Another early rise this morning, and we plan to meet Sibylle for breakfast at our usual 7-7:15………Jutta is usually out the door on time while I lag behind taking all I need for the day down with me. J&S always make one last stop in the room before coming out to the car……I am sure this is just a ploy to have me carry all the golf bags out to the Jogger from the storage room. They appear appreciative, so I say nothing and follow routine…….its my job. When I show up at the dining room there is a lineup of about 30 people waiting to get in……..most with laniards around their necks…….I’m thinking dog tags………..I walk past them, getting dirty looks the whole way and enter the completely full room……..not a free seat in the place, and they have even opened up an adjoining second dining room way down at the end. That is where I see Jutta’s hand waving, and I make my way through the crowd. There must have been a tour group that arrived yesterday…….a big tour group. J&S tell me that when they arrived at 7:00 there was a small lineup so they sat in the lobby waiting for it to dwindle, but it just kept getting bigger, so they jumped in line. Somehow the wait staff is able to get breakfast to us in the usual time……there must be an army of cooks in the kitchen…….and we are on the way without delay. I know you are wondering……..I like the pancakes here, with sausages of course, but you have to order extra syrup, and maybe a slice of black pudding to top it off. Outside there are four big ass tour busses maneuvering into place in front of the hotel and down a side street…….obviously there to pick up the laniard bunch.
So far our southern swing is batting 1000………not a loser in the bunch. Todays offering will be Tralee, again, much anticipated due to comments from friends who have played it in the past………”The most beautiful back nine I have ever played” from RV at Oslerbrook…….quite a comment coming from him. We already know the lay of the land, having stopped here for lunch on the way down from Lahinch and NAV already knows her way also……..just about 45 minutes from the hotel. We arrive in plenty of time to hit the driving range and practice area……..very nice, and fairly new with covered hitting stations if you like (but no TrackMan), or you can hit outside on the real turf………there is a separate short game area with a few greens and multiple bunkers, and a large putting green back down closer to the first tee……all very nice with an attendant to help if you need it. We have decided to keep our forecaddy today……..mostly because we forgot to cancel him……..but it turns out he is a beauty and we are glad to have him along.
Dennis is introduced by the starter. Dennis the Menace I call hime and get a smile…..good sign. A very interesting man……..probably mid-seventies……caddies 4 days a week, and plays the other 3…….lives 10 minutes away in the old family home he would like to downsize from, but can’t find a smaller 2 bedroom anywhere in the area……..he is concerned that all of his stuff won’t fit into a new house anyway, in particular his 5-6,000 piece album collection……all genres of music, and in great shape he claims……..Dennis is also an avid photographer owning multiple cameras/lenses/gear……you can see his work below……..he is also a ballroom dancer, and loves giving the ladies a twirl a couple of nights a week. Wife now passed away and children long gone, he has 5 grandchildren who come to visit and like having their own bedrooms. Dennis is also a swimmer……..yep……in the ocean regularly year round and he points out a couple of his favourite spots we can see from the course……..I told you this ocean swimming was a thing over here.
Tralee is all it was built up to be, and the front nine is so stunning I just can’t wait to get to the back…………remember my comment about your most favourite course……….well it is happening again. J&S are loving this place. The views are to die for, and the course is in excellent condition except for a little top dressing on the greens, but doesn’t affect putting at all. This is a Palmer design, billed as Europe’s first Arnold Palmer designed course. His quote about the course “I may have designed the front nine, but surely God designed the back nine”. This location opened in 1984, but the Tralee Golf Club has been in existence since the 1890’s, playing at two other locations over time until this land was purchased and the new course built. Dennis is in complete control and is a great caddy…….just enough info…….no big explanations…..good reads on the putts, and he and I think the same way when it comes to yardage, factoring in the wind/elevation, so all is going well. When I compare this course to Old Head, our other big favourite, the two are very different. Old Head is so dramatic and in your face, while Tralee seems to just blend in with the land and become one………this course is no pushover though…….I am playing off 6,624, and with wind factored in, it is a lot more than that……..a birdie on the first hole gets me off to a good start, and when Sibylle drops a bomb from 50 feet on #9 for birdie, that’s it, she is moving here……..buying a house and moving………..right now. The back nine is as advertised, and we can’t stop taking pictures……….the course itself is beautiful, but views of the ocean, beaches, countryside, and distant mountains just blow you away. Memorable hole for me is #11…….a new one, built a couple of years ago at the cost of $700,000…….par 5, 572 yards, uphill all the way………into the wind of course………I hit three good shots and I’m still way short of the green. What a beauty, and then just a couple of holes later, #13, par 3, about 150 yds, playing who knows what with the wind…….the tee is perched on one side of this huge hairy hole in the dunes, and the sliver of green is perched on the other…….it might a well be a lake in front of you, as there is no way you are going down into the hole to retrieve a ball. Great par 3. Tralee more than lives up to its advanced billing, and is a place we will play again.
With the round over, the plan is to grab some takeaway (takeout) sandwiches, couple of brewskies, and hit the beach for a picnic………finding good access to the sand close by would have taken a bit of local knowledge, but we eventually find a good spot at Banna Beach (or banana beach as the girls call it) a few km away. Nice spot to stop for our lunch, but when the mountain goats head out for some extra miles, it is not long before they are back………the wind is just howling now, and we decide to book it back to Killarney.
Hilliard’s restaurant was a big hit yesterday so we are back for another try at dinner tonight………. it is every bit as good as yesterday. J&S are into the G&T’s with Dingle Gin…….I have a feeling a bottle will be coming home with us……..I am into the Irish Whiskey, and really enjoying Jameson Black Barrel……a bottle of that will be on the bar at home also.
Last round of the trip tomorrow at Waterville……..can’ believe it is coming to an end!
HUGEBLOGSITE 
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