While watching the British Open, I couldn’t help but day dream about my trip to Ireland in April.
A friend told me once I’ve played links golf “over there” – meaning Ireland and Scotland – playing golf anywhere else will become boring. I understand now what he meant.
I’m counting down the days until I can get back again. Everything you read about Ireland is true – the links course are more dramatic than their Scottish brethren, there are more of them and generally they’re less expensive, too.
The two hazards of Irish golf are well-publicized – balky weather and bad roads.
The weather will always be hit or miss. I went during a shaky time, the first week many courses had opened and hit a hole-in-one. We played eight straight days and had only two shaky rounds – we played Doonbeg in 70-mile-an-hour winds and we played Waterville in a steady rain/mist that rarely let up. But we also had stunningly good weather for the K-Club, Enniscrone, Donegal (Murvagh), Rathsallagh, Mullingar and were basked in sunshine at Tralee.
In contrast, another friend went last summer in prime time and got poured on sideways all week. Just bring your raingear and your smile and never stray too far from either.
As for the roads, they’re getting better as Ireland is experiencing a boom economy.
It’s a shame they’ll probably never play another British Open in Ireland, because there are many worthy venues.
Since so many golfers are dying for inside information on once-in-a-lifetime trips like Ireland and Scotland, I’ll be blogging a lot more about Ireland in the future. It’s fun to write about such an incredible memory.

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