We have a couple of travel days ahead of us as we embark on the “Places I haven’t been in Scotland Tour”. By tomorrow evening we should be bedded down in the village of Macrihanish on Scotlands west coast, and will follow that up with a trip over to the Isle of Islay (eye-la). But first, it is up with the birds and on the road to Dublin. I am convinced that there is a way out of Rosapenna that will get us on a main east – west road, without the single track, Goat scaring, skinny road experience. A little work with the navigation system and I think I have found my route…….head towards Creeslough and pick up the N56…….we never made it to Creeslough due to the early week closures of the restaurants, but I hear there is a culinary standout in this town……..Braii……pretty casual, but dresses up well serving South African inspired BBQ, cooking over fire, etc……..apparently very good and on the list for next time. Either way, we avoid the skinny stuff and get onto some decent roads quite quickly. It is just short of four hours on the road to make it across the island, and we have booked another night at the Portmarnock Hotel outside Dublin and close to the airport…….looks like the Grand Hotel in Malahide is off the list permanently although we did enjoy our time there, and walking into town was a real bomus. We have talked about going back to Old Street restaurant again for dinner……definitely top of the list for us in Malahide! Everything goes according to schedule, and we arrive……..check into our overnight room on the lower floor……..dump the bags, and the goats are off for a beach walk to stretch those legs and get the daily miles in. Old Street turns out to be fully booked for a private event that looks like a school graduation, so we decide to troll the main street where we know there is at least a good Italian spot. While standing looking at a menu on the street, we meet an American couple who have moved to Ireland within the past year, and are on a mission to eat at every restaurant in the Malahide/Portmarnock area, and are creating a dining guide with what they hope will be online potential. They are of little help, because everything we mention, they say “Oh, that is a good place”………..so after a round or two of….”I dunno’ what do you think?” with the goats……we decide on the Italian spot……..Il Sorriso (The Smile). Dinner is great and did make us smile, but getting up at 4am for an early flight to Edinburgh did not. We are planning the same drop off routine that we initiated in Toronto, where I drop the goats with the bags and coffins……drop the rental car, and meet up back at the terminal. (coffins?……our PING golf club travel bags look like coffins and have been named such)……..more than one airline attendant has looked at me sideways as we check the bags, when I ask Jutta to slide me over her coffin!
A very short, routine flight over to my homeland, but baggage delivery to the turnstile took just about as long as the flight! We follow the signs for rental cars, and the walk just keeps on going, and going, leads us outside, keep following the signs, and going, and going, and going, but eventually after what seemed like a mile or so, we arrive at the central booking area……a building with all the rental car suppliers in one place. It is pretty slick from there on, as I get my own rep with an iPad surgically attached to his left hand, and he has me in our luxury rental in no time. The ladies had decided we would upgrade our ride for the Scottish leg of the trip, so its a BMW X5, and it is a beauty…….wait till they see the bill! It takes a few minutes to get acquainted with the controls, but pretty soon, with phones hooked up and nav pointing the way, we are off.
As mentioned above, we are headed to Machrihanish…….granted not the easiest place to get to in Scotland for a round of golf, but one that promises to be memorable nonetheless. Located at the southern end of The Kintyre Peninsula which is a 30 mile long stretch of land, resembling a large dong, on Scotland’s west coast, often referred to as Scotland’s only mainland island. Running north to south, it has the Firth of Clyde to it’s east, also home to the Isle of Arran, and I guess the top end of the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to its west……..(plus Isle of Islay, and Isle of Jura on the horizon) Actually a very easy and scenic drive skirting the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park………beautiful. All the guys who hire choppers to get to Macrihanish are missing a treat…….although I am envious. I have childhood memories of family vacations in the Trossachs, confirmed by my sis, there were 5 kids, plus one more on the way, staying in a small cramped caravan (trailer), that my dad had parked on a friends farm near the town of Ardrishaig. I had to stop and take the picture. But what a lovely day, and fantastic asparagus/smoked salmon lunch sitting outside at the Inverary Inn……..was this ever good.
We arrive at the Ugadale Hotel (ooo-gah-dale) in the village of Macrihanish……..people are still teeing off at the old course right across the road, and we actually discuss squeezing in a sundown round……..could be done……..but we meet up with the Cosgrove’s, joining us after a stint at Turnberry, and after a cocktail or two we decide to cool our jets……..doesn’t stop the goats from getting in a few more miles for the day with a hike on the course, down the shore along the first hole. We start to get a bit of the story about how things work here…….very interesting, with two different ownership groups interacting with one another to make the whole village work. The Old Course, as it is known, was designed, or conceived, by Old Tom Morris (remember him) back in the 1870’s………it is classic links golf over shoreside dune lands, wind included at no extra charge. The course is member owned, and they have a lovely clubhouse, restaurant, bar, right across the road from the tiny pro shop at the first tee. Macrihanish Dunes, the new kids on the block, and about a ten minute drive up the coast, depending on whether you run into any cattle along the way, is owned by Southworth Development…….Boston, Cape Cod, firm trying to make a mark in the industry with a few projects……..the course came online 2009’ish, and the company also owns the Ugadale Hotel, another in Campbeltown, and the pub/restaurant next door to the hotel.
Immediately it becomes clear that something is not quite right……….the lounge/bar/restaurant in the hotel is closed……initially we are told because of a kitchen renovation, but in truth it is because they can’t staff and run both the hotel lounge and the pub next door. They have opted to keep the pub open and that is where we will have to go for breakfast in the morning, and any other meals we choose. Quite frankly would rather go to the clubhouse next door which is more modern and much more welcoming, but you are only welcome there on days you are playing…….we fix that one real quick. Either way, we are in……..rooms are fine, and after viewing a few and choosing the best one, we have a nice ocean view from the third floor, and just across the road we can watch the hackers tee off on #1 and struggle their way home on #18. Interesting to note that there are a number of cottages on the property that some of the golfers have chosen rather than being in the hotel. We will be quite comfy here and our first round is tomorrow morning………..oh yeah, remember that whiskey we won in Rosapenna………won’t be coming home…….cracked the bottle and sampled some while enjoying the view………fabulous baby.
The pub for breakfast leaves a little to be desired, but it is included with our room……tables are sticky from last nights beerfest (yuk), but the food is good, and the coffee machine turns out a pretty good cuppa. We meet early at the pro shop which is full of great merch, and just love the logo with the oyster catcher featured. Weather is ok…….not terribly cold but a little chilly, and the wind is just a howlin’ in off the sea. Jack Nicklaus was quoted as saying #1 is the best opening hole of golf in the world………..I am not convinced Jack, but it is pretty dramatic hole hitting across the bay/beach, to a distant fairway, leaving a long shot into the green with a brutal crosswind blowing up your backside. The course unfolds beautifully, and it truly is a great test of golf and your patience. Our second round here in a couple of days should go better with the knowledge we picked up today. Our group is welcomed at the clubhouse as we are official visitors after playing today………….it is late afternoon, and given that we are all pretty much starving…….way past the goats feeding time……..an early dinner sounds great, and it was. Highly recommend the clubhouse for food, drinks, and service. Very Nice. Relaxing evening and getting prepped for the Dunes tomorrow.
I have Macrihanish Dunes GC plugged into the nav, but at one point I just had to stop and say this can’t be right………we were in a farmers cattle yard, but luckily a local was walking by with his dog and said “aye, it’s just doon the road there” pointing with his walking stick at an opening in the fence across the yard. I had heard there were plans for another 18 at this location, and a grand clubhouse/hotel to boot…….I might suggest they work on the entry before building any hotels or additional golf courses. We park, and find there is a cute little clubhouse/pro shop/ snack bar, where we should have come for breakfast, and we meet Lorna who says she serves up a killer breakfast (with no sticky tables)…….she is a long time employee of the club and lives close by. There is some bad news for me, that the buggy/golf cart I had booked was not confirmed, and they don’t have a driver/caddie here for me. Obviously I said I know how to drive, but this is not allowed here as there are environmentally sensitive areas on the course that must be avoided. So, even if he was here, it would be 50 pounds for the cart and another 75 + tip for the caddie………that’s about $300 CAD for the ride……….I’ll be walking. This is a very interesting course and we sure could have used a caddie on a number of occasions………blind tee shots for sure, but it was the blind shots into the greens that were the most challenging…….take your best guess…….hope and hit. It was a very nice round of golf…….a tough walk for me through the dune land that was sloped and undulating, with not a piece of flat ground anywhere. The skies opened up for a couple of holes on the back nine and got us pretty wet, but really enjoyed the course. Cos and I had a pint back at the clubhouse and chatted away to Pete and Lorna for a while before heading back to the hotel………Monica and the goats, already gone well ahead of us.
Our target for dinner tonight is in Campbeltown, probably the largest town on the peninsula, and just 5-6 miles away across the dong. Once a thriving centre, it has suffered dramatic declines in its primary industries over the years……..dairy farming and the creamery, plus the whiskey distilleries are only shadows of their past……..of 30 whiskey distilleries, there are now just 3 in operation……..dairy cattle in the area have reduced in number from 6,600 to 2,500 making the creamery unviable. It is still a busy fishing port, but signs of the decline are everywhere. I won’t even tell you the name of the restaurant we chose just in case you decide to go there. We are served by Natasha, a Russian import who is not the friendliest gal in town by a long shot, but we manage to get fed, and it was not all that bad. The goats decide to go out on a recon based on some internet browsing, and have discovered the Ardshiel Hotel down close to the harbour, and they love it……..we are booked tomorrow for the Sunday roast beef dinner special, and Cos and I will be sampling a few of the 300 bottles of whiskey they have in their collection.
Day two on the old course is terrific, and the experience from the other day makes a huge difference in our play (maybe not our score)………a very nice, and very challenging golf course……well worth the trip. Dinner at the Ardshiel Hotel was terrific, and I sampled some local Campbeltown whiskey…….a Glen Scotia, and a Springbank……both very tasty. There is much more to see and do in the area, but unfortunately we won’t be able to squeeze it in before we leave tomorrow morning for Islay. Down at the tip of the dong is the Mull of Kintyre, made famous by the Paul McCartney song of the same name. McCartney bought a farm on the peninsula back in 1966 and spent a good deal of time here………wife Linda who passed in 1998 has a memorial garden in the middle of town. Dunaverty Golf Club on the southern shore could be a golf target also. Will have to leave all that for next time!
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