Decided to stay in Portrush for the remaining few days in Ireland – the last 1-2 weeks have cured me of the check-in-check-out process. This meant a ~ 90min drive at sparrow’s f..t to Ballyliffin, crossing the border of mph to kmh – just when I got used to this dysfunctional GPS unit in the hire car {think of love child between Space Odyssey’s HAL and Red Dwarf’s Holly} . Anyway, back to a big day at Ballyliffin GC, starting with the Old Links before tackling Glashedy Links. 
As I pull into the driveway, the weather turns nasty. “Fortune vomits on my eiderdown once more” (Blackadder). Icy wind, constant rain, but because it hadn’t rained much the day before the course was open, so off I trudged on the Old Links.
I think I was the only person on the course at the time. Again, the gale is behind me for the first few holes, and luckily hit the fairways on most of them leaving me lob wedges into the greens . But the further I get from the club house the heavier the weather gets – holes, along with my fortunes, start turning into the weather. Stupidly tried to manipulate & manufacture shots instead of playing to the elements. Was making as much progress as this little fella below … weather was so bad they probably didn’t have to worry about birds – heaps of them out there. Vicious too, with the chasing, leaping & gnashing teeth.
There was a ripping par 3 (#5 The Tank) on the front 9. Great design – although a large’ish green to catch shots coming from a long iron (as was needed today into the wind) it is a mixed blessing because you then are faced potentially with a very long putt. With the wind, and a front pin it would be an equally difficult shot.
The last 7 holes coming back to the club house is a great stretch of golf. #12 (The Dell) a long Par 3 at 206y but with the wind & elevation a bit easier. # 13 a tough Par 4 which, by virtue of lefthand fairway bunkers makes you drive right, with undulations galore. A smart golfer with the wind would have dialled it back to a 3w or rescue and left a mid iron (for us mere mortals) into a protected green. But not this little black duck – driver, big lash into the rough. Thought I heard a gopher yell obscenities about my father smelling of elderberries. Now, when pros talk about about grip ‘n rip it working because they can wedge out the rough, they are not: a) talking about hacks like me, and b) they are not talking this sort of rough. 2 steep blows with a SW just to get back to the fairway, and still not much closer to the hole. Then 3 beautiful holes right along the ocean breaking meters from the course.
Bulbin, Ardascanlan & The Valley (difficult holes at the best of times) were just brutal into this wind, but just stunning holes. Love it when a course guide tells you that hitting the fairway is essential, yet hit a wrong mound on said fairway, and you could easily be 15m into penal rough. #18 (Callaghan’s Straid) a very nice zigzag Par 5.
One of the caddies, looking at my drenched-laboured-death-march off the 18th green, was saying that I should have braved Glashedy first because it was a bit tougher (imagine Irish accent & that wonderful knack for understatement 🙂 )… obviously not a motivational speaker.
Whilst having a quick brekkie inside the clubhouse one of the members, Eugene, came over & said hello. Asked me how I found the Old Links, and upon hearing my glowing praise was rightfully proud & grateful that he gets to play that course every week with his clergy, and is his pick of the courses because it’s an easier walk, but also a purer links layout. Gave me some good tips for the next course, Glashedy, and also good spots for getting the camera out. Luckily the weather was improving too … now just windy insteady of rainy & windy
Glashedy. A more ‘engineered’ course with flatter fairways (compared to the natural undulating fairways of the Old Links) but significantly longer, exacerbated by the longer walks between holes. Off the tombstones over 7 miles (for us metric folks, yes, MILES). To me it looks set up to try host an Irish Open because they can use the Tiger Tees in case the wind is not there. I’m struggling to think of a more charming & friendly group of people.
Anyway, with my powder-puff drives I didn’t need to be a hero so most holes switched between gold & white tees (6.7m & 6.3m respectively & respectable). Similar story to the morning round, I got lucky on some drives with the wind going away from the club house, leaving some little bump ‘n runs onto the greens. Some of the locals in front kindly let me play through even though they were moving well, and gave me a chance to see how they crafted out a hole (given a lot of tees were elevated). Once in front of the field I started to regret it because, whilst the course guide was very informative with point-of-view illustrations I again struggled with depth perception. [Think of Jim ‘Wash Out’ Pfaffenbach from Hotshots.”From now on, I’ll be your eyes on the ground” & “You’ve got six bogies heading towards you” (then after sneezing onto the radar screen) “Oh my god! A dozen more of them, and a blimp! A big shiny blimp, and it’s slowly moving south!” ].
Although my heart lies slightly in favour of the Old Links, there are some spectacular holes on this course … part design, and part the breathtaking views they afford you of a most beautiful terrain with beautiful fairways worming through the rough in the foreground to expanse of the ocean from Pollan Bay on one horizon, and the mountains behind the town on the other catching the low clouds.
#7 (Loch na nDeor) is perfect for this. Just as it felt a bit strange having a pond on #17 at Royal County Down, so too here it seems out of place even though it’s undoubtedly natural. Something great about the hang time when hitting into such a drop in elevation, combined with the nervous excitement of whether you picked the right club as it falls straight out of the sky
#13 (Bun a’Chnoic) a lovely par 5, described as one of the best in Ireland, and hard to disagree. Uphill all the way, and wind hurting, I hit 3 of my best shots in a row, and just missed a birdie. Nice view looking back down the 13th fairway with the island of Glashedy in the distance
#15 (Tobar Mhuiris), deserving it’s 1 S.I. rating, with a landing zone for the drive looking frightfully small off the tee, yet it being so crucial to your chance at having a go at the green. Compounding matters is a triplet of bunkers guarding the front left of a green, whose front section slopes back toward them. Took a 5, and felt like I won (odd as that sounds). Same again on 16 (Craig na Si), par on par 5, and par on the last (great little dogleg to the right). Played as well as I could on these last few holes with driver & long irons yet hardly made a dent on the scorecard.
A lovely club, wonderful & hospitable members & staff, a great golf course, and a truly fantastic golf course … which is which can be debated.