Playing golf at Balbriggan Golf Club during Ryder Cup

Last Saturday on the second day of an amazing Ryder Cup competition I had the pleasure of playing golf on the understated Balbriggan parkland golf course in north Co. Dublin.  It is quite close and travelling via the tunnel from the Blackrock suburb south of Dublin only took 45 minutes.

I had taken the precaution of making sure that I was able to access the live scoreboard on the Ryder Cup website on my mobile so I had sneaky updates as the day went on.

My partner and I were invited by Mary Stillman of Green Landscapes Golf & Leisure Breaks to join her golf competition.  It was a three ball Stableford format, which I love as it moves quickly along.  The players were a mix of Balbriggan members and non members like myself.  Each team had a local member. We therefore had the heads up where to go and a little bit of advice as to what lay ahead.  This proved very useful as the course is a mature one with lots of trees and a few trickily placed sand bunkers.

The weather could not have been better – around 16º and not a cloud to be seen.  The ground was hard from the dry summer so a good run on the ball, which suits my short drives.  Surprisingly the grass was still vibrant despite the lack of rain and the greens were in magnificent condition.  This meant no excuses for missing shots!  We also experienced the odd chestnut and pine cone dropping and this added an autumnal feel to the day.

The golf was good (for me!).  It was only my second outing of the year so was not expecting much and achieved much more than my modest aspirations.  The biggest problem with golf is when you start to play reasonably well you think you have cracked it and then it all falls apart.  For once I didn’t make this mistake so at long last I am learning.  Stand out holes were the 9th par 5 which is long, difficult and over water.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to putt there as my ball ended in a watery grave.  The 16th par 3 is another fabulous hole where golfers are lured to take the shorter route to the green which again could end with a watery grave.  There is no doubt that golfers have a gambling streak in them judging by some of the positions of balls along the course.

We ended the day with a very nice meal and presentation.  Mary is already planning her next golfing event which will be an overseas one to Cadiz, Spain in 2019 and I for one (and my partner makes two) would definitely be keen to join her and a group of people that not only play lovely golf but make for good conversationalists with a broad range of interests.  A golf only holiday is just too one dimensional for me and I like the thought of the combination of some cultural events added to the mix.

It was a ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ type of day and one that I can take into the long winter dreaming of the putts that I did get rather than the ones that got away.  It was most enjoyable but don’t think I will ever make the Ryder Cup Team!  However, I will definitely play the scenic Balbriggan Golf Course again.

If you are interested in a more social style of golf visit Green Landscapes Golf & Leisure Breaks.