Well, I took a backpacking trip around Europe with my wife back in May/April, and this was the only golf I could squeeze in (unfortunately). But you can tell from my delay in posting that I just haven't been able to come home and find the right words to put into perspective how amazingly great of a time I had for the short 3 1/2 hours it took for us to fly around that golfing paradise.
To this day, I truly am left speechless, so I will only make a few comments then let the pictures do the rest of the talking:
- I tell everyone who asks me how it was that "it's the Pebble Beach of Northern Ireland......without the hoop-la"
- I only use that line to describe the clout and breath-taking beauty of the place, as most who ask me aren't interested or remotely understand the vast differences in the architecture and conditioning
- The only way to tell the greens from the rest of the grass was that they had applied iron to make them slightly darker green
- The greens were slower than 75% of the greens I've played here in the US, but truer than true and I wouldn't want them any faster
- I mentioned playing in 3 1/2 hours.......walking.....with a caddy, another man and his son, and both our wives in tow.......and my caddy was irritated the other two spent so much time looking for their balls in the gorse
- Gorse is horrible......but beautiful when viewed as part of the landscape as a whole
- The entire two weeks leading up to my tee time the forecast called for rain......black clouds loomed just off the course for the whole round, but we had perfect conditions......partial sun, moderate temps, with a light breeze......and the rain clouds opened up as we sat down for lunch in the clubhouse......I may have to start believing in a golf god because that day was made for me
- I'm a 9 handicap and I shot an 85 (with an 8 on a par 3).....I was thrilled.......much better than the 101 I shot a Pebble several years ago......I left with my head held high.
Sorry I didn't get a hole by hole, but my wife took most the pics so I could concentrate on enjoying my possibly-once-in-a-lifetime round:
I could have putted here for hours.......unfortunately I only got 5 minutes because I was still learning how to drive on the left side of the road and had a hard time finding the place
They had received over an inch of rain in the last 24 hours and the bunkers hadn't even been raked......look at that drainage! Sorry.....that's the superintendent in me being jealous......
I only landed in one bunker that day......luckily this wasn't it
The tee shot on my disasterous par 3.......can you say gorse? (The green is out the left side of the picture)
Now looking for my tee shot which ended up lost in the gorse.....dropping 2, hitting three.....you can see the edge of the green in the middle left
Hitting four........back across and off the OTHER side of the green......5 on and 3 putts gets me off to the next hole......I find it funny my wife took the most pictures of THIS particular hole
My favorite shot........
I absolutely LOVE when I can putt from 15 yards off the green.......hard to find on courses I play here in the US
Gotta give credit to the photographer for the day...........
Hole #9, most photographed hole, for obvious reasons......long hole too though, but I made par
Another bunker I managed to avoid........WHY again do we have such high standards for bunker maintenance here in the states? I love this look......
Putting from just off the green.......again
The modest but picturesque clubhouse
Heaven on earth (hopefully you can click on this picture to open up the bigger version if you want more detail)