OLD HEAD-Ireland

[umuddafadda]

Anybody played this course? I hear its off the charts???

[showtime583]

My uncle played it a few years ago...saw his pictures - pretty amazing to say the least!

[wylee999]

... off the carts is an apt description.  I was there 2 yrs ago with my brother.  We were incredibly fortunate that the weather was mild as this can be more than challenging when winds are somewhat strong. ( 25 mph or greater )  In advance of our trip, we knew that our golf was probably limited to only a round as we had a couple of other non-golfers with us.  This meant that we had to be very discriminating in our pick for that single round.  I happened to land on the old head website during my search and my jaw completely dropped.  I forwarded the link to

my brother and his reaction was the same.  It was a collective "We gotta play this course."  It just happened that it was just outside of Kinsale which was the first town at which we stayed.  Weather was a bit sketchy when we arrived.  Rather gray with a very slight drizzle so we started out a bit pessimistic of the evolving conditions.  We were paired up with another couple from the U.S.  He introduced himself as Robert Walter and asked where we were from.  We replied that we lived in Seattle, Wa.  He responded...  "Ahh, Seattle..  I'm on the board of directors at Nordstrom."  Brother and I gave a quick glance at each other and I said...  "Oh, my wife SHOPS at Nordstrom but usually only at their half yearly sale".   Needless to say, that was the last chat about job roles for the round.  Anyway... back to the golf.  The opening holes skirted the south edge of the peninsula leading towards the iconic lighthouse.  Hole number 4 which is called the razor's edge is an almost surreal set up.  Par 4 which progressively narrows as you move down the fairway.  The left side skirts the 250 ft cliffs surrounding the peninsula.  Talk about intimidation!  The majority of the holes skirt the edge which is such a distraction for hackers like myself that the normally high handicap does a nice balloon job.  Not to worry...  Your score is the last thing you're interested in when playing this course.  The 2nd amazing hole which is considered by most to be the the most stunning visually is # 12.  From the tee box, the hole is a slight dogleg left so you catch a glimpse of the sheer drop off from the rock cliffs straight down to the ocean below.   Sea birds drifting/soaring along the face of the cliffs was simply spectacular.  Oh, and by the way after about the 5th hole, the clouds had parted and we were able to absorb all of these stunning views in the light of the sun.

This was the golf experience of a lifetime for my brother and I.  There are many other amazing courses to experience in Ireland but to be able to play the one we targetted and to play it in the warmth of the sun was an Irish blessing to be sure.