Friday, April 26 -
Today we played yet another brilliant Irish links, The Island Club, and got to experience all four seasons during the same round! It was a beautiful course with many views of the water and the mounding dunes that make a links style course so unique. The wind was howling and made play very difficult since the fairways were narrow and hard to hit in the first place.
We got through the first five holes with relatively good weather but on the sixth hole, after we hit our approach shots, it began to hail! For a few minutes it hailed so hard that we couldn’t play and had to wait a few minutes for the ice to melt so we could putt. It was probably the most bizarre experience I ever had on a golf course. This was the first of two hail storms on the front nine and at least five others throughout the remainder of the day.
After golf, we went to dinner at the Dublin home of Dermott Desmond, a friend of Jeff Holzschuh, the MGA President and team captain. Dermott is one of the wealthiest men in Ireland and was kind enough to host our team for dinner.
Following an amazing dinner, we went on a tour of his house. There was artwork everywhere and he had one room dedicated to golf memorabilia including an amazing collection of autographed flags along with two replica major championship trophies.
I had a unbelievable time and really enjoyed the opportunity to meet Dermott. We have had another tremendous day in Ireland and look forward to our first round at The European Club tomorrow!
