The Town Match...Part 2 (The After Party)

New here? We're posting daily from Scotland through September 21 — follow the trip. 

One thing I was looking forward to beyond today's golf was the fellowship that follows during the Town Match. Teeing off at 8:24 am meant that the overall competition wouldn't be over until dark. Traditionally, after the round, players will don their coat and tie and have lunch together at one of their respective clubs. Spence and I were set to host at The St Andrews Golf Club. We had some time before lunch so we met up with Eamonn and Paul in the "Dirty Bar" of the R&A. Clubhouse rules dictate coat and tie, but here you can come straight in from the course. The four of us grabbed a table and began to reflect on the day and our match. Sitting here with my son and these two wonderful gentlemen, I couldn't have been more grateful. I had hoped Spence would get a chance to see this place and there we were. It was here where we were introduced to Kümmel, a sweet liqueur, served at traditional Scottish and English Golf Clubs. I was told it was quite effective at steadying the nerves on the course! 

Spence and I hosted Eamonn and Paul for lunch upstairs, overlooking the 18th green of The Old. As we enjoyed lunch and some great conversation, I simply couldn't have asked for a better pairing for the day. Paul shared a story that will forever stick with me at that table. He said that there was a saying that for a great day of golf, you need three things: a great course, a great location and great pals. He went on to say that the first two don't count. At the end of the day, the game is the same wherever you are. It's the people you're with that matter. Looking across the table, I couldn't agree more! 

Now that we were all spruced up now, we headed back to the R&A. While I had seen almost everything in there, Spence had not. Eamonn took him on a tour before coming back to grab Paul and me for some special pictures. What a treat! We made our way back to the Great Room for some more Kümmel and conversation. Good stuff and quite potent! Throughout the afternoon, we met some wonderful folks and it was so much fun watching my son interact with everyone. It was a proud Dad moment, almost as if time was standing still. The time came to say our goodbyes and we exchanged contact info and parted ways. 

We made one last pass through The Dunny before dinner. We had to, it's on the way. While there, we ran into our Philly friends, the Elliotts. I was glad to hear that he enjoyed his first Town Match. Apparently they had the same plans as we did and we would see them shortly at, you guessed it, Little Italy! I asked Spence during dinner if he wanted to play any more golf while here and I loved his answer. He said, "Dad, no, today was perfect!" I'd have to agree. Even though the R&A won the Town Match overall, we won the day!