WE’RE GOING DOWN

Ok today is the Big Kahuna, the Real Deal, the Big Cheese, the Creme de la Creme……..it’s time to play Royal County Down (RCD). Having played it before I know what to expect from the course, but weather conditions today will only make our round more difficult. It is blowing outside this morning, and that is expected to intensify this afternoon when we will be playing……….oh yeah, and it just might pour rain later into the bargain. We don’t tee off until 3pm as this morning is members play only (very strict about these things here), so we have plenty of time for breakfast, and even a lunchtime snack before we head out. You already know what I am eating…….it’s the MFI smothered in brown sauce (HP), and I do the bob and weave in the buffet area and score a couple of slices of bread and some yummy ham…….presto magnifico……..ham sandwich for the golf bag.

I actually have a little time to sit down and write this blog thing that I do, and Jutta goes down to the pool at the spa to get in some laps (nice facility here that a lot of the locals make use of) but that whole scene doesn’t last long before the troops are ready to head over to the clubhouse for a shopping extravaganza. RCD is literally in the back yard of the hotel……..or RCD would tell you that the hotel is in their front yard……either way, this is an arrangement that works very well for both. The have to be making shit pots full of money…….I think tee times for RCD are full……full…….two years out, and this hotel cannot be hurting having all the golf traffic flow through their front door, and out the back to get to the course. The lady at reception told us it is busloads of golfers one after another all year long………nice to see the golf industry firmly back on its feet following COVID. Nothing jumped off the rack for me today, but I did pick up a cool knitted head cover……maybe for the driver, but would look great on the hickory clubs also.

Our tee time is upon us, and the caddie joining our group is JD, or John, who has been working here at the club for 28 years……..I did happen to run into Colley, who was our man last year, and he now has 46 years in at the club, starting in turf as a youngster, and then moving over to the caddying side……probably better money. This must be a great place to work. There is no question the wind is blowing, and this will be a difficult day………JD figures 20mph steady with gusts to 30……..just for the record, I think JD is full of crap……..on some holes it is hard to swing through the ball with that headwind right in your face. The ladies are playing off 6,200 yards, par 76, so this will be a LONG day for them in more ways than one. The holes don’t get any easier the deeper we get into the round, and the conditions accentuate even the slightest mistake. Hit the ball into the air with any kind of spin on it and zoom, it is gone, usually landing in the deep stuff, god help you if it is in the gorse, because it is not coming back. I am walking today which is a big task all in itself……….there are no riding carts allowed at RCD, and it makes no difference if you have a medical reason or not……it is a struggle up a few of the hills, but I have an electric trolley (PowaCaddy), so I just crank it up to 9 and hang on for dear life……..seems to be working. There were a number of bright spots though…….pars were reason for celebration, and when a couple of birdies came out of nowhere, the crowd just went wild. Jutta commented on the number of blind shots we are faced with, and I have to agree……..sometimes off the tee you are looking straight ahead at a big hairy mound with a painted white rock sitting at the crest…….right over the rock JD would say………gee thanks!

Looking southwest over the hotel towards the real Slieve Donard (the mountain), we could see a system brewing………we are on like the 12th, 13th, hole, and this thing is going to hit before we make it through the round………memories of last year when Jutta, Sybille, and I, got nailed with a torrential downpour walking off #15 green, and got soaked playing in the last three holes. We started playing as quickly as possible, but there was just no way we wouldn’t get hit. It happened………we already had our gear on before it arrived, the wind intensified (is that even possible) and it was a pretty good downpour, but fizzled to a light rain pretty fast. Playing 16 – 17 – 18 dead into the wind was a fitting end to a great day on a great golf course. Probably the last time I will play this monster as there are so many other great courses yet to be played here in Ireland.

Our mandatory post round Guinness is in the lounge upstairs, but no food is available this late………we settle for multiple bags of “crisps” (potato chips). It is a quick walk back to the hotel, where we agree to shower up and meet in the dining room for dinner. We haven’t tried the dinner menu here yet and look forward to giving it a try. All goes well, but I have to tell you about these bowls………this hotel (Mike chimes in, a 5 Star Hotel) uses these little white bowls for just about everything……….they are smaller than a soup bowl, smaller than your basic household cereal bowl, just the right size for almost………nothing………..order some snacks at the bar and you get a bowl full of crisps (gone in 15 seconds)……..order french fries, and they come in a bowl, like half of a small order at Macdonald’s, but the bowl is full (gone in 15 seconds), and tonight, I ordered the chef’s salad as a side………came in a f’ing bowl. What are they thinking? Smallest chefs salad ever. But bowls aside, our food was very good, and the service quite friendly. There was an interesting moment with the wine we ordered though………an Antinori 2016 Chianti Classico Reserva……..nice right?……..so when the tasting is being poured I look at the cork and it says 2020……….hmmmmmm……..check the bottle, and yep, 2020……..the wine waiter from next door at the bar tells us that their supplier sent them the 2020 instead of the 2016 so we ask if that was before they printed the price on the wine list or after……….we let him off the hook as we were just jacking around at this point……..the 2020 was just fine.

The weather forecast for tomorrow does not look favourable in the morning, but does get better later in the day……..Mike has a connection with the head pro at Ardglass GC where we hope to play tomorrow, and he manages to move our tee time forward an hour. We hope it is enough time for the system to pass through.