Staying in The Europe Hotel has been a real treat, as I am sure the nightly tariff is well above my pay grade. In America, when they say “breakfast is included” it means a cup of yogurt and a microwaved egg sandwich past the expiration date. At The Europe, it means everything one can imagine for breakfast, with a fresh pot of coffee, while admiring the panoramic views of Lough Leane. It is hard not to feel like your day is off to a great start when immersed in five star conditions.
We hopped on our transfer to Dooks Golf Club, founded 1894. Very few of the courses we’ve visited have had exceptional warm up areas and Dooks was no different. I was planning on swing self-surgery pre-round, but had to settle for 10 or so strikes off a mat into a net. I put a bandaid on my broken swing and trudged up to the first tee for another Irish bare knuckle shellacking.
Today, I would be joining Emma, who is a scratch golfer and a member at Ballybunion and her friend, Bob, who spends 3 months a year in Ireland and the rest in South Carolina. It felt comfortable to hear a friendly American southern drawl, and after we made a mess of the first, we walked 50 yards to the 2nd tee where spectacular 360 degree views were waiting for us. Dooks is surrounded by Dingle Bay, Castlemaine Harbor, Mullaghanattin mountain, and emerald green hills and farmland as far as the eye can see. This view reminded me of what spoils those that are lucky enough to live on the Monterey Peninsula.
I got off to another sub-standard start with bogeys at 1 and 3. A par save at the 4th lifted my spirits, but I bogeyed the 5th and the 7th as well. I am either not hitting the fairway, missing the green from the fairway, hitting a bad long putt, or missing a short one. Emma and Bob were a real treat to play with, so I really didn’t care that much. Plus, I have been reminding myself of my personal promise to not focus on score–there are just too many variables to expect consistency. But the benign conditions at Tehama, where it is usually 75 degrees with perfect turf, has turned me into a soft golfer. And soft golfers make soft bogeys.
In the end, I brought it home in just under 80, otherwise known as Club Pro Par. Overall, I am averaging about 77 for the trip thanks to a couple good rounds at Delamere Forest and Baltray. But I got smacked across the face by Royal County Down, St. Georges Hill, and Portmarnock.
I had an excellent pizza for lunch (and two pints of Guinness of course), which might be a harbinger of things to come on my east coast trip with my sons. While I miss them and America, I could definitely spend several months every year in Ireland. This is a very special place with very special people and I feel grateful for the experience.
