You already probably surmised that we stayed up a bit late on Friday night. A drive, a dinner, and a musical event. Truth be told, not so late - we got back to our cottage at about midnight. A reasonable time. But not with my plans for the 'morrow...
The sun rises here currently at 5:06 a.m. And, of course, the sky brightens a bit earlier than that. This gives my local favorite golf venue - the Westport Golf Club - an excuse for a clever and intriguing fundraiser - the annual Insomniac Open. One registers beginning at 4:30, and play begins with a shotgun start at 5:00. Padraic has become jaded to the charms of such an event and I found myself setting out solo in search of some nice and kind folks with which to play. I arrived at the appointed time and the Men's Captain assigned me to the lovely family of Dave Loftus, and Mary McNicholas and her son Frank. All good golfers - Dave could pound the ball 280 yards down the fairway and had soft hands around the greens, Mary is "handy" around the course (to quote Padraic), carrying a mid-teens handicap, and Frank has a beautiful, effortless swing. We had great "craic" playing in the early morning, the beauty of the setting was much enhanced. All contributed, with me chipping in for birdie on the challenging hole #13. Hard enough to get a par there.
After four hours sleep, I was worn through when we finished walking our eighteen hole round. Westport is an arduous stroll... But a "breakfast bap" (a very nice light and floury roll filled with rashers (Canadian bacon to us), sausage and egg) and steaming hot coffee were waiting in the clubhouse. And what a surprise to learn that we had placed second. I was given a sleeve of nice Titleist balls, was recognized as the "visitor from Florida," and had my picture posted on the club's Facebook page. A pretty good return for a mere 15 Euro. Oh, and for a good cause - the club's junior golfer program. I'll try this again next year (fortified with a bit more sleep). Do you think Padraic might join me...?
 |
| Frank braving the swans to pick up his ball on 18 |
 |
| Mary rolling a putt to get us a birdie on 12 |
 |
| Early morning on the Reek |
 |
| The lake on 18. A gorgeous morning |
 |
| The 2nd place team: Frank, Dave, Men's Captain Enda Lonergan, goofy-looking Yank, and Mary |
