We left The Europe Hotel in our transfer under the steady hand of our driver, Norrie. If you’ve been following the blog, you know the roads in Ireland are anorexic, but they got even skinnier– and bumpier–when we unanimously chose the scenic route to Waterville. I am a bit of a control freak, so I have been choosing a seat facing backward in the van so I don’t have to look at the oncoming traffic. So while this drive looked like a 40 foot downwind slider to me, it was a one handed tap in for Norrie.
Waterville is set hard along the Atlantic and I learned Charlie Chaplin used to vacation there. There is a statue dedicated to him in town. There is also a statue of Payne Stewart next to the putting green and many dedication plaques around the property. The way I have been playing, I knew I was a long ways from statue status.
After another scratchy warm up, I was rolling a few putts and had a nice chat with Mike from The Experience group. He and I had similar reasons for being on the trip and he validated my mentality of time being one’s most valuable asset. He also lost his father too soon and it prompted him to re-consider the fragility of life. In both our cases, our dads neglected their routine check ups–but we are not. That moment felt like when you and your golf partner agree on a club selection or the read of a putt. It just makes you more decisive in your execution. So, thanks for the confirmation, Mike!
Today, I would be playing with Nathan, Emma, and Chris. Nathan and Emma are fabulous operators and now good friends that work for The Experience. Chris has been in the golf business as a playing professional, operations, and now as a brand partner with Vessel. As a guy that used to run events for Pebble Beach and had my own travel business. let me give The Experience a quick plug here. If you are coming to Ireland or Scotland and want to play the BEST courses, this is the way. Don’t think you can do it yourself–you can’t. This trip has been like turning the key on a Bentley. All I’ve had to worry about is breaking 80.
Teams were Me and Nathan vs Chris and Emma. Emma is a tough negotiator and getting a stroke from her is like squeezing water from a stone. I was stationed next to Chris on the range and listening to the sweet sound of compression of club against ball. My partner was flying high after a clean range session. I was going to clearly be the weak link in this group because my warm up was excavating a lot of the Waterville turf and that is not where you want to be on a links track.
We immediately lost the first to an Emma birdie despite me and Nathan whining about no strokes the entire 410 yards of the hole. We won the 2nd though, and this give and take rhythm was the story of the day. Our teams finally tied a hole on the 9th after winning four each on the front nine. The match was all square. And the golf was serviceable. Holes were generally won with birdies, which was a nice change from previous rounds where there were lots of concessions.
We lost to 10th thanks to another three putt by me and Emma hit a pitch stone dead at the 11th for birdie. Nathan and I were two down. But thanks to a quick swing tip from Chris, our opponent, Nathan hit one stiff at the 12th to cut the lead in half and I actually birdied two holes in a row to give us the lead. We held that until the 17th, where Emma rolled in a 40 foot bomb into the wind to square the match. Our foursome best ball to that point was 9 under and the tough par 5 18th would decide an exciting back and forth match that only had 4 tied holes.
The 18th is a tight, straightaway par 5 with the ocean on the right and bunkers and tall dunes to the left. To complicate the task, the wind had freshened over the last 45 minutes and it was blowing hard off the right. To successfully hit the fairway, you either needed to (1) start your ball over the water or (2) hit a hard cut and bank it into the crosswind. Only Nathan executed this task; the other three chickened out and found themselves in the dunes on the left.
Our squad was in the drivers seat for a moment as I guided a 125 yard 8-iron about 40 feet right of the hole in three. Chris was in the left bunker in three. Emma and Nathan had both carded sixes. Chris summoned soft hands in the storm and flipped a beauty to about three feet. I, of course, blew my thumbs off with my birdie putt, 6 feet past the hole on the same line as Chris. Nathan and I stalked my par putt like it was to win the Ryder Cup. We settled on right edge and I found a brief moment where my hands weren’t shaking and slapped it in. Nathan and I looked at each other–this match was not going to end with a missed putt. So, the concession was given and the match was halved. We all shared post round hugs and Chris held on a little bit longer and tighter. That confirmed the gimme was the correct play.
After a couple post round Guinness in the rowdy clubhouse with my new friends, I wondered why I have waited 58 years to take this adventure. But then I realized I was in the perfect place, at the perfect time, to enjoy it properly.
