We were loading up the car at Balbriggan Golf Club when the man we chatted to
in the bar approached us brandishing a map, showed us which route to take to
the next course and then, for good measure, gave us the map anyway. “I know
where I came from so I don’t need it any more,” he smiled, and walked away.
Sometimes you just know when you have arrived at a special place: Balbriggan,
north of Dublin, is one of those places. Opened in 1945, the clubhouse is
all dark polished wood, trophy cabinets, a ticking clock and deep comfy
seats. A solitary man was seated in one collecting the "Early Bird
“green fees - €20 (£13) before 10am - who chatted amiably.
We asked where to get coffee. "Down there," he gestured, "at
the garage. They do a very nice takeaway." The club and its two
occupants had that atmosphere of easygoing affability. Nigel, the club pro,
pointed us to the locker room. The security code? "Oh, it's 1-2-3-4 -
think you'll remember that lads?"
Nigel insisted I try out a secondhand driver I was eyeing up in his shop.
According to the green fees collector, Balbriggan has the best greens in
Ireland and he may be right. It was a fantastic course, teaming with
wildlife, lush fairways - and greens in superb condition, as true as any of
us had played on.
For two of our party of three, it was a first time golfing trip to Ireland. We
knew about the Irish Open at Adare Manor in Co Limerick, and had heard about
the famous west coast courses as well as the K Club, Mt Juliet and others
west of Dublin. But we decided that we wanted to get the best of both worlds
– Dublin for the craic and great golf without breaking the bank.
There are 30-40 courses within easy distance of Dublin - and a new road tunnel
from the city's port out to the M1 and airport meant we could leave our city
hotel on the banks of the Liffey and arrive at a course within 20 minutes.
Each of the three courses we played (a country club, village local and links
- costing an average £20 each) are also close to the airport - so you can,
as we did, arrange to drive straight from the plane to a course. We also
played on our last morning before heading straight to the airport.
The first course was St Margaret’s Golf and Country Club after flying into
Dublin at Sunday lunchtime. There we had our first pint of Guinness and a
sandwich before a chat with Gary in the pro shop - who gave us some tips on
the course with the easy informality that is second nature in Ireland.
It was at St Margaret’s that a brave heron flew 10 feet in front of me heading
for the same pond on the second hole as my brand new Pro V1. Possibly no one
told the heron we were on the course because in perfect symmetry the heron
and our balls flew (or sometimes dribbled) into the various water features.
St. Margaret’s is a gem of course combining water and sand with lush and
manicured fairways and true greens. Designed by Tom Craddock and Pat Ruddy
it should provide a challenge to every level of golfer offering the low
handicapper the chance to attack the greens and the rest of us the
opportunity to open our shoulders and go for it. As one of my playing
partners commented shortly before his ball flew into another hazard “ Life’s
too short to lay up!”.
After the workout at St Margaret’s we headed for Jury's Hotel in Dublin where
after a shower and change of clothes, we settled into a pint at the hotel
bar to ask the barman where the craic was on a Sunday night. Except we
couldn’t because Pavel came from Eastern Europe, as did his assistant, and
most of the staff at the hotel.
Accepting defeat we climbed into a taxi and at the drivers recommendation
headed for O'Donoghues
in Lower Baggot Street, a great pub with traditional music, good Guinness
and lively but not aggressive customers. In fact there never seemed to be
any “edge” in Dublin. Even the tramp asking for a handout wished me a good
day after a polite refusal. Hours later we poured out of the door and
wondered why we couldn't find any authentic Irish cooking at 9pm on a Sunday
evening. Inevitably we ended up in an (excellent) Indian restaurant in
Ballsbridge.
The next morning, after a full Irish breakfast, we headed out of Dublin to
Balbriggan. Hares the size of small dogs crossed our paths continuously
right up to the 18th. A large animal our Kiwi friend Paul identified as a
wolf traversed the fairways ahead of us. The group of golfers we let play
through as we searched for our balls did so with such good grace that we
almost decided to just play Balbriggan during our stay and forget the other
courses.
