tour reflections

The trip was simple wonderful – and certainly exceeded all my expectations.

The courses were even better than I’d ever imagined. Despite being wet and very windy at times, we’d have certainly settled for the weather we ended up with – it wasn’t cold at all and we did have some beautiful sunshine at times. It would be pretty straightforward outlining a long list of golfing highlights but my own personal memories related to the non-golf stuff:
1. Some of the inventive team names: “Teama Maria” (named after one of the waitresses at the Smoke House restaurant in Killarney) and “Team Taches” (Simon+Christian shaving off their beards so they join Barry as a team of moustached golfers – see photograph!).
2. Ken’s new golf umbrella disintegrating in the gales at Waterville within a mere 2 seconds.
3. Simon+Christian dancing an Irish jig beside the 18th green at Lahinch in the pouring rain – we’d agreed this would be the forfeit for the losing team!
4. The idiosyncrasies of the “Sat-Navs” in each of the three cars and how Ken’s mapreader sent us all along a single track road (complete with grass running along its middle) for several miles after the Shannon ferry crossing.
5. Driving along the headland road as we approached Old Head Golf Course and being “blown away” at its improbable location and stunning scenery.
6. SteveE’s collection of Irish CDs which kept us happy on a various journeys and which will now forever be associated with the tour (eg. The Pogues, The Chieftains, The Corrs, Enya and U2).
7. Playing pool in a Lahinch bar and being entertained by Christain issuing instructions/team tactics to Ken.
8. The stunning beauty of south-west Ireland.

9. The excellent glasses of Guinness and the BushMills whiskey!
10. The really wonderful company of SteveE, Ken, Simon, Barry and Christian and the various incidents that kept us all entertained.

Just wonderful times.

two (of the six) make their way to ireland)

SteveE and I drove through Wales under sombre skies and heavy rain. At one point, it really did seem like the world was ending but, amazingly, by the time we reached Pembrokeshire the clouds disappeared and we actually saw some blue sky. We had coffee and read newspapers in the Tesco café and then convinced ourselves that it would make sense to have a spot of lunch before boarding the ferry…. and ended up buying spare ribs, chicken and sausage from their hot food counter (we went for the healthy option and didn’t include bread!). We think the shop assistant thought we were buying for our respective families…. little did she know! With amazing foresight, SteveE had booked us into Club Class lounge and so we enjoyed comfort, views and the option for more and drink (naturally, we declined the food due to our athletic status). It proved to be a lovely smooth crossing with sunshine and clear skies all the way – with the sun setting just as we approached Irish shores (see pic).
Drove to Waterford for our overnight stay in the Travelodge - and had a light snack at Eddie Rocket’s Diner – before forcing ourselves to sample some of SteveE’s Bushmills whiskey, as you have to.
Meanwhile, Ken+Christian are elsewhere in Ireland trying to track down the Barnes’s family history (SteveE+I still think there is some Irish link with the Italian mafia); Barry is about to fly over to Cork. We are due to meet up later this morning - with Simon joining us on Tuesday.
PS: At the time of writing, I have yet to meet ANY Irish people – everyone speaks with an East European accent (apart from SteveE).
PPS: SteveE won the snoring competition… easily.