Royal County Down

A much anticipated visit.  Huge reputation.  Not a little trepidation.  None of it a disappointment.  Ratchetting up the intimidation I hired a caddy.  I am less nervous of them but I still want to impress them or at least not disappoint them, and give them something to take home beyond a fee and a tip.  And two random green fee guests as escort that I didn’t want to let down.

A blowy morning with scowling clouds guaranteeing rain later and sharp enough to whip my playing companions drives into the sea off the first tee.  In view of the conditions we played from the yellow tees at 6641 yards.

The Chinese was called Hao Ding and the American HowDee (or perhaps JC). Both were as monosyllabic as their names would suggest.  One was more garrulous than the other.  One laboured after us with his electric trolley and complained of the relentless pace as our round entered what felt like the fourth hour after as many holes. One topped up with an heroic pile of sandwiches after nine holes.  I shall leave you to guess who was responsible in each case.

I had a great caddy who helped me play my best golf.  I think I impressed him with a few proper shots and a number of pars.  No animals were harmed nor balls lost.  This is a tight tight course with numerous blind holes and a caddy is worth his weight.  But he clubbed me sensibly, not cautiously though he should have clubbed me senseless on the greens. 

I definitely disappointed him on the greens where he gave what seemed to be barely credible lines but which were all route one to the hole but I was too short, too long, too left, too right. And sometimes all of the above.  Is it still golf when you have 40 putts a round? (There were a couple of slippery 6’’ gimmes as well).   Admittedly they are capacious greens, fast and slopey.  I am quite convinced I don’t have the yips and I have a novice’s foolish confidence over every shot but something isn’t right.  Obvs. 

The driving was pretty solid with good run obtainable on excellent fairways and most of the clubs were working as well as could be expected and I hardly missed the demise of my seven iron.  Is there any shot more satisfying than a running 6 iron trundling up hill and down dale from 113 yards off the green as it curves it’s inevitable path to a flat lie inside 6’.  And anything more infuriating than missing the subsequent putt?

Two over after 4 before I got to work on my 3 putting and 8 over on eleven holes, 3 triples and five doubles, three three putts and the rest two apiece.  Ghastly.

Enough about me.  This is a stunning course with views and images from the mountains of Mourne to the sea. Plenty of room between fairways but glimpses of toil and triumph across the terrain.  Feathery topped bunkers, heather brows and galloping fairways though oh so tight.

So why is this one of my favourites?  With a confident game and a confident caddy I relished the blind shots.  The dunes are princely, and the contours are as exhilarating as the views.  The gorse is being constrained and the heather is close and kempt.  I loved the wildly fringed bunkers, none of those much revetted straightjacketed nature bounded Scottish bunkers here. Good sand too, as I discovered more than once.  This could not be anything other than a natural course and set up.  No man could imagine such a landscape nor find the budget to build it.  You could play the course backwards, sideways and entirely randomly and find as much fun across this natural terrain.

I am guessing that hole 14 and the fairway of 15 were part of a re-design to give the course extra length as they struck the only discordant notes as being slightly out of character but there wasn’t a dud hole.  It will be interesting to see what they do with the old pond at 17 which may become a general waste area rather than a bunker.  A new feature for a course that has been moulded over millenia

Unfortunately I couldn’t persuade the club to let me pay my green fee to Alzheimer’s Society but otherwise a perfect day

Thanks Locky for making my day at Royal County Down