Edinburgh and the Dalmahoy Hotel....

The Dalmahoy Estate outside of Edinburgh is our home base the next week or so. We have stayed here several times before and always find the service to be wonderful. It also offers an excellent staging area for our golfing excursions while we are here. Aside from all of the wonderful courses within an hour or so, there are also two courses here on the property. On the way up through the Highlands, Kristen located a fitness club close by and she was itching to get some exercise in once we got settled in. The only logical thing for me to do was to go play some golf and get some practice in for Gullane #1 tomorrow. The championship course here at the Dalmahoy was designed by famed golfer James Braid and proved to be a good test. Due to my late start I only got 9 holes in. With all of the rain here in the area lately the course was rather muddy so 9 was plenty. Below are some more views of the hotel.....

We decided not to venture out into Edinburgh on our first night here so we landed on room service and some Sky Sports coverage of the PGA tour. Perfect way to end the day though as we were both exhausted. Tomorrow I am headed to Gullane # 1 and Kristen is headed to Exercise Palooza. She will be taking 7 consecutive exercise classes throughout the day while I am on the course. More power to her!

Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake.....

Today I was out on my own as Kristen decided to stay in and catch up on some of her MBA work. She also made her way to some Hot Yoga at her new favorite Yoga Studio, Yoga Nation. She loves it and was just fine hanging back in Liverpool. I made my way over to Hoylake, just outside of Liverpool for my midday tee time. I absolutely loved the clubhouse. It is the only one I have seen on our travels over here that has the ivy. I was impressed as soon as I pulled into the club. The course wouldn't disappoint either.  Royal Liverpool Golf Club hosted the 2006 Open Championship where Tiger Woods claimed his 13th Major. It was his 3rd Open Championship. 

The views were pretty impressive right from the start. The course was being prepped for the upcoming Women's Open Championship so there was a lot going on. Below is a view of the back of the clubhouse, looking back from the 1st green. I learned very quickly that accuracy would be a premium with out of bounds flanking many of the holes. I got off to a good start but couldn't help taking in some of the sights along the way.

One of my favorite holes on the front was the par 5 3rd hole. It was a dogleg left with plenty to worry about off the tee. Multiple bunkers sat at the corner of the dogleg to catch any errant tee shots. While I did avoid the bunkers, I didn't miss the rough. No reaching this one in two shots. I took my medicine and got it back into play. Below are images of what I was seeing from my 2nd and 3rd shots. I loved the bunkering all along this hole. I also loved seeing Wales in the background beyond the dunes.

The scenery continued with the par 3 4th hole. There was a strong head wind on this one and I lost it to the left and was bunkered. It took me two to get out but I made the putt for bogey. I got the dropped shot back on the next hole after holing out from a green side bunker on the par 4 5th for birdie. I guess that birdie woke me up as finished the front 9 at plus three.

The front 9 finished with a downhill par 4 along the coast line. The next few holes would also play along the coastline, making for some great holes and some great views as well.

The back 9 had two really good par 3's. The 11th known as "The Alps" and the 13th known "Rushes" were both mid iron plays with the wind I was facing. I parred one and after hitting the 13th but not holding, I was unable to get up and down from the back bunker.

Five holes left and I really wanted to finish well. A birdie, a bogey and three pars later, I shot another 3 over par for the back 9. I held it together nicely in the wind and was able to close out my 78 with a two putt par on the 18th. Another great day out there. I have really enjoyed my golf this week. There is a lot of great golf in and around Liverpool. We look forward to coming back here....

No golf for me tomorrow as Kristen has her spa day and I have some errands to run. We'll be heading to Scotland first thing Sunday morning and my next round will be at Gullane # 1 outside of Berwick Scotland. This will be a new one for me so I can't wait.

Royal Lytham & St Annes......

After a relaxing morning milling around Liverpool, Kristen and I set out for Royal Lytham & St Annes.  This beautiful links is nestled between the two seaside towns of Lytham and St Annes as you might have guessed. As this is the last week before school starts, these sleepy little beach towns weren't so sleepy. Kristen decided to venture downtown to the shops while I played so it was just me and my caddy Jimmy today. I was excited to get the chance to play here since it just hosted the Open Championship in July of this year. It proved to be quite a test for the world's best then and I imagined she would the same for me today. She didn't disappoint. After a bit of putting practice in front of the Dormy House, I was ready to get going. This course is unique in that it starts with a par 3. It is the only one in the Open rota to do so. Seemed odd to start with an iron in hand but away we went. Can't complain though as I made birdie straight away. I knew this was going to be a good day......

After such a fast start, I wanted to make sure I kept it going. To do that, I would need to avoid the 206 bunkers that line the fairways and surround these beautiful greens. I was indeed able to avoid all of the fairway bunkers but did manage to find a few by the greens. Below are several photos from the bunkering along the front nine. 

I remembered watching the trials and tribulations of Mickelson and company on the 8th hole. After getting a closer look at this fairway bunker that sits along the left side of the fairway, I can see why. Brutal! This second picture is of the massive bunker that sits just left of the green. You must be precise coming in to this severely elevated green or you will find trouble. 

One more to finish the front nine. This beautiful little par three proved a worthy challenge as the wind blew hard from right to left. I found myself tight against one of the famed riveted bunker faces and it took two to get out. I made the putt for bogey and on we went.

The back nine was just as impressive as the front. I was anxious to play the final four holes and see just what Adam Scott faced as he tried to hold on to his 4 shot lead. Before getting there though I had to take note of these trees off of the 13th and 14th holes. As you can see, the wind blows hard around here and these trees' growth patterns show you exactly which way it normally blows.

The last few holes didn't disappoint. As I stood on the 15th tee Jimmy challenged me to hold on to "my" 4 shot lead through the last four. The 15th was a stern test with the wind coming in hard from the left. A good drive and well played 2nd shot still left me short of the green. I missed my putt and dropped a shot. My lead was down to 3.

The 16th was a shorter par 4 than the last and the wind was a bit of a help. After a good drive down the right side I had a short iron into the green. Along the way to the green, Jimmy pointed out one of the course's original bunkers. Much different than the riveted faced ones they have today. Neither was appealing. My approach didn't hold the green but I was able to get up and down for par. My lead was still intact....

The 17th was another strong par 4 back into the wind. This time the wind was hard right to left. I split the fairway and had a 6 iron into the green. A good strike left me with 20 feet for birdie. Par it was to be. Pars would be just fine in this wind. Of note along the bunkers to the left of the fairway was a stone plaque marking the spot of Bobby Jones' miraculous shot into the 17th during the 1926 Open Championship.  Pretty impressive considering where his ball was and that he was using a hickory shafted club. The first photo below is the view of the green from where he hit the shot. Impressive.....

The 18th is a beautiful par 4 that finishes right at the back of the Royal Lytham & St Annes clubhouse. There are bunkers everywhere and all of which needed to be avoided if I was to hold my lead. After a drive down the left side I ended up with 175 yards from the light rough. I had a good lie and really wanted to finish strong as I could see Kristen in the windows of the clubhouse watching me. My shot flew just left of the pin and ended up about 40 feet from the hole. This would be the longest putt I had all day and I didn't want my 1st 3 putt to come on my last hole,  especially with my biggest fan watching me from above. Two putts later I shoot 78, having parred 3 of the last 4 holes coming in.

I love this place....... Thanks for a great day Royal Lytham & St Annes. See you tomorrow Royal Liverpool at Hoylake....

Royal Birkdale......

Ahhh Royal Birkdale. After about an hour's drive out of Liverpool, we made our way to the little town of Southport and Royal Birkdale Golf Club. The first thing we noticed when we arrived was how different the clubhouse looks relative to all of the other clubs we have visited thus far in the UK. The clubhouse was actually designed to look like a cruise ship. From the angle I took this picture, you can certainly see they succeeded in doing so. The club has hosted 9 Open Championships over the years, most recently in 2008 when Padraig Harrington won. The sun was out so there was only the strong wind to contend with. After Ms Sheila served us up some delightful butternut squash and rosemary soup along with some fish and chips for lunch in the clubhouse bar it was time to play some golf.

The golf course looked to be in great shape. The UK had the wettest summer on record so the rough was particularly lush and not to be messed with. Easier said than done on the front nine. With Kristen and my caddy Terry on the bag we set out. The bunkering on this course was beautiful. While not as many as the 206 bunkers at Royal Lytham, they offered plenty of challenge. Some of the bunkers had some interesting features like the doughnut bunker on the 7th.

The winds offered a stern test for me on the front nine and I didn't fair well. On several holes I found the aforementioned rough off the tee which meant I didn't find my ball. Kristen walked the front nine with us before heading back into the clubhouse to hang out with Ms. Sheila. Take a look below at some of our favorite holes from the front nine.

The back nine proved to be a different story for me. I "let the nothingness into my shots" and was able to play very well. A lot of the holes really suited my eye off of the tee as well. The 12th and 14th were two beautiful par threes with a lot of bunkering to be avoided. Happily I was able to do just that in making pars on both. 

The16th hole at Royal Birkdale has a lot of history. In the 1961 Open Championship, Arnold Palmer was in contention for the championship. He drove it into the right rough off the tee and his ball ended up in a bush. Palmer being a very strong player with a go for broke attitude decided to lash his ball out of the bush. With a mighty lash he extricated his ball from the bush and the bush from the ground. Arnold Palmer went on to hoist the Claret Jug as the Champion Golfer of the Year. There is now a plaque marking the spot where the shot took place. Great hole and story!

The last two holes are really fun par 5's. With the right wind, both are reachable from the tee. You had better be in the fairway though. I am pleased to say that I saved some of my best drives for these last few holes. Hitting both over 300 yds off the tee, I put my 2nd shot in the bunker on the 17th but got up and down for par. Tricky green with a lot of undulation. This is the hole where Padraig hit that beautiful 5 wood into the green, made eagle and went on to win the Claret Jug in 2008. 

I loved the view off of the tee on the 18th. Daunting tee shot with bunkering and out of bounds down the right side. I wanted to finish well as I knew Kristen would be sitting in the clubhouse watching me play the 18th. I split the fairway, leaving myself a long iron into the green. I found the right green side bunker and was able to get up and down for birdie to finish off what ended up being a very nice back nine. My gallery of two, Kristen and Terry, did their best golf claps as my final putt found the bottom of the cup. Finishing like that always makes me look forward to my next round. Up next is Royal Lytham & St Annes, site of the 2012 Open Championship.......