I’m Goin’Down

We are up in plenty of time for our 9:57 tee off at Royal County Down, but first we must cram in another FULL IRISH BREAKFAST ……perfect as always, but I now find myself trending towards what I know from childhood as Ayrshire bacon instead of the sausages, and avoiding the beans 100%………you know why. Jutta and Sibylle are still talking about the 6,249yd forward tees, and to be honest, I’m not so thrilled about the 6,641yd gold tees that I expect to play……..a good strong breeze today, but the forecast calls for clear conditions at 10am, with rain to start at 4pm……..perfect…..I should be in the bar with Guinness in hand by 4:10.

Off to the course, walking across the parking lot from our hotel…..Slieve Donnard……have I told you this place is fantastic…….even with major renovations going on it is a great place to stay. A short walk, and we are at the clubhouse, loaded onto a buggy for transport to the driving range……..quick 15 minutes is all we have, then it is off to the first tee. We meet our forecaddy Colly, who is happy, smiling, and quick to reassure the girls that if the length is beyond their capabilities, he will make sure they have forward locations to tee off from. We have a fourth joining us….Cole, from Beamsville!!!!…….and his caddy we nicknamed Grumpy John………John is 75, but still carrying the bag for his clients, although as Colly tells us,”He just got grumpy after he turned 70”, and hence his nickname.

Francie from Ardglass, who caddied here for a couple of years, told me that the first hole, Par 5, was a breeze, and would give me a false sense that this course might just be easier than advertised……..great drive……utility club somehow went 230, and on the green putting for eagle……..missed, but easy tap in birdie………life is good. Jutta and Sibylle hit great drives/second shots, and were around the green in 3 hoping to chip/putt for par. Colly was impressed……..he said “These ladies can hit the ball, what are they worried about?”. It did get more difficult immediately, and as we moved through the course, hole after hole was a new challenge…….a shot that had to be played this way or that……left side, right side………hit is short and it will feed on……..don’t go left, there’s lots of room right…….and so on, and so on. Fantastic course, with almost all holes framed by huge hairy dunes……..don’t go there. What a test of golf. Blind tee shots, approach shots………Colly told me John caddied for a lady from Arizona last week and she was in tears by #7. I told him it was probably John’s fault because he is so damn grumpy. We laughed.

I have to tell you a bit about Colly………probably sixty something…….lives about 400 yards from the course…….has been working here in different capacities for 46 years……whaaaaaat. Initially on the turf crew doing just about everything, before switching to caddying almost 20 years ago. He is a walking, talking, highly detailed map of this course…….doesn’t carry a rangefinder…….he just knows it. He knows every sprinkler head and how far they are to the green/pin…..every bunker, swale, tuft of grass…….totally amazing. I checked him a number of times during the round…….not on purpose, but I had the rangefinder out before he got to me, and if not spot on, he might be 1-2 yards off on a pin, and was never wrong when it came to a layup distance or what club to hit off the tee. He was a real pro.

Jutta and Sibylle kept at it, and an interesting observation from them was that even at Oslerbrook it is hard to reach many of the greens in regulation, so our third shots on a par 4 are just longer than what we are used to. They did an amazing job navigating this monster, and when Jutta dropped a twenty footer for birdie on #10, par 3, 172yds………that smile didn’t go away for a long time. Really well played by the ladies today. Beamsville Cole on the other hand was hitting the ball a mile………just not always in the right direction………Grumpy John getting grumpier.

The rain arrived early, or maybe we were just a little behind schedule…….16 was manageable but wet with wind picking up……..17 was wet and getting wetter…….wind now at gale force, and 18 was WTF…….but we persevered and finished up in just over 4 hours. What a golf course.

Sibylle was happy to discover the Drying Room upstairs, and had her gear off and on the racks as we settled in for our celebratory Guinness and french fries. We have to get packed up for our drive to Rosapenna tomorrow morning, but not before one last stop at our favourite restaurant Percy French. Another great meal. Good spot whether you stay at the hotel or not………stay at the hotel! When we arrived back at the main building from PF, I urged J&S to follow me into the rooms under construction on the main floor……..I had taken the closed construction elevator down yesterday and landed right in the middle of the unfinished new main lobby and reception area…………clearly not allowed, but what are they going to do?…..they are quite far along, and in most cases just doing finish work, light installations, cabinetry, fixtures, etc.. This place is going to be gorgeous when the reno’s are complete……….we have already decided we are coming back.