Finding our Stride

We have settled in nicely at the Portmarnock Resort, and are finding it to be more to our liking than the Grand Hotel down the road in Malahide. The good thing about the Grand Hotel was that you could walk to town in the evening for restaurants and the pub, but for this extended stay in the area it is nice having the golf course at your door, and dining out is just a short trip away in the Cash Cab………..being half the price is not bad either.

Another great breakfast downstairs (MFI…Modified Full Irish) has us prepped and ready for round #2 at the Jameson Links. This course was designed by Berhnard Langer in 1995, and underwent a redesign in 2022-2023 when it was named the Jameson Links. It is pretty clear to us that even today, some of the changes have not worked out that well……..at least 4 of the greens are struggling for survival with treatments underway to get grass growing on them again. It remains a very nice course though, and while it is not as difficult and well designed as its neighbour to the south “Portmarnock Golf Club” it is still a nice challenging round of golf and we like it.

The wind has changed today……..bizarre……. almost the opposite direction. Yesterday we watched planes on their landing pattern to Dublin Airport flying from west to east………today it is planes taking off, east to west. I didn’t mention it yesterday, but the air traffic here is constant. All day long……..we hear it starting around 5am, and it goes non-stop all day. Yesterday they were landing no more than 5 minutes apart, and today it is the same interval with those taking off. So many planes, so many people………where are they all going?

Our golf is a lot better today……..the swingin’ sista’s are bashing it a mile, and can’t believe the rollout you get on these fairways. Pace of play is wonderful………I still can’t forget the +5 hour rounds in Spain last year…….we are easily done in under 4 hours here.

I met a couple of guys down in the pub who were watching the Heritage Classic golf tournament from Hilton Head, and we got to chatting. They are from California, and are here with their 8 year old sons who are competing in the European Jiu Jitsu Championships………and you thought driving to Belleville for a hockey game was bad! That is commitment my friends.