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Northern Ireland: A Priceless Trip
By Art Stricklin A golf trip with my longest running and favorite golf partner … my dad. A journey to what once was one of the most dangerous and foreboding of places … Northern Ireland. Golf near the top of the world. To steal the tag line from a certain credit card company … priceless. That was the set up for a recent trip to Northern Ireland with my father, a fellow sports writer, who got me interested in this business and in this game. Just us. In a small Irish rental car on smaller roads in uncertain weather conditions playing some of the best and once the most hidden golf courses in the world. Two Writers, Two Partners. One Great Journey. Sounds perfect. In fact, it was. We had been fortunate to have gone on several golf trips together, a far cry from when we would sneak out in the ‘70s to Dallas’ Tenison Park on a monthly basis. But this one would be different. For one thing, Northern Ireland is a great golf destination I had long wanted to visit.
But for those of us who first began to be ensnared by the game in the early 1970s, Northern Ireland didn’t exactly have the best or the safest reputation, due to “The Troubles,” as the locals liked to call the religious-sectarian violence. Thankfully, the days of bombs and burnings are a thing of the past and this scenic corner of the world has joined the enlarging crowd in doing their best to attract free-spending American golf tourists. In fact, the two places which were considered most dangerous and most forbidden to me as a young child, Northern Ireland and Red China, have embraced golf and capitalism in the biggest of ways and I’ve been fortunate to tee it up in both places. Today, there is not even any physical border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, just signs marking the many money changing spots. (Even though bombs and burnings are out, they still won’t take each other’s money.) My caddy felt confident enough one day, after my dad announced he was hitting a ‘provisional,’ to wisecrack, “If you had said that 10 years ago, you could have started a war,” in reference to the many para-military armies which once roamed the land where golfers now peacefully stroll. Politics aside, the golf in Northern Ireland is simply outstanding. Any golfer who hasn’t experienced true links golf should, and golf in Ireland is one of the best ways to experience it. Going up the coast from Dublin, the first and best golf championship course you come to is Royal County Down in the resort town of Newcastle. Like most truly great links, Royal County Down has been around for 100 years or so. With its huge ocean dunes and wildly jutting fairways, not to mention miles of tangled rough and gorse, it’s a true challenge from the best single digit player to the most confirmed hooked hacker. Where else can you make a quadruple bogey 9 on the first hole and still enjoy the majesty of the entire experience? Such is the hold and the beauty of links golf and Royal County Down. It has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world by international golf publications, which makes you wonder what other two could be better than this.
Keep going north until you run out of room at the Atlantic Ocean, you’ll arrive at the small town of Portrush and the Royal Portrush Golf Club. It’s the home course of European Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke and the only Irish course to have ever hosted the British Open. What was enough to attract the world’s best golfers here in 1951 for golf’s oldest professional championship more than 50 years ago is still good enough today. Wonderful scenery, huge fairways and greens, and each hole aptly named, including the par 3 ‘Calamity Corner’ make this a can’t-miss stop on your journey. Plus there is a hugely historic clubhouse you must visit (after removing your hat and silencing your mobile phone) -- with photos for every famous match and player here and listings of every club captain going back to where WWI RAF Air Marshals were given club control. Just down the road is Portstewart with two layouts that are very different, but equally wonderful. The Old Course is laid out right along the water. The Strand course is the newer, but more traditional links, with 5-6 of the best starting holes anywhere in the country. There are plenty of other choices in Northern Ireland. Royal Belfast claims to be the oldest in Ireland, opening in 1881. On your way back to the airport in Dublin for your direct flight back home, there are two area courses you must seek out. Portmarnoch is less than 30 minutes from the airport, but a wonderful links test, and any true Irish golf lover will tell you this course should have hosted last year’s Ryder Cup instead of the terribly American-style K Club. The European Club, an hour down the coast, is the most unique golf course in Ireland, if not anywhere in the continent. Fellow golf writer, architect, and all-around Irish story teller Pat Ruddy built the course less than 10 years ago, but it looks like a century-old natural. Ruddy built 20 holes instead of the traditional 18 because he reasoned people always want to spend more time on the golf course and he was giving them the chance. He has a story for every situation, including Tiger Woods’ visit and course record.
But even better than the golf was the week-long chance to hang out with my partner, my fellow writer, my dad, on a trip long to remember. In our week together we discovered we don’t have any major issues which have sadly split many a relationship. Of course, he really doesn’t like my driving. And I could do without his snoring. Also, I’d be happy to trade his newspaper reading for a few more hours of golf on TV, but it was ultimately a trip of two friends united by golf and by love as much as by blood and surname. It was priceless, the way any great golf trip should be.
You can access more information on Ireland golf at or www.tourismireland.com or 1-800-223-6470
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