a round of golf at the magnificent Connemara Golf Links in Ballyconneely in County Galway. The course is situated between the Atlantic and the beautiful, stark Twelve Bens mountains, the defining characteristic of Connemara. The mountains are a rugged species, filled with crevasses and boulders of granite, large and small. And, of course, every imaginable shade of green.
We allowed plenty of time to travel there, and we were pleased when Padraic decided to stop at Walsh's in Clifden for a bit of a pre-round bite. We fondly remember Walsh's from our visit in 2009 when we stayed in nearby Cleggan. This delectable bakery/café has the most wonderful scones and pastries. After overeating (who could resist), we continued our travels to Ballyconneely, with ever-thickening mists rolling in off the Atlantic. Nevertheless, we decided to play in the hopes the weather would not deteriorate. Luckily, it did not. Some periods of heavy mist, but never anything that would qualify as rain.
Candee walked along with us for the whole eighteen. A trooper indeed! And, during the last several holes, we were treated to a distinct "brightening" - not sunshine mind you, but an increase in visibility and the first appearance of faint shadows. It was a great day on the links, and I feel most fortunate to have played this extraordinarily superb course. But look below at the pictures - first my one, then the ones borrowed from the club's website. We never had the backdrop of the Bens - never clear enough.
So, hence, my theme for today - Eire playing with our affections. We are left with an overpowering draw to return to the Connemara links. To play on a fine day, with unlimited vistas. And a return to Doo Lough with a still lake and with sunlight spilling into the valley. And a return to Croagh Patrick when the sky is clear and the rocks not slippy with dew. These things we shall do..........
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| Marion on the tee |
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Hard to believe the mists obscured the Bens. What a magnificent area.
As you can see, the course lies between the sea and the mountains. |
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| Hole 7 |
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| Number 13 |
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| Next few from Candee's phone - not bad, huh? |
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| Padraic's mighty weapon |
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| Marion over the putt |
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| The mist lifts |
After our round, we went back into Clifden for dinner. Padraic, as always, with a sharp eye for good value, found a great restaurant within King's Pub where we feasted on mussels, salmon, and hake (a very tasty, flaky, firm, white fish). We topped our meals off with crumbles, parfaits, and Irish coffee and had a lovely hour -long free-ranging conversation on the ride home. A thoroughly satisfying and enriching day.
