Royal Portrush Golf Club.....The Valley Course

After the wind and rain from yesterday and my time at Portstewart Golf Club, it was nice to get a break today here at The Valley Course of Royal Portrush Golf Club from the latter. While the rain stayed away for the most part, the winds were just as strong as yesterday. After a little lunch with Kristen at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, we made our way over to the Valley Course and I was on my way. I was literally the only person on the course and what a treat it was. As I walked along 2nd fairway seen above, I couldn't help but think about how many times Graeme McDowell had the course all to himself as he was growing up here, learning the game. I was also reminded of how I often did the same when I was growing up playing golf on the fairways of the Fernandina Beach Golf Club on Amelia Island Florida. The game was simple then.....find it and hit it again! With the winds up again today, find it and hit it was rather fitting.

The two pics above are of the Par 3 3rd hole. This was a short, downhill hole that borders the driving range at Royal Portrush. Not a long hole but with the cross winds, a challenge to find the green nonetheless.

The three pics above are from the short Par 4 5th hole. This was an absolute risk / reward opportunity, especially downwind as it was today. I chose to go with a 3 wood and was able to keep it just short of the bunker on the right. Fun hole! The following two pics are from the lengthy Par 3 6th hole. She played every bit of the 237 yards back uphill into the wind. I gave it all I had with my 3 wood and still came up short left.

 Below is the view from the tee of the Par 5 10th hole. The one was downwind and I was able to get home in two. Two putts and a tap in birdie later, I was off to a fast start for the back nine. I had a wonderful afternoon here at this Harry Colt gem. I ended up hanging out in the Rathmore Golf Club bar with Jinx (bar man and caddy) while I waited for Kristen to come get me. My cell phone died while out on the course so I had no way to reach her. I finally got the ladies at the Bushmills Inn to track her down by one of their roaring fire places. We got back in time for one more delicious dinner at the Bushmills Inn. We head south tomorrow to the Slieve Donard Hotel and Royal County Down.

Portstewart Golf Club.......The Strand Course

Remember yesterday when I said how beautiful it was outside and that the forecasted cold, wind and rain hand't found us. Well, I cannot say the same for today. We awoke this morning to temps in the 40"s with howling winds and rain blowing sideways. I was scheduled to play Portstewart Golf Club at 9:00 or so this morning and things weren't looking good. My initial reaction was to forgo the round but since it was already paid for we decided to drive on over from Bushmills to check everything out. We drove through Portrush over along the coast into Portstewart. What a beautiful little beachside town it was. With the views and and beautiful beaches etc... it was easy to see why this place was such a popular vacation spot during the summer months. Despite today's weather, I was glad to be there too. We wound our way along the coastline until we found the club house perched high on a hill overlooking the beach in one direction and the course in the other. I walked into the pro shop and talked to Alan Hunter, long time head professional there at Portstewart. He could tell I wasn't too excited about playing and was happy to try and get me out tomorrow if the weather were to improve. I decided to go ahead and play, despite the foul weather. I am glad I did as this course offers up some of the prettiest holes I have seen in my travels, particularly the front nine that weaves it's way amongst the dunes. Case in point, the Par 4 5th above, known as Rifle Range. At well over 400 yards and into the wind, I was pleased to walk away with a par here. Check out a few of my other favorites from the course below.

Above is the green on the dogleg right Par 4 1st hole. The tee sat well above the fairway, making it even more challenging to manage the strong right to left winds that I was facing.

Above is the green on the Par 3 3rd hole. Again, wind was an issue here as we were headed right back into it. I hit a hybrid to just the right edge of the green here and was thrilled to walk away with a par. With sustained winds at 30+MPH, pars were at a premium.

 These two are from the tee of "Thirsty Hollow", the Par 5 4th hole. This was a fun hole to play, both from the tee and coming into the green. The bunker you see below was to be avoided. Thankfully, I was able to do so.

The next one below is of the Par 3 6th known as "Five Penny Piece." Aptly named after the small UK coin, this green was the smallest of the greens here at Portstewart. Not a long shot, but a devil into the wind. Look close and you can see where my punch 6 iron ended up. Not too shabby.

These next two shots are of the dogleg left, Par 4 8th known as "Portnahppie." I loved this hole as the fairway made it's way down and left around the hill to the elevated green. I made a good par here after dumping my approach shot into the bunker, short right.

This next one is of the Par 4 9th, "Larkhil". This is the view from the new tee that has been put in for competition. Accuracy and length was needed here to find the fairway. I had neither and was forced to play to the strength of my wedge play. I was able to save par. Glad there aren't any pictures on the scorecard.

The weather really set in on the back 9 so I had to put the iPhone away. I must say the back 9 is and plays much differently than the front. You don't see the massive dunes etc as you do on the front. The winds were still there and the holes were certainly challenging. All in all, I am glad I decided to stay and play. Kristen joined me for a wonderful lunch there in the clubhouse afterwards as we got caught up on the day. She'd been at the gym all morning after dropping me off so she'd had a good morning. We didn't have much in the way of plans for the afternoon other than visiting the Bushmill's Distillery.  Kristen dropped me off just in time to make the last tour of the day before heading back to the hotel. I was just down the street so I was able to walk back after the tour. I've become rather partial to the Bushmills 16 yr and was looking forward to see just how they made it. It was a fun tour and we got the chance to taste some good whiskey. Great way to end the day!!

Royal Portrush Golf Club and The Championship Dunluce Links

Well, we made it to Saturday and the weather that was expected to arrive hadn't found us yet. Albeit much cooler,  it looked to be a good day for some golf. Kristen had her sights set on finding another gym as well as doing some much needed laundry. We came to find out that there isn't a single "Do It Yourself" laundry in all of Northern Ireland. Who knew? Nevertheless, she dropped me off at the front door to The Royal Portrush Golf Club and was on her way. As for me, I had really been looking forward to teeing it up here today. This club is steeped in so much golfing history. I captured a few images of that history as I walked in. Being the only club in the entirety of Ireland (Northern or the Republic of) to host the Open Championship, this place loves its champions. Fred Daly won the Open when it came to Portrush back in 1951. Darren Clarke hoisted the Claret Jug as the Champion Golfer of the Year back in 2011 when it was held at Royal St Georges. As he lives and plays here, Darren's stuff lines the trophy cases as well. Speaking of Darren, he was outside getting ready to go practice as I was headed out to do the same. 

Another incredible thing about this club's heritage is the man they called "Stevie". PG Stevenson was the Head Professional here at Royal Portrush Golf Club from 1922 to 1977. What a career and can you just imagine the stories he could have told. Just off the staircase to the 2nd floor is his portrait as well as a nice write up about him. Would love to have met this man! Lifetime Club Professionals hold a special place in the hearts of their members. Clearly, "Stevie" was no different. 

My tee time was set for 3:00 pm and I was paired with two brother in laws from Wisconsin and South Carolina. They were a treat to play with and we had a big time. As I said, the weather couldn't have been better. The views from nearly every tee were fantastic as the ocean can be seen from most of the holes. The first couple shots below are taken from the 2nd tee as I panned out across the course. Beautiful place.

As I said, the course sits along the water's edge as you can see from the next couple of shots. With such a pretty day, there were plenty of beach goers enjoying their day. As you can see, so was I!!

The next shot is of the par 3 14th. It is one of the most famous holes on the course and it was clear to see why. It was playing well over 200 yards, back into the wind with little room for error. Right was dead, as it drops off sharply down to the neighboring Valley Course and the Rathmore Golf Club where Graeme Mcdowell learned the game. I hit a good one here and was thankful for it. 

The sun was fading by the time we came to the 14th and if we were to finish our round, it would be close to sunset when we did. We hurried along through the next few holes and were indeed able to finish our round. I could see that Kristen was sitting in the car park waiting for me to finish. What I couldn't see or hear was the fact that she was parked in Darren Clarke's parking spot as she sat jamming out to Nelly's hit "Country Grammar"on BBC's Radio 1. Classic!!

Bushmills and the Dunluce.......

An early morning and some smooth sailing landed us in the port of Larne in Northern Ireland to start our day. Kristen was a bit nervous about the ferry ride and did get a little sideways with her tummy for a while once we got in and settled. After a nap she was good as new and we were out and about to explore the village of Bushmills. This area is a very popular vacation spot during the summer months. Judging by the traffic, there were still a lot of visitors about. Since our plans had been changed, Friday afternoon and Saturday morning were free days for us. We had a wonderful dinner at the Bushmills Inn on Friday night, with some much needed fireside time after the sinful Sticky Toffee Pudding with Fresh Cream you can see above.  On Saturday, we were off to the races on Saturday. I was anxiously awaiting my round at the Royal Portrush Golf Club and Kristen was fit to be tied to get to a gym and some exercise classes. She was able to find a home at Route 2 Fitness in the village of Ballymoney while I went out to do some exploring of my own. After dropping her off I headed to the Dunluce Castle, just down the coast line from our hotel. I love history and learning about this place and how it all came to be was fascinating to me. So much so that I brought Kristen back by later in the day. Amazing what people were capable of building so many centuries ago.

Change of Plans....Northern Ireland Here We Come

One thing we have learned over the years in coming over here is to go with the flow. Our favorite places and often our fondest memories stemmed from changes in itinerary etc. Today would prove to be no different. As you may recall from our last post, Kristen and I were set to play The Old Musselburgh Links Course at the race track today. However, having seen it yesterday and not being impressed I was up for some other options. That being said, Kristen posed a request to head back to St Andrews for  "wee" visit to the spa if I could find somewhere to play golf up there. She spoke my love language there with "St Andrews" and "Golf". I called the spa and much to her delight, they would be expecting Kristen as soon as we could get up there. Once she heard the news, we were off to the races. Since there are few speed limit signs here, we made good time to say the least in getting her to her "mothership." 

As things generally due, they worked out for me too and I was able to secure a tee time within the hour on The New Course here in St Andrews. The course was designed by Old Tom Morris and was opened for play in 1895. Clearly, "New" is a relative term. I was paired with a retired gentleman from West Virginia. He was so excited to be in St Andrews, much less playing golf there. He was chattering away like a kid at Christmas the whole way down the fairway. I could tell we were going to have fun, and indeed we did. The weather was sunny and bit breezy. The forecasted rains and high winds were set to start coming in that afternoon so I was thrilled to be able to get out on the course early. While the winds did indeed pick up before we finished, the rain held off. Thankful for that....

After my round I was back fireside at The Jigger Inn. While I was waiting for Kristen to pry herself from the spa, I received word from our ferry service on Saturday that there was weather coming on and we would not be able to cross to Northern Ireland as previously planned. Our plans and the back half of our journey were now officially up in the air. Based on some guidance from some gents there in The Jigger, I was able to call an audible and change some things up a bit. I called off our plans to head to Machrihanish Dunes and go straight to Northern Ireland instead. I booked us on a car ferry out of Troon that would take us across, which was a blessing in and of itself. That wasn't originally going to be the case. Instead of forging across on the SS Minnow we were well tended to on a much larger ship.  I was also able to move our arrival time up a day for the Bushmills Inn. We had heard a lot about the place and were looking forward to seeing her firsthand. Next stop, the seaside town of Portrush and the Bushmills Inn.