A little magic at Macreddin

I forgot to put up a blog about Macreddin the first time I played, but I went back recently to enjoy its charms again. One of this course’s great advantages is that it is part of Brooklodge, with an excellent hotel and the Strawberry Tree restaurant. There’s a pub and a couple of shops too, so it’s almost a destination, and the day I played (with my mate, Charlie) there was a wedding on. Probably one every weekend.

I’ve heard one complaint about this course: the lengthy walks to the first and tenth tees. Certainly, for the latter, you have to keep your eyes peeled to find where you’re going, but McGinley had to divide the course up, and this is how it fell.

The back 9 will hit you with a few climbs, but it also gives you the 12th, a superb par four dogleg that just happens to be Index 1. Charlie and I both got a par, but in completely different ways, and it illustrates the easy and the hard way to play the hole. The drive is captivating, hitting from a high tee to a flat fairway below, across Ballycreen Brook. Because it’s Index 1 you have to smash it as far as you can – or so you’d think. If you can cut the corner then you’re a seriously big hitter and I envy you; if not, the ideal route is to play a shorter tee shot that lands just over the brook (as Charlie did). This then gives you a straight shot into the green (over the brook again) which is clearly visible. If you drive too far and too straight, you’ll discover that there are two large pine trees on the brook’s bank which block your route entirely (as I discovered). And if you’re playing from the forward and middle tees you could drive too far and go up the bank.

With the changes in elevation, doglegs and trees, the back 9 is more enticing and more difficult. But the front 9 has views of the valley and some magical holes (2, 6, 7). It also has the beautiful and unbelievably towering par three 4th. It is miles below you and takes several minutes to walk down to it. It’s worth noting that the path to the 5th is about three-quarters of the way down, so leave your clubs and conserve your energy.

Charlie had an interesting encounter with the par threes – he hit a 7 iron at all four and landed on each green (and got par). I left my 6 iron on the tee box at the 7th and asked Dave – in the shop – to keep an eye out for it. He called me later to say it had been handed in. When I turned up to collect it, he was very impressed that I had hit a 6 iron to a 204 yard hole. I nodded graciously, flexing my biceps so they rippled under my tee shirt – as you do – too embarrassed to mention that we’d played from the forward tees, some 40 yards closer.

These are difficult times and it will be interesting to see how Macreddin endures. A clubhouse is planned, but for now you need to get a swipe card from the office to let yourself into the leisure facilities (which you pass on the walk back from the 18th green). And, as you play the front 9, you will see tall pillars sticking up. Initially I thought they were for a bridge of some description, but when you walk to the 10th you realise these are the chimney stacks of houses yet to be built. They’re a bit unsightly and they might remain that way for some time. That said, the houses that have been completed are very impressive indeed.

The book is raring to go

Two weeks ago I was slaving away over proofs, correcting numerous little things and missing hundreds more. Thanks to the eagle eyes of Paula, at Collins Press, and Jonathan, my agent, all of these have been identified and are being corrected as I write. It's a difficult thing, though, going through all the pages, thinking about changes you'd like to make, scores you want to revise, that sort of thing. The word 'undulating' appears all over the place and because I was reading all 349 courses in one go, it was unavoidable finding words that are repeated time and again. After all, you can only describe a golf course in so many ways.

There's also the matter of the recesssion. Since I submitted the manuscript, Luttrellstown Castle has announced its closure, Tulfarris and Blarney have gone into receivership, and who knows what the summer will bring. I imagine another horrible summer will see a few more courses fall by the wayside. Green fees are changing too, which is excellent news for golfers everywhere. And, as I say in my book, there's never been a better time to negotiate.

The book is out there, available for pre-ordering (published in April), if you're interested. It appeared yesterday on the Collins Press website
Collins Press
and on
Amazon.co.uk


PRICE
The price is €15.95 and if that isn't value for money I don't know what is. Think about it: a book on Irish golf courses or 16 Mars Bars. And to think I can remember when Mars Bars were 12p!

It was a real rush seeing it on the sites, but I have to confess that I am extremely concerned by one particular thing: if you go on to amazon.co.uk and type in 'Kevin Markham', my book appears, but it's second on the list. What's first on the list? Baywatch. No, I'm not kidding. And The Hoff isn't even holding a golf club. Still, mustn't grumble.

2008 - Catch Up

2008 has turned out to be the year of the Irish in terms of golf victories and establishing names on the world stage.

After Padraig’s victory at Carnoustie in 2007, there was a general feeling that he enjoyed good fortune after his balls-up of the 18th in his final round. 2008 put that feeling to rest with two great Major victories.

Darren Clarke returned to winning ways, twice, and yet he was screwed by Faldo when he wasn’t picked for the Ryder Cup. Not so Graeme McDowell, who also recorded two wins and became one of Europe’s best performers in the Ryder Cup.

[Photo: Deer on Portumna's par five 17th]

But perhaps even more promising was to see two new Irish winners – Damien McGrane and Peter Lawrie – and the rise and rise of Rory McIlroy. After a superb closing to the year he has guaranteed himself an appearance at all four majors next year. The beauty of young Rory is that there is a firm belief that anything is possible. And following December’s South African Open, 28 year old Gareth Maybin from Northern Ireland may also make a big splash in 2009.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the year was Padraig’s very poor performance in the Ryder Cup. Mind you, Faldo did as much damage with his mouth as his selection process, and bringing ‘potatoes’ into Padraig’s training regime may have been one vegetable too far for Ireland’s greatest golfer.

There was more good news as it was confirmed that The Irish Open will continue into 2009, thanks to mobile phone company, 3. There is still no decision where it will be held. After Mount Juliet and Royal Dublin were both touted as the venue, it seems that Baltray may get the nod. And with John Daly indicating he would like to play in the event again, there will a great buzz about the place come May 2009.

[Photo: Baltray's par three 15th]

Luttrellstown Castle Golf Club it the dust – or it will do at the end of 2009 when it closes its doors for the last time. Luttrellstown is regarded as one of the big parkland venues that spent too much money. Truth be told, it’s a nice course, but nothing that special. And why the new owners felt the need to spend huge sums replacing one impressive timber clubhouse with another impressive timber clubhouse I’ll never know. Seemed like a good idea at the time, perhaps.

Other courses have struggled – and will continue to struggle in 2009 no doubt – with courses closed on weekdays, green staff and even managers laid off. Druid’s Heath hit an interesting jackpot: they offered 200 memberships for sale, for 2009, at €1,500 a head. Huge numbers replied (from 500 to 800 depending on where you heard it) and they took 360 of these. €540,000 in one swoop is not a bad day’s work.

In the Sunday Tribune’s December 14th edition, the owner of Hollystown, Oliver Barry, had a pop at Ireland’s tourist bodies for focusing too exclusively on Ireland’s premier resorts when they promoted Irish golf overseas. He backed this up by saying that at over 90 per cent of Ireland’s 420 golf courses you could play for €40 or less. That’s a bit disingenuous as he’s including some 100 nine hole courses – but he still has a valid point. However, these tourist bodies are changing their focus to promote the smaller clubs and while the quality of these is not as exquisite as Mr. Barry would have you believe, their value for money is beyond question. Portumna has to be the biggest example of this. For €30 you play a course that is big, natural and thrilling, and one of the best parkland courses in the country. Seriously. Play in the morning and watch the deer run around you.
[Photo: Portumna's 13th]

My final note is to say that there’s a decent spread on my travels in December’s Today’s Golfer Magazine – Issue 251 – if you’re remotely interested! The only downside is that I have already been tagged with the title of the article – White Camper Van Man. Still, it’s better than my previous name which I acquired after a year in Australia, delivering ‘health’ food ice-cream to stores in Sydney. Made of Tofu it was utterly revolting, but I still ended up being called Mr. Whippy.

Hope you have a great golfing 2009.

"Most Spectacular Courses "

[Photo: Fin on the 2nd green at Ballybunion Old]

Interesting, isn't it, how people writing a book on golf courses decide which qualify as 'best' or 'most spectacular' I was in Easons bookshop the other day and I saw the mightily impressive
Golf Around the World: The Great Game and Its Most Spectacular Courses by Fulvio Golob, Giulia Muttoni, with a foreword by Adam Scott.

It's a huge big hardback book and it looks truly stunning, with superb photographs and a sparkling bit of commentary on the 50 chosen courses.

One of the key things about my book is that it is subjective because the sole author (i.e. me) is an amateur golfer. During my recent visit to the NEC Golf Show I had some interesting debates about which Irish courses qualified as good and which qualified as bad. But a book as big as Golob and Muttoni's, with two authors, would, presumably, call on some wider expertise and opinion. So I was rather stumped by the two courses that were picked from Ireland. Ballybunion was one, and I agree wholeheartedly, but selected ahead of Royal County Down, The European, Waterville (pictured), Royal Portrush, Tralee, County Sligo and even Carne and Enniscrone... was Portmarnock. What a bizarre choice. It is a tough course for certain, but it doesn't qualify as "spectacular". It is surprisingly muted in fact - the dunes rarely get above head height, it sits in the middle of busy Dublin bay and you nearly always have plenty of the hole on show. How does that make it spectacular? Old Head of Kinsale, for all its faults, is spectacular beyond belief, as are all of the courses I listed above.

Of the 50 courses, 8 are in Scotland - which makes Ireland's tally of two seem even more paltry - especially when you consider that we are regarded as having some of the greatest courses in the world.

It just proves how subjective golf can be.

Golf Show at the NEC

[Photo: The Heath's par three 9th, with sheep]
I got up at 4am to catch a flight to Birmingham for the Golf Show at the N.E.C. Not my best time of day and having parked, taken the bus, waited patiently to go through Security (asking myself where all these people are going at 5am) and then walked only a few short miles to reach the departure gate, I was anticipating a well earned snooze.

Have you seen the movie Airplane? Remember at the end when the out-of-control plane lands and swooshes past the nominated departure gate, and passengers rush from one gate to the next as the plane fails to stop? We had that at Dublin. Well, sort of. I was sitting at gate D72 when a murmur spread through the long queue. Someone had seen the departure board which indicated that our gate had switched from D72 to C61. Panic set in. Bags were plucked up and people began to hurry away down the concourse. The running of the bulls came to mind, especially the elegantly suited man who had been first in the queue and was now running with coat tails whipping behind him. Me? I stayed where I was, as did a few others. Ryanair don’t go anywhere near C terminal, and with 20 minutes before departure I doubted we were going to be sent to the far extremes of the airport – and if we were they could damn well wait.

It started low: a waterfall of indistinct sound that turned into a hissing of polyester and staccato heels as the flock returned at full speed, mister elegance in the lead. The gate change had been a mistake and the hoards were upon us once again. I thought, fleetingly, that the suited man was going to cry when he discovered his cherished front spot had been taken. He was now well back in the queue and he kept leaning to the side to look at the spot he’d once stood. And yet – and this is the remarkable thing about Ryanair – when the plane took off, every single one of us was on board. What’s more, the plane landed 35 minutes ahead of schedule and was announced with a dramatic fanfair over the loudspeakers. Not ideal at 7.10am.

The show opened at 10am and there was a queue of maybe 200. A good sign. Inside, the key focus of visitors was the longest drive, various putting competitions and the latest golf clubs. By about 10.02am you could hear the constant sound of balls being hammered into driving nets. The 100 foot putt challenge was also popular, offering free weekend breaks to anyone who could sink the putt. And it wasn’t easy! The carpet was obviously rigged against you and five feet in front of where you started, balls were hopping gleefully in the air. There were plenty of clothing suppliers, new gadgets to help you improve your game, including one putting gizmo where you blindfold yourself (I have yet to play a round blindfolded, but maybe you have), tour operators, buggy suppliers – check out www.stewartgolf.com for the new porshe of buggies. They even had one spinning on a glittering dais. Oh, and Bank of Ireland, obviously, with some rather aggressive sales people.

The purpose of my visit was to attract advertising for the book. There are probably four spaces (inside covers and in the middle where the photographs will appear) and this seemed like a good environment to talk directly to the relevant people. Clothing and club manufacturers seemed like the perfect place to start, along with the tour operators who send their clientele to Ireland. I spoke to several people and handed out cards, but it didn’t help that on my first attempt I asked where in Australia the guy was from and he replied, Guildford in Surrey. That slowed my momentum and getting that why-are-you-talking-to-me stare a couple of times never makes it easy. But, all in all, it was a positive experience. Only one Irish body attended – Golf Ireland Midlands – promoting the Laois International Golf Challenge which embraces some excellent midlands golf courses (including Portarlington and The Heath) and a Final at the Heritage (co-designed by Seve Ballesteros).













[Photo: Portarlington's par three 3rd]

Coming back was an interesting experience. A big soccer game had been on and a few dozen Irish fans were returning home, many of them the worse for wear. The flight was noisy and the safety demonstration was drowned out by people going ‘shhhhh’ and then giggling like schoolgirls. I was blessed to have a gentleman beside me who liked singing. He only seemed to know one song. Actually, he only knew five words and he slurred them eloquently: “We always beat West Brom”. Fascinating.

I do not like soccer. For one thing, is there any other sport where fans sing songs about the opposition, the opposing fans and the referees, constantly calling them ‘scum’ and ‘bastards’ and a whole lot worse? The song of choice on my flight was Band Aid’s “Do they know it’s Christmas?”, with ‘scum’ being some part of the chorus that I couldn’t make out.

I simply don’t get football. The beautiful game? I’d rather stick needles in my eyes. Or, worse, watch synchronised swimming.

“The best of the best of the best. Sir.”

OK, name the movie.

If you’re thinking I’m about to list the best courses then you’ll be disappointed – you’ll find those in the book. Instead, I’m addressing some other ‘best’ areas of the golfing experience – a whole motley crew of different things that I have encountered along the way and just add that extra flourish or, perhaps, just put a smile on your face.

Food:
Best Apple Crumble: New Forest
Best Scone: Westport (it’s made fresh for you)
Best Cheesecake: Castleisland
Best Burger: Limerick – and there were lots to compare it to
Best Stir Fry: Seapoint
Best Salmon: Carrickfergus

Craic:
An unfair category as so many courses never had a chance to shine – either closed during the winter, or my visit was a fleeting one. But…
Castlerock
Cloverhill

Most impressive entrance:
Macroom, Tandragee, Waterford Castle, Old Head
Least impressive:
Narin & Portnoo (through a caravan park)

Best Facilities:
Showers: Knockanally
Changing Rooms: Fota Island, Moy Valley, The Heritage
Clubhouse: Clandeboye, Luttrellstown, Knockanally, Fota Island
Practice facilities: Moyvalley, K Club (Palmer), Cairndhu (you hit out towards the ocean)

Best Bar:
Roscrea

Best Restaurant: (not food-specific, and based on a limited number of encounters):
Clandeboye, Scrabo (views)

Best Practice Putting Green:
Mount Juliet (including an 18 hole putting green with water)

Quirkiest Practice Putting Green:
Bray, Scrabo (astro turf)

Best Air Guns: Portarlington (please don’t point in the wrong direction)

Most Peaceful Course:
East Clare (and a perfectly winding Irish road to get there)
Gracehill

Most Picture Perfect Course:
Waterville

Best Greens:
Montgomerie

Best Views:
Dooks, Waterville, Narin, Old Head, Scrabo

Best Bunkers:
Royal County Down

Best Trees:
Coollattin, Adare

Most places to have punctures?
Limerick (3 punctures: at Limerick Golf Club and then at Adare)

Most dangerous:
Fernhill (other golfers)
Old Head (cliffs)
Mahon (tidal sludge)

Worst man-made feature:
The huge and naff waterfall and cliff on the Smurfit course at the K Club.

Best man-made feature:
The water at the Heritage – between 9 and 18 specifically

Best skeleton-under-the-green story:
Murvagh

Best tree felling story:
Spa

Best name for a hole:
Leg of Mutton at Lisburn. One of the other legs can be found at Castlerock.

If you have any other thoughts, let me know.

And the movie is Men in Black

Done and dusted

So there it is. In a little over a year I’ve had the pleasure of bashing my way around every 18 hole golf course in the country. Oh, I have no doubt that as soon as the book is published someone will say “What about XYZ course?” And if that someone is you, don’t expect any thanks from me. I have trawled the country to the best of my ability and come up with 349 golf courses, from the exquisite to the downright embarrassing. If I have missed a course, I hope it’s of the latter variety.

The book has been delivered to the publisher and I have to thank my wife for a huge amount of work over the closing week. Formatting, fonts, formulae, flags and footnotes are not my strength, and I’m more likely to throw a few other choice f words into the mix. Fortunately, Fiona sorted it all out and worked through the night to get the book into an appropriate state for Con at Collins Press. 380 pages of A4, bundled into a box and stuffed in the post. It all seemed like a very tame end.

Actually I still have a couple of photographs to take for the book.

There will be colour photographs of the 18 best holes in the country, 1 through 18. I’ve had a very entertaining time trying to create the best par 72 that includes four par threes and four par fives, and doesn’t have more than one hole from any course. I have no doubt it will cause some amusement among the golfing cognoscenti, but that’s the advantage of a book that is subjective. These are my 18 best holes.

So I’m heading up to Royal Portrush when the weather improves to take a photo of one of the holes. Most of the courses have been able to supply me with photographs, but Royal Portrush got a computer virus that wiped a lot of their files. A bit unfortunate that it’s so far from Wexford, but at least I can take my wife away for a night and pay her back for her efforts. As for her year of patience and understanding while I drove around the country, I guess that will take a slightly more impressive effort.

[Photo: Scrabo Golf Course, Washington Ireland Program Golf Event, September 2008. WIP Board member Bob Van Heuvelen, Kevin Markham, WIP Ireland Director Jonathan Chesney and WIP Alum Nick Burke]

Lough Erne elegance

[Photo: the short par four 7th heading down to the lake]

It had taken a while to organise, but I finally managed to get to Lough Erne, the course designed by Nick Faldo. This is a five star resort with hotels and lodges (very odd looking round towers!) and all the glam you’d expect of a top-notch place. With the current doom and gloom on the financial markets, I imagine there are a few worried people up here.

Then again, the buzz about Lough Erne is phenomenal. I know, I know, a new ‘big’ course arrives on the scene and everyone starts comparing it to Mount Juliet, the K Club etc., but on this occasion the buzz is justified. But the whole thing is still fairly under wraps, with only 9 holes open and a strict instruction that the other holes can’t be photographed. I’m sure they have their reasons but it seems like overkill. That said, what I could see of these holes looked magnificent, and Lough Erne promises a remarkable setting that the K Club and Mount Juliet can’t match. And, to be brutal, the only other seriously good course around here is Slieve Russell – and it’s not in the same class at all.

[Photo: the par five 6th runs across the top of a ridge – currently the 1st]

At the moment only 9 holes are open and getting out on the course is very difficult. I had to arrange to play with Dave Peden, the resort’s Golf Sales Manager. The policy is members only for the time being – everyone else plays with Dave. My, it must be terrible having to come out and play on this beauty of a golf course time and again.

When Dave appeared he had a companion – Terry, the Course Manager from Clandeboye, who was down with his wife and sampling the delights of the resort. He had read my blog about the two Clandeboye courses, both of which I loved, so that set us off on the right note. Actually, Clandeboye is one of the best value courses in the country and I said so on my blog, urging people to come and play it before green fees went up. Now I know my blog is not exactly influential, but it was shortly after that that green fees rose from £25 to £35. And they’re still excellent value.

The three of us played the 9 holes currently open, which are in no particular order. It was a lazy Autumn evening with a low sun casting deep golden shadows across the course and Lough Erne. Dave pointed out the new holes as well as giving some background on the course’s development. The halfway house really caught my attention: where halfway houses appear in Ireland (a handful of big courses only) they are small and functional. At Lough Erne it is restaurant size. This big two storey wooden structure on the lake’s edge will double-up as a fish restaurant in the evening – for the hotel’s guests. It’s a nice idea, and having sampled the delights (some great – Ballybunion, and some dreadful – Gleneagles), a good halfway house will add greatly to the golf experience here.

We heard about Rory McIlroy’s recent visit. He played the Index 1 14th, measuring 642 yards, and claimed it was one of the best par fives in Ireland. It certainly has danger and drama in equal measure, but for me the par five 16th is even better as it runs beside the lake and – from the back tees – offers a towering drive.

[Photo: the par four 17th – such a shame about the turret like lodges]

Dave also reckons that the 10th hole (part of the unseen 9) will be one of the most photographed holes in Ireland as it heads straight out into the lake and the green is reached by the narrowest strip of land. I’ll take his word for it because this is a great, luxurious course where every hole works.

Interestingly, for comparison purposes, I played here the day after I’d enjoyed another new lakeland course – Concra Wood, and seeing two magnificent new courses back to back was an intriguing exercise. Concra Wood is far more intimidating, with lots of movement on and around fairways; Lough Erne glides along like silk with its manicured feel and impressive playability. But the greens at Concra Wood are something else and you always have work to do. Concra Wood wouldn’t be as elegant as Lough Erne but it is a stiffer challenge with changes in elevation used to maximum advantage. And both sit in picture perfect settings – although Concra Wood just nudges it with wider views.

Our round finished as it was approaching dusk and Terry legged it to grab dinner with his wife – but not before finding his ball behind the 18th green, a long way from where we had seen his tee shot enter the water. It was an amusing finish, but one that summed up a Faldo trade mark here – water edging its way in front of the greens. You’ll lap it up.