No. 5 at Rosses Point- 4 Drives in the fairway

Dublin, Ireland- Burlington Hotel

Whoah. Quite a week. Such a week that it has taken me forever to type everything up, so I will post just the first two days now and hope to write more on the flight to Kenya and try to post everything when I get there. I guess I need an editor. There are also a few pictures to see at http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=13h2keeb.4ya02y7b&Uy=-dot8ub&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0 Titanic and Perc took more than I did, so they should post links to their pictures in the comments once they are uploaded.

Nairobi is certain to be quite different from what I have just experienced, but it will be very difficult to top. The important information first: One won the Sligo Champion's Cup (convincingly), I only wore rain pants once (though I probably should have twice), the Ssangyong Rexton made it through the week with minimal bumps (though I still have to drive to the airport), large amounts of Guinness were consumed (shockingly), the next trip is already being planned (and a second foursome is more than welcome) and a brilliant time was had by all.

Now for a bit more detail, with a disclaimer: this will contain some description of our golf rounds, and nothing can be more boring than reading about 4 hackers' losing a bunch of golf balls. As such, descriptions of golf shall be italicized, so feel free to skip at your pleasure.

Day 1: Arrive Shannon 6:15 AM, Play Lahinch, stay in Doolin-

On this trip, I arrived at the conclusion that the flight from Boston-Shannon is not actually long enough. You always leave around 7 in the evening from the East Coast, and 5-6 hours later you touch down in Ireland at daybreak. When you take off, there is no way you can be tired enough to sleep right away, and as a result the most you can hope for is 2-3 hours of sleep on the plane, and the beginning of a new day when you arrive, which you must power through to get over the jet lag. It would be far better to have 2 more hours on the plane and get some real shuteye. As it is, Aer Lingus really needs to step into the modern era- every other international flight will typically give you a choice of programming on the screen in front of you, but the Lingus still only gives you one option overhead, and Shrek 3 was not what I was looking for. The flight was also packed full, surprisingly there are a few folks of Irish descent from the greater Boston area.

In any case, Titanic and I rolled off the flight, collected our bags, and sat down to wait for One and Perc from Chicago, due in at 7:30. The bar at the coffee shop in the waiting area was not yet open, so my first pint would have to wait. The midwestern lads arrived on time, but were slightly delayed coming out of the baggage area, as Perc needed to go through the Red Lane to declare his awesomeness. After another bit of foolishness, we found the van to take us to the car hire lot and were relieved to discover that all of our bags fit into the silver Rexton I had arranged for. We took up our assigned seats- One driving, me shotgun/navigator, Perc behind the driver's seat (right side, of course), and Titanic in prime fly-catching territory behind me- and we were on the way.

Our tee time at Lahinch was not until 2 pm, and it is only about an hour to the course from Shannon, so we had plenty of time. We got a bit lost due to some construction, but eventually found our way to the Cliffs of Moher on the Clare Coast, always a spectacular sight, but unfortunately now blighted by the tourism industry. I believe I have been to the Cliffs twice previously, but now there is a pay car park and a large visitor center. It used to be that you just drove up and walked out, but someone figured out that there are Euros to be made, so now it costs money to experience the natural beauty of these gorgeous cliffs. In fairness, the visitor center was nicely done, built into the hillside, but I liked it better before all the same.

From the cliffs, we drove down to our B & B in Doolin to drop our bags and change our clothes for the course, then headed back to Lahinch about 15 minutes up the road. The sun was out as we drove into the car park, but the wind was up as well, whipping in off the Atlantic at about 30 mph. The starter told us that while we think those are Force 5 winds, they think of them as no more than a sea breeze. Unfortunately, I knew he was right.

The first tee at Lahinch is one of the more intimidating experiences in golf. The hole itself is not too complicated, but it is a very popular course with loads of visitors, and you always have a gallery watching your shot. When the wind is up in your face and it is your first swing off a 6 hour plane trip and 2 hours sleep, you worry about embarrassing yourself. Luckily, I managed to keep my tee ball low and down the middle and everyone except Titanic found the fairway, so we were away. That was the last tee ball of the day I would keep low. By luck of the draw, One and I were teamed on the front nine, and got off to a brilliant start, as I managed to get up and down from a bunker with a 50 foot no-brainer putt to win the hole, and we proceeded to win the first 3 holes and run away with the nine hole match, based mostly on One's strong play. I was badly beaten by the wind and lost 7 or 8 balls, but enjoyed the gorgeous views nonetheless, including views of an enormous surf competition down on the beach which apparently set a record for most surfers on the same wave. On the back nine I was paired with Titanic and we stood no chance against One and Perc, so after day one the score was One 2, Me 1, Perc 1, Titanic 0.

That night we got back to Doolin a bit after 7, showered and went out to enjoy the town. Doolin is a tiny village, with only a couple hundred full time residents, but it is well known for the three pubs it has and the traditional music on offer at them. As luck would have it, our accomodations were about 100 yards from two of the pubs, so we went out and found some good pub grub at McDermott's (I had mussels, the others had duck), then moved over to McGann's back up the road for a few drinks. Early on it looked like the jet lag was about to overtake us, but once we wormed our way into the room with music and snagged a table from some departing Floridians, we were back in the game. Perc learned some Irish slang that nigh and we managed to get in with a few of the locals. Perc and Titanic were well situated to make new friends, while One and I managed to work on foreign relations with a Cork-man and his Aussie mate. The most impressive visitor to the pub that evening was a lad of about 3 years old who managed to outlast One, quite a feat considering he went home around 12:30. The rest of us made our way to another pub on the promise of latenight drinks, but were a bit disappointed to discover no one was serving at that hour. All were safely abed by 1 am, not bad for two hours sleep and a windy 18.

Day 2- Connemara, Westport

The full Irish breakfast provided by Maeve at the Churchfield B&B was lovely, with a fantastic hash brown patty replacing the usually untouched black pudding, so it was a nice start. The morning gave us one of the longest drives of the trip, up the Clare Coast, through the Burren, past Galway, and out west through the Connemara mountains. One was still getting his sea legs in the Rexton, and the passenger seat was a white knuckle ride past hedges backed by unseen stone walls, but he made it work and we arrived safely for an afternoon tee time at a packed Connemara Golf Club. We lunched first on the usual menu of toasted cheese sandwiches and soup, and I was quite relieved to discover the wind was down.

The front nine at Connemara is not particularly interesting, with mostly flat holes and a few distant views of the ocean. One and Titanic teamed to give Perc and I beating, but everyone played reasonably well. The conditions and the course should have led to some very low scores, but I was mostly pleased to be finishing every hole after Lahinch. The back nine goes up onto a cliff top and produces some more spectacular views, with a few very interesting holes. The course actually has 27 holes, and some of the third nine intermingle with the back nine of the championship course. Given how remote the course is and how few people live out that way, the third nine made little sense to me. It would seem more logical to just make the best 18 possible and due more to balance out the nines. That said, there are apparently some very wealthy holiday-makers in the area, based on a car park that included a Ferrari, a Bentley, and many Mercedes and BMWs. One continued his run of stellar play and I helped out a bit to win the back 9, closing it out on 17. Titanic salvaged something from the day with a huge drive on 18, followed by a three wood to green high and a great up and down from the swail on the right to make birdie and win an important skin. At the end of day 2, the competition stood at One 4, Me 2, Perc 1, Titanic 1.

After the round we drove to Westport and had a great evening out. We did not get into town until pretty late, but we found very good food at Sol Rio accompanied by some nice Cabernet Sauvignon expertly selected by Perc. After dinner we went across the street to Matt Molloy's, the pub owned by the Chieftain's floutist. There were a few young fellas in the back playing trad, but the more lively part of the pub was in the front, and there we sat with very nice couple- the guy from Dublin and his wife from England. Once again we succeeded in making good pub conversation, and when Molloy's closed we went over to Cosy Joe's, a surprisingly packed disco for a Sunday night. Who knows when it closed, but we gave it our best until after 2 and then were fortunate to find a cab to bring us back to the B & B on a rainy night.

This is taking forever, and I have a plane to catch, so I will update with more later.