On Sunday 5/13 Missy and I drove from Tralee to Waterville to play golf. The course was great and played tough because of winds and relatively narrow fairways. Bogey was a good score. I think that I only had two pars all day. I played with a couple of guys from Texas who were very very friendly. No locals playing on Sunday morning - they were all in church unlike us heathens. After golf Missy drove us along the Ring of Kerry to Kilarney and then to Ballybunion. Although the road was tremendously scenic, I had a hard time relaxing enough to take in the views because the roads were narrow, windy and right along the cliff. I just felt like I had to hold on for my life. Even though the total distance we traveled wasn't all that far, it took forever to get to Ballybunion. We left Waterville around 3:00 pm and got to Ballybunion around 7:30 pm.
We stayed at a great B&B called the Tides Guesthouse run by David and Doreen Walsh. David was twice golfer of the year at Ballybunion. They were fabulous hosts and took great care of us. Both the room and food were excellent. I played at the Ballybunion Old Course Monday am. Again, more winds making the course play tough. It's a fabulous old links course (1893) that was everything it's cracked up to be and it was impeccably maintained. I played with a couple of guys from Philadelphia who were good guys on their dream Irish vacation. Bogey was the name of my game that day due to wind etc. It's very hard to do much when you cannot stand still while addressing the ball. We also had a small taste of Irish mist, but only for about 5 minutes. We've had surprisingly good weather thus far, except for the wind. I liked the fourth hole where you tee off directly over the pin of the third green that is about 40 yards out. You have to take your turn in stride so no one gets injured. The course really starts with the sixth green at is saddled shaped and then just better and better. The 11th is a tough and interesting downhill and windy par4, the 12th is a long uphill par three that is often a turning point in a match. The 14th Is a 215 yard par three into a STIFF breeze - couldn't even get close with a well hit driver. It's a fun course that really captivates one.
Tuesday was a day of travel north from Ballybunion to Lahinch. We stopped at Tarbert to take the Shannon ferry across the Firth from Tarbert to Killmer and then drove to Lahinch. After checking in at The Lahinch Golf Hotel we drove to the Cliffs of Moher to take in the views and then did some driving around on more narrow windy roads through the countryside. For dinner we went to a local Lahinch tavern where I had a couple of Smithwick ("Smiddicks" beers and a beef pie, all good). Missy had soup and a ham and cheese "toasty."
Today I enjoyed the best weather of the campaign thus far playing Lahinch. The morning started a bit cool, but there was no wind!! The course is great, tough and immensely fun. I even had a couple of birdies on the front nine. My caddie, Pat O'Leary, is a 32 year member of Lahinch who has been caddying for the last 10 years post retirement. He is a golf history buff and gave me the full story of the origination of the course in 1892 by a few Scott's who were enlisted in the British army in Limerick and then the renovations by Old Tom Morris in the later 1890's and the renovations by Sir Alister Mackenzie in 1927. There have been a bunch of things done to improve the course since then, but it's really known as a Mackenzie course. I particularly enjoyed playing the fourth hole called the Klondyke which is a par five into a narrow valley followed by a blind shot over a large hill to a green that you cannot see. Following this is the famous par three #5 hole called the Dell which is a short par three over a large hill to a blind green. The lines for both shots are indicated by a white rock placed at the top of each hill. Very unique. Also unique is the criss crossing of the eighteenth fairway across the fourth and fifth holes, much like we have at Claremont (another Mackenzie touch) and they have a Marshall sitting at the top of the hill directing traffic all day. There was another restoration of the Mackenzie design in 1999 by Martin Hawtree followed by some less severe further modifications in 2002. I probably forgot most of what Pat O'Leary taught me, but he was sure captivating. I'm playing again tomorrow and hoping for more good weather, although there is some rain in the forecast.
The afternoon we drove up N-67 from Lahinch to Galway. Another narrow windy road with fabulous scenery. We drifted around the Galway town center for a couple of hours, ate and shopped for some Irish knitted wear. It has a cool and vibrant down town and Galway is apparently the quickest growing city in Ireland. Following our Galway experience we drove to Ennis via a real freeway ("dual carriage way"). Ennis is the biggest town in Co. Clare, and a little funky, but cute. We looked around a bit and then decided upon Thai food which was good. I am sure that the "waitress" was a she-male transvestite, but that just added to the experience.
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| Waterville |
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| Ballybunion |
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