Ireland Golf with Your #1 Golf Buddy

With all the great scenery, it’s hard to keep your eye on the ball in Ireland.

Normally I drive 15 minutes to get my clubs out of storage, and tee it up on No. 1 at my home course in Dallas. To think about driving 45 minutes to the airport, flying 7 hours and 20 minutes to Dublin, Ireland, and grabbing a rental car, then driving another 2 hours to Royal County Down in Newcastle for a round of Irish golf may not sound very exciting.

However, when you are with your No. 1 golf partner, my eldest son Art, and you are playing a world-class golf course, any true golfing dad becomes truly excited. I did that recently, and I share with you here the world-class memories made on days both dry and rainy on Ireland’s golf courses, both north and south of Dublin.

When I am an old timer, the joints frozen with age, and the only golf I play is in my mind as long as it lasts, I will remember those 6 days and 6 rounds of golf in Ireland. I will play them over and over in my memory … probably getting a lower score each time.

This was a trip I almost missed, because I thought I was far too busy to accept my son’s invite for Irish golf. You see, I am still working 50 hours a week, and that’s not always easy for a mature man of 72.

I started working at an early age and have worked dozens of different jobs, including as a journalist, something else Art and I have in common.

Royal County Down – where Gil outdrove Art ... (Tourism Ireland photo

When I can no longer swing that TaylorMade driver that’s as big as a small Volkswagen, I can remember the one and only time I outdrove Art during our week in Ireland. It was on No. 2 at Royal County Down Golf Club, with the tee box only a few feet from Dundrum Bay, and the cold wind blowing against you regardless of which direction you were hitting. I never have been able to scientifically understand that wind in the face phenomenon that occurs only on golf courses.

The second day we drove the A-1 coastal route for more than 3 hours, up the northeast coast, and saw cliffs, rocks, and bays that would equal Oregon at almost any point. After Art’s driving the first day, my nerves were in a poor condition, so I drove the winding and curvy ocean roads. No wonder I could not outdrive him on the golf course; I was worn out from driving the rental car, and on the wrong side of the road too.

We teed it up at Royal Portrush, once the site of the British Open; it is one of the world’s finest, and we walked every hole. Of course, I pulled my clubs up and down those mountain sand dunes, while my son had a caddy. I was tough, and only sissies use caddies anyway!

Golf writers Gil Stricklin (left) and son Art (right) with Art’s caddy at Royal County Down.

You meet people from all over the United States and Canada playing golf in Ireland, as well as from England and Scotland, of course. The golf was most enjoyable, as were the people we played with.

Four more rounds at four more great courses with the highlight being Irish stew with Irish golf writer and course designer Pat Ruddy at The European Club. It was a magnificent day at Wicklow, Ireland with a slight breeze, all sun, and a cool 70 degrees. It was perfect, and the hospitality of Ruddy was only equaled by the hospitality of his 20 holes … not 18 but 20. He said every golfer wants to play one or two more holes so he just designed it that way.

For 8 days, we talked, ate, slept, and played golf … that is hard to beat, and especially with your son whom you love and enjoy being with on any golf course, but doubly true in Ireland.

A proud dad and longtime writer will never forget a trip like this.