Destinations

The Fore to Go gang has returned from Europe! We played golf and watched professional golf on our travels through Ireland, France, and Scotland. It was a trip of breathtaking beauty steeped in history. We landed in Cork, Ireland on the southern side of the Isle, enjoyed a pint of Guinness then headed to the hotel for some much needed ‘jet lag eradication’ sleep. The following day we drove to Kinsale to play The Old Head. The Old Head is a remarkably dramatic piece of Ireland, a peninsula protruding over two miles into the Atlantic Ocean. Although the course itself opened only as recently as 1997, the land upon which it was constructed has a history dating back 6,000 years as evidence suggests early Iron-age Celts settled on the headland. The ruins of the de Courcey tower house and medieval walls (circa 1169) form the entrance to the golf course today. Until purchase of the 220 acres in 1989 by John and Patrick O’Connor, the headland was farmed by local farmers.

The links and practice area occupy 180 acres and the remaining 40 acres of unspoiled cliff (rising in places to over 300 feet) frame the course. Nine holes play along the cliff tops, and all eighteen holes provide stunning ocean views. Throughout our round, we were reminded of its rich marine history. The Eirinn clan (from which Ireland took its name) kept a fire constantly burning as the first navigational beacon. Lighthouses evolved and there are remains of two built in 1667 and 1814 seen near the 7th tees. The existing lighthouse was built in 1853 on the southern tip of the headland behind the 18th tees. There have been countless shipwrecks in the vicinity of Old Head over the centuries. The most famous being the Lusitania in 1915. So here we were at the site of a tragedy that was instrumental in getting the United States into WWI thereby changing the course of history! Then I imagine I see a whale flume and…whew! Is it any wonder I don’t care that my ball is in the bushes!

Our next golf adventure took us to Evian, France, the famous French spa town in the Haute-Savoie region on the southern shore of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman). The Evian Masters, which began in 1994, is one of the premier events on the women’s professional calendar.

Its rich purse (3rd in prize money overall) and stunning location between Lake Geneva and the Alpine peaks, draw the best 90 female golfers in the world. They tackle the Evian Royal Resort Golf Course which is very technical with well-defended greens and narrow fairways. For this tournament, of course the rough was thick and the diabolical greens very fast. We were delighted to learn that we were to experience an Evian Masters first: the inaugural Evian Masters Juniors Cup comprised of the world’s top teams age 14 and under. We met parents and grandparents from around the world, all of whom had a common desire to see their youngster have fun and do well. The United States team placed third overall, with Justin Thomas coming in 2nd place in the boys division and Jordan Spieth in the top 10.

The U. S. girls division placed two participants, Erynne Lee and Grace Na in the top 10. These kids were so fun to watch as they interacted on the course and with the pros.

On Thursday, the 4-day professional event got underway. Being a long way from home and not too experienced with the French language, we naturally gravitated to a person that was familiar to us from back in Sacramento: we met Barbara Gulbis, Natalie’s mom. In case you’ve been hiding in a war bunker somewhere Natalie Gulbis, a familiar face in Northern California from her junior golf years, is one of the LPGA stars currently on tour. What a super experience to follow Natalie with her charming and fun mom (like mother like daughter). Natalie won the event for her first professional win. The congratulatory ceremony was awesome. There were parachute jumpers with the French and U. S. flags, tinsel confetti, flares, and clicking cameras surrounding the 18th green. CONGRATULATIONS, NATALIE.

Next on our very full agenda was a week’s trip to Scotland to play links golf and to watch the historic Women’s British Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews. We arrived in Edinburgh to pick up our rental car………remember they drive on the LEFT side of the road and the steering wheel is on the RIGHT side of the car! We dented no fenders, hit only a few curbs, but drove quite conservatively in unmitigated fear for the next week! And what a glorious week it was. We began our first links course experience at Cruden Bay Golf Club near the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is claimed that golf was played in the village of Cruden Bay as early as 1791. The original course, on the present site with its panoramic views of the Bay, was designed by Old Tom Morris of St. Andrews and opened in 1899. It is old fashioned links golf on one of the best links courses in Scotland. Last year it was placed at #52 in the world by Golf Magazine. There was wind and there was gorse, a spiny shrub that swallowed my ball. Just have to keep it in the fairway in linksville!

Royal Aberdeen Balgownie Golf Club was the site of our next links encounter. Founded in 1780, Royal Aberdeen is the sixth oldest golf club in the world. The championship course has hosted many well-known players including Morris, Hagen, Cotton, Lema, Jacklin, Norman, Watson, and Brooks to name but a few. We were standing on hallowed tees to be sure. The course runs essentially out and back along the North Sea shore. The exceptionally a outward nine cuts through some wonderful dune formation and the inland nine on the plateau.

We motored on to St. Andrews the next day. Our history barometer reached an all-time high as we walked up the 17th fairway to the 18th green and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club building. Although it is a public course, its reputation and status makes just being there a special event. It just gave us chills that the Home of Golf, where golf was first played 600 years ago, was to host a women’s professional championship for the first time ever, the Ricoh Women’s British Open. All of the golfers spoke reverentially of its history and their joy at the opportunity to compete in a major tournament there. True to its reputation, the test was severe. The course is known for its particular physical features including 112 bunkers, some of which are especially famous. For example ‘Hell’ on the long 14th, ‘Strath’ on the short 11th, and the road Bunker at what is probably the most famous golf hole in the world, the 17th or road Hole (so called because a road, which is in play, runs hard against the back edge of the green). Another peculiar feature of the Old Course is the double greens where the outward and inward holes are cut on the same putting surface. The Old Course is also unusual in that it starts and finishes in the ancient little town, but the most remarkable aspect is that after six centuries of evolution it still remains a true test of championship golf. We couldn’t resist the temptation to take a Nicklaus-like stance on the Swilkan Bridge the morning following the tournament.

Thursday proved to be a pretty benign weather day and Lorena Ochoa took advantage. She scored a 6-under 66 that day and never lost the lead on her way to victory on Sunday. She survived a very windy Friday and a cold and blustery Sunday to record her first major win and an historic one at that. We managed to get in one more round of golf at Carnoustie, and this course stole our hearts. The day was just a bit cloudy with sun peeking through enough to allow us to take it down to one shirt! Widely recognized as the toughest test in Open Championship golf, the 2007 Open had concluded just one week before our arrival with Padraig Harrington declared the winner after a wild back nine by himself and 3 other contenders for the title. Most of the grandstands were still up, so we got a great feel for what the crowds and atmosphere must have been like. I walked back to the championship tees on each hole just to get the view of the shot they had……glad I wasn’t playing from there!

Of course there was more gorse, and heather but we encountered the burns as well (brick-sided streams) running through the course. There was Jockie’s Burn and the infamous Barry Burn that comes into play on 16, 17 & 18 and the one that almost derailed Padraig this year on the 17th. One of the most famous holes in Open Championship golf is the sixth hole known as Hogan’s Alley in honor of Ben Hogan. The ‘Alley’ is the narrow gap between the fairway bunkers and the OB fence on the left. I got a huge lesson in links putting on the 14th, aptly named Spectacles because of the two large eye-glass round bunkers 50 yards from the front of the green. Our caddie said the name should have come from the ‘spectacle’ you could make of yourself if not careful. I overshot the double green (shared with the 4th hole) and had a 46 yard putt for par. I have never hit a putt that hard or that far! Miraculously my ball rolled to within 5 feet. I took my bogey ball out of the hole and ran to the next tee.

On the final hole you can almost see Van de Velde standing barefoot in the Barry Burn as it swallowed up his chance at victory in the 1999 Open. Gorse, pot bunkers and burns, Oh My! We’re home unscathed with our golf history and experience greatly enriched. Au revoir, slan go foill, beannachd leat, see ye later.