Three days in heaven
Saturday morning Patricia and I drove to Rossapenna Golf Club in Donegal to play one of its three courses. Patricia isn't able to drive at the moment so I drove and we stayed at her family holiday home near Portnablagh. We teed off around noon and in no time I was in the dunes – a taste of things to come.
On the first few holes, you look toward Carrigart and the Broadwater inlet off the Atlantic Ocean.
This is the 9th green, clubhouse in the back. It was an unusual day for Donegal – not windy, not raining, not cold. Conditions were perfect. I think my camera makes things look darker than they are.
The back 9 was stunning – massive dunes on one side and Sheephaven Bay on the other.
It would be a shame not to visit the lovely dunes.
Patricia played the course beautifully. Her shots are shorter and straighter than mine so she didn't get into as much trouble as I did. Here she is getting out of trouble quite easily.
She's better at getting out of bunkers than me – despite all the practice I get.
The course we played is called the Old Tom Morris course. Here's the man himself. he was a Scot who designed courses all over the British Isles; four-time winner of The Open, which he originated.
This is the view of the 18th fairway from the patio behind the clubhouse (the 19th hole).
Patricia and I after our round.
We had dinner at a nearby hotel, went to the house, unpacked and had a few jars to congratulate ourselves for playing a new course. All the American tourists have caddies and buggies but we somehow managed our way around without assistance.
Day two we played Dunfanaghy Golf Course, Dunfanaghy in the distance below with Killahoey beach in the foreground.
Again the weather cooperated nicely and Patricia outplayed me by a mile.
The crows at Dunfanaghy are very clever and are happy to unzip unattended golf bags and help themselves to your snacks. We had a drink at the clubbhouse afterward and I saw this photo of mom and Peggy playing Rossapenna back in the day. I sent it to mom and she replied "Very funny."
That night we had dinner at the Shandon Hotel, with this view of the bay.
After two days of golf we were meant to go home Monday morning. However, the forecast was for lovely weather so I convinced Patricia to play the Old Tom Morris course again. As Golf Ireland members, we pay the visitor rate of £90; anyone from outside of Ireland pays £200. Had we played the championship course at Rossapenna, it would be £120 for us, £350 for non-Irish visitors.
Front nine facing Carrigart.
Our tee time was 8:50 am. The dune grass glistened with the dew early in the day. When it evaporated, the grass was glassy under the sun – it was mesmerizing.
Here's Patricia driving over a gorge (probably an old quarry) on a par 3 and landing on a bank in front of the green. I went down into the gorge and had a tricky shot to get up out of it.
The second time on the course we realised the better views were from the men's tees, which is where I took this of Downings Beach, frequently visited by certain spaniels.
As long as I lived in America, age 18 to 54, my dream was to return to Donegal, buy a cottage, and write a novel. Golf didn't figure into that dream at all, however I felt like I was in a dream on this course.
From the men's tee again. The women's tees were well forward of the men's and were often lower, with no view over the dunes. I also noticed that there were benches on the men's tees but not the women's.
I know I'm posting endless photos of dunes but I was just captivated by them. They are very high and remind me of the pyramids.
Horn Head in the distance at the opening to Sheephaven Bay.
On the second round at Tom Morris I wore my Master's shirt – don't think it brought me much luck, but I hardly cared about my score.
View of the clubhouse when walking up the 18th.
If we said it once, we said it 100 times: We are so lucky to get this weather. Links courses are often very windy – part of the challenge, but it makes it much harder for newbies like us. The 18th fairway again below.
After three days of golf, we headed home. I stopped to snap a photo of Doe Castle as we left Downings.
In the past week I've played Monday (interclub), Tuesday (weekly competition), Thursday (Excel Glass competition) and Sat/Sun/Mon (Donegal). We drove home Monday afternoon and then Tuesday I played a course called Dunmurry. My course is hosting four All Ireland competitions this week so it is closed to members. Five other courses are offering us discounts so I got to play Dunmurry for £20 with three other Shandon members.
For three of the next four days, I'll be at Shandon for seven hours per day ball spotting during the competitions. So to come full circle to the last post – golf has overtaken my life in ways I could never have imagined. There are pluses and minuses to this but at this moment I am very grateful to have had three perfect days of golf with my buddy in Donegal.
22-25 August