Our long journey to Northern Ireland began early. A 3:45 wake up call led to a 4:20am departure so we could make it to Holyhead, Wales to catch our ferry to Dublin. I hadn’t listed Wales as a country I would be visiting, but in just over a week I have stamped my passport with 5 new countries. According to Richard, Wales has some of the most underrated links courses in the world, so I have added it to my list of future golf destinations.
We queued up in Holyhead at 6:30am and after working our way through some stout security, we began the very structured process of loading into the ferry. Large freight is tied down first, then trucks, then cars file in last. Like filling a jar, you start with the large rocks, then the pebbles, then the sand for maximum volume. Rich booked us for Cabin Class, which was on the top level of the ship and included comfortable couches, an acceptable breakfast buffet, and snacks. Stretching out and catching some shut eye after departure was a splendid surprise. I woke up just as we were approaching the Port of Dublin, We were docking in the land of Guinness and Bushmills, and I was about to start a rotation of world-class courses I’ve dreamed about since I first got serious about golf. Giddy anticipation collided with the reality that we still had three hours of road work to get to the town of Portrush, about one hour to the northwest of Belfast.
Our first round was scheduled for Portstewart at 4:10pm. Our arrivals to courses so far has been a little too close for comfort and this was no exception. After yapping it up in the pro shop, I had time for 6 quick swings in the cage and a handful of putts. Rich had an extra visit to make, so he walked straight out on the first tee of The Strand, which is the Championship Course. If there was a perfect first tee to begin this incredible list of scheduled clubs we would be visiting, this would be the one I would choose.
From the first tee of The Strand, the combination of the coastline, the town, the emerald sheep farms, and the massive dunes felt like pure Ireland. And the first is no gimme. A visually intimidating dogleg right, it required driver through a chute and a stout left to right wind. Many consider the front nine at The Strand to be the finest opening nine in all of Ireland. I would take that one step further and say it was the finest opening nine I have ever played. Every hole was visually stunning as tiny ribbons of fairway split through the enormous dunes. At the fifth, we made our way along a river that spilled into the sea. The 6th was a postage stamp par 3 that Rich almost aced. The 7th was a reachable par 5 that worked uphill and to the right and the 8th gave us the mandatory blind tee shot that Ireland is known for. While the back nine was not quite as dramatic as the front, it was very solid in its own right. We finished the round in the pitch dark after getting stuck behind multiple groups of Americans. I could tell because if the Texas twang didn’t’ give it away, the music blasting from their speakers certainly did. Come on cowboys–show some respect. And play faster!
The next port of call was Royal Portrush which hosted The Open Championships in 2019 (Shane Lowry) and 2025 (Scottie Scheffler). The Irish share great pride in the victories of their native sons; there was plenty of memorabilia around the clubhouse of their 6 major champions who have collected a total of 11 of professional golf’s most important trophies: (1) Fred Daly, (2) Padraig Harrington, (3) Graeme McDowell, (4) Darren Clarke, (5) Rory McIlroy, and (6) Shane Lowry. Today, our hosts would be Paddy, a Royal Portrush member for almost 50 years and his son Robbie, who has completed his PGA education and works in golf operations. We finally got to a club early enough to hit a few balls and warm up the engines.
Portrush and Portstewart were both founded in the late 1800’s, and I love to imagine the guys in those eras hitting leather balls with tire irons while dressed in buttoned up tweed jackets. Royal Portrush spreads out in a valley close to the sea with massive dunes separating land and water. For those of you that have visited Bandon Dunes, you owe yourselves a trip to Ireland to see the topography that makes these spectacular links courses. I have been to Bandon Dunes a half dozen times and as great as it is, it just doesn’t compare in terms of scale.
Paddy, our host, is a retired banker that plays off a 4 handicap. As I would find out late in the round, he is “money” with the putter. The teams would be me and Robbie against Paddy and Richard. Royal Portrush was an arena that was far superior to the teams on the pitch, but we had some highlights. Paddy hits a very predictable tight draw that gets maximum roll. Robbie has the power of youth and listening to them banter playfully back and forth made me miss my two sons, who I will be meeting in about 10 days in New York. Richard pars every hole he gets a stroke. And I am ugly but efficient.
Our squad held a three up lead with three holes to play, but then Paddy’s putter showed up. He rolled in a 50 footer at the 16th and a 40 footer at the 17th to push the match to the last. His effort at the 18th just slid past the left from 50 feet again and Robbie and I escaped with a 2-up victory. A wee dram in the clubhouse wrapped up an incredible day and reminded me how privileged I was to be here. But as exceptional as the courses have been, the people have been even better!
Off to Royal County Down next, a course widely considered to be the world’s best!
