Thrilling stuff

July 26, 2017

Thrilling stuff

Padraic and Marion gave me free choice among a number of high quality courses to play on Monday - Belmullet (Carne), Ballinrobe, Westport, or Strandhill. I've had great experiences at Ballinrobe, a lovely parkland course not far from Westport. And I'm never disappointed to tee it up at Westport.

Tom Coyne, the author of A Course Called Ireland ranked Carne as "the first course I'd walk back to if I had the chance." Coyne walked the entire coastline of Ireland in 2007 (the year of our first visit) and played every golf course he encountered. His book relating his experiences is a great read, full of insight and observation on the people he met, the pubs he visited, the landscapes he experienced and, of course, the courses he played. Carne ranked highest on his list and I remember with great fondness playing the course two years ago. But, ever since our visit to Sligo I've been very interested in playing at the Strandhill links. It's right close to the beach we had such a nice stroll a week ago and I had walked across the carpark to look over the stonewall to the course and was smitten. Beautiful grooming, high dunes, undulating greens, mountains on two sides and the ocean on the other, I was hoping to get a shot at it.

Coyne liked it as well. "... Strandhill where the course was a bit rough but absolutely entertaining. Set on the side of a hill with fairways that felt like class-five rapids, the views of the sea and the Sligo mountainscapes were lovely. And the fourteenth hole that played like a hallway, squeezing you along a path between competing dunes, was one of my favorite holes in Ireland so far, and not just because local gentlemen referred to it as a part of the female anatomy (it wasn't a name they used on the scorecard)."

Actually, the scorecard called it "The Valley" and even though I "blanked" on the hole (earned no points), I thought it was fabulous. A virtually blind tee shot (just a sliver of fairway in the distance), with the feel of an unachievable carry, and no clue as to where the fairway subsequently roamed, all three of us unaccountably found a safe fairway landing. I made a prudent layup and my next shot carried the left dune, only to have hit it too long, placing myself in rough well beyond my ability to play from. I took two mighty lashes, only to drive the ball more deeply into the hay. Chastened, I picked the ball up and declared myself out of the hole.

However, at the beginning of our round, I had found a reliable swing and guessed correctly the direction in which to hit on the several blind tee shots which presented themselves. Padraic was not so lucky and I found myself four points ahead at the turn. But, of course, I managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A few errant shots (including on The Valley), an newly unpredictable drive, and a few unfortunate bounces into crazy-deep bunkers and my run was over. Once again, I found myself putting a 2 Euro coin in Padraic's palm. But such a memorable round. And such good value - only 30 Euro, a big contrast with its more famous neighbor, Rosses' Point, where greens fees run to 120. Padraic and Marion didn't fully share my enthusiasm for Strandhill, they thought the blind teeshots unfair and a bit unnecessary. But, I believe, memory will be kind and they might consider travelling there again next year. Heck, and we now know where those blind tee shots go, right? :)

I went out for my last round of this year's visit yesterday. I've played a very generous amount of golf this visit and got to play some great courses - Ballinrobe, Strandhill, Connemara, and, of course, Westport. It's always good to leave some things to look forward to and I'm hoping to play these and Rosses' Point, Enniscrone, and Carne next year. It's my plan to join WGC as a member next year (really quite reasonable as an Overseas member). And then, as a GUI member (Golfing Union of Ireland), I would receive substantial discounts to play the more expensive courses during their "Open" weeks. Something to look forward to, indeed.

Oh, and that last round? Padraic was on fire - par, par, birdie, bogey, par. His foot on my neck once again. Better play and more victories, another thing to look forward to next year...

We capped our day by meeting up at Matt Molloy's pub to hear a great American Old Timey band - excellent musicians and great high pitched nasally harmonies. Could've been in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Oklahoma during the Great Depression. Terrific stuff.