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Course Nuffies - Ireland P2
15 Plays5 days ago
It has been a while in the making! But finally, Monty and AC break down the back end of their Ireland trip and give you the dos and don'ts when planning a trip around the iconic golfing destination.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Island Series Part 2
00:00:00
Speaker
descend um um whole are you like me own um um
00:00:16
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to the Off the Tips podcast. We're locking in for part two of our Island series and to to say it's been a while between drinks is is an understatement but I'll throw straight to the boys that were there to so break down what was an epic trip of the Irish Lynx and
Recap of Part 1 and Introduction to Golf Courses
00:00:36
Speaker
beyond. But Monty, AC, thanks thanks for joining me.
00:00:40
Speaker
Thanks, mate. Good to be here and good to break it down. So i see where do you want to start, mate? just Just take us from the top of part two.
00:00:51
Speaker
Yeah, so I think on part one we finished where we wrapped up in Mulraney, which was a small nine-hole on the coast there. And so we...
00:01:02
Speaker
We ended up going down... i guess I'll run through what the second part of this will be. So we start in La Hinch, then we went down to a little nine-holer called Spanish Point, then we played Valley Bunyan, Tralee, Waterloo, then
Exploring La Hinch: A Surf and Golf Paradise
00:01:19
Speaker
Dukes. But I think the best place to start is La Hinch.
00:01:24
Speaker
What an unbelievable spot to play golf. It's a surf town and a golf town just rolled into one. um You've got this sort of, it sort of feels like a, yeah, it's a beachy town.
00:01:39
Speaker
And then you've got one of the best golf courses in the world, right? Sitting right there. And now it's the McKenzie design, which always sort of adds to the prestige of it.
00:01:49
Speaker
And yeah, Monty and I had a blast there. It's got some very famous golf holes, the Dell, the Kondike, basically,
00:02:01
Speaker
heading over these dunes to blind holes, which those holes, wouldn' you wouldn't get away with those holes now.
Character and Challenges of Irish Golf Courses
00:02:08
Speaker
You'd have plenty of complaints. I guess it just speaks to the character of island golf courses. there's um Just being so old, you don't have the sort of equipment to move these dunes. And so the golf course sort of just is designed in that effect, in a fashion that you just deal with the dunes in front of you and it's an amazing routing. is there anything else you want to add to that?
00:02:41
Speaker
No, I think I'd probably add on the town feature, like having you and I both done Ireland and Scotland over the last couple of years, I'd put Lahinch possibly at the top of the list and like the coolest sort of town we were in. Like it's to say it's a small beach town is probably an under, like it's tiny.
00:03:04
Speaker
Like it is. Yeah. You've got like one strip that's probably like 300 meters long and all every, every sort of shopping place there is golf or you hire surfboards or there's a pub.
00:03:18
Speaker
Like it's just, and you've just got like a 300 meter stretch of these tiny places. um and yeah like we went for a one to sort of round the course which you can do along the beach after we played it which was pretty epic and just like gives you another appreciation for like I guess the ruggedness of it and I think the contrast that you get in Ireland there which is just so epic like you've got this amazing golf course so fun and then just this tiny town like it's yeah it's
00:03:54
Speaker
It's very
Caddie Stories and Their Impact on the Game
00:03:55
Speaker
cool. um Yeah, we had a had fun little caddy there. His name escapes me. He was chain smoking the whole way around. yeah what what would you have?
00:04:09
Speaker
Overs and unders on darts.
00:04:13
Speaker
One a hole? Not one a hole. I'm going to say about nine and half, eight and a half. One every two holes.
00:04:23
Speaker
It's good shopping. But no, there's like AC mentioned, the blind shots, and there's more than just those two over there, the premier ones. There's sort of a couple of really cool short fours.
00:04:38
Speaker
You know, quite varied golf whereby, like, yeah, you need to hit the shot into a green or you've got yeah runoff areas that you can use. um Yeah, uses the coastline well. um Yeah, a lot of quirks, like, would I think yeah walking away from this trip, sort of had three courses.
00:05:01
Speaker
We'll probably talk about the other two, but it's yeah top of the pile, I reckon. How did you guys find having the caddie? Do you think he helped you around Hinch what? Also, do you want to just talk the me and the and the listeners through your round there? like What sort of day did you have?
Experiences and Lessons at La Hinch
00:05:20
Speaker
ah How did you play? And yeah, maybe... go on from that about how how the caddy kind of guided you or navigated you around one of the most famous courses in the world?
00:05:32
Speaker
Yeah, we had a good day from memory. Like, we had a pretty mediocre trip. Yeah, we had a mediocre trip weather-wise, but was pretty benign wind and the sun was actually out. We've actually got a photo of us two wearing T-shirts, which was pretty odd on that trip.
00:05:49
Speaker
Yeah. from memory, I really struggled on the front nine. I got stuck in a couple of bunkers and it just put me in a hole. I think I had probably at least one triple, probably two.
00:06:06
Speaker
And then I might've shot, I think I one of my better nines on the back nine, like 38 or something. And probably from memory, I was like 82. I thought I played right. Absent a couple of bad holes, which 82 over there was a pretty decent round.
00:06:22
Speaker
Um, thing I can't recall with Daddy a whole lot apart from him actually being like caddies can never take into account your game I don't think haven't found them to be very good at like adjusting to you but where the value is around the greens like i they give you some interesting options that you may not otherwise consider and yeah you may not always take but um yeah super smart around the greens I think from memory he was quite good there as well.
00:06:56
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know if you remember Monty. On nine, he said he was standing. I had this pitch shot, the short path four, great hole actually. And he was standing probably, don't know, five meters right of the flag and goes, hit it at me.
00:07:12
Speaker
I was looking him like, oh, whatever. But I was like, no, I'll do it. And I chip it towards him. It just rolls up this hill. rolls perfectly down to like two feet.
00:07:23
Speaker
And I was like, oh, cheers, mate. Take me a shot there. There's some points where you just have to trust them. um But yeah, I think, as Monty said, similarly, but there was there' a couple one occasion in particular where I was pitching out into the fairway and the rut the lie was terrible.
00:07:43
Speaker
And I was trying to hack one out. And um he sort of gave me this really conservative, spot to aim and I just smoked it and went onto the the CAG on the other side and that sometimes I think where they slightly probably I think like there's a lot of probably 18 handicapped 50 year older Americans that go around these places and sometimes I think they probably I'm not even that good at golf but I think sometimes they underestimate how far you can advance one out of the out of the shit that like apart from that
00:08:16
Speaker
Once you get within 50 metres there, great. Yeah, and then we can probably move on apart from i like, yeah, i just want to emphasise the town, like epic, like, yeah, I loved it around there.
00:08:32
Speaker
Moved on to Spanish Point after that, which was sort of a nine-holer that was recommended, I think, through Tom Coyne and his course called Island Book, which, yeah, it was a ripping read.
00:08:44
Speaker
when he when he walked around Ireland with his bags on his back. Played every Lynx course. yeah I think there's some merit in playing like country courses when you're offshore, for sure.
00:08:56
Speaker
um Had a couple good holes. ah yeah I wouldn't go out of your way. I don't want to bag it. like It's a it a fun... It was like a country course in Ireland, like cool experience, but like... Yeah.
Off-the-Course Adventures in Ireland
00:09:10
Speaker
do We could have done without it. We definitely didn't need to go there. It was good fun, but yeah, if you have time, maybe just pop in. But I think these i think there's better options out there.
00:09:23
Speaker
I don't know if it was before or after your year round at La Hinch. You guys had a couple of days off in Galway and maybe yeah had a bit of and of a circuit. ka Do you want maybe talk to me about that? Because that's what I'm here for.
00:09:43
Speaker
Yeah, so my godmother, um she's from Galway, and so we stayed with her sister, her sister's place. My godmother was there as well.
00:09:54
Speaker
And her nephew is at uni there. So Monty and I had a bit of a uni experience going out in Galway. um So we...
00:10:05
Speaker
Basically, they didn't want to spend too much on drinks being uni students, and so we got a bottle of Buckfast. don't know if you've had a bottle of Buckfast, Cal, but like i can on i am it's like tonic wine, and it's meant to have the equivalent like four coffees in it.
00:10:23
Speaker
And yeah, let's just say it was fun night. I don't remember much.
00:10:30
Speaker
yeah hard We just parked up next to this canal. just like buffing the bus before you head into town basically like the classic light scale four drinks in the uber before you head into town when you're at uni like that sort of that sort areas i think i think from i think from memory um getting us all together at you know 4am on the wasn't the easiest of tasks i think we
00:11:03
Speaker
We spread ourselves out through the night in this cool place. Yeah, epic circuit from memory. Monty, it wouldn't have happened to be you that it was tricky to get in the taxi at 4am? I actually think it might have been AC. I think it was too. I was getting Mackey's and then got lost.
00:11:25
Speaker
um Yeah, the other thing that was there we i was Limerick and Galway were playing in the hurling final, and that was an epic watch in the pub.
00:11:37
Speaker
Oh, yeah. What a great sport. It's like a gladiators lacrosse or something. know what it's like Were the punters wearing their colours and like massively...
00:11:54
Speaker
getting amongst it in the in the boozer or yeah what was it like yeah everyone had their kit on and it's it's like it's that it was at that dublin stadium right which is like a hundred thousand or something like it's crazy yeah is it park yeah and it's it's sort of like a semi-pro sport from what i understand like it's most of these guys are full-time workers and then they just maybe take time off during the season and they've Like, I mean, they're selling out, yeah, pretty epic, like, unique sort of setup.
00:12:30
Speaker
Like, it's blue-collar gang, man, was my... Yeah, I got that impression, too. White-collar's maybe more Gaelic, and then blue-collar's the hurling, which was pretty cool.
00:12:41
Speaker
How do you reckon you'd go on a hurling paddock?
00:12:47
Speaker
I'd be a wuss, man. They look brave. Like, it's just... They've only just started wearing helmets. It's like lacrosse crossed with ice hockey on grass.
00:12:59
Speaker
height um Yeah, I'd just stop playing rugby in year nine because I couldn't hack it, mate. I'd be no good.
00:13:11
Speaker
Well, boys we'll get back to the golf. And then after Henton's Spanish Point, it was and was off to arguably the cream of the crop of Irish golf and belly
Playing Ballybunion Through Connections
00:13:21
Speaker
bunion. where I believe you guys got a John Rahm sighting, but initial thoughts when you get on the property at Bally Bunyan, AC?
00:13:29
Speaker
i Before that, AC, do you want to run through maybe how we got the tea time? Yeah, I'll try recount it as well as I can, but...
00:13:42
Speaker
So yeah, my godmother that I referred to before, her sister-in-law is a member at Ballybunion and that's actually how our trip sort of started. She was down those ways and they actually, they were walking next to the course and Tiger and Rory were playing and she she watched them for a few holes and then sent a video to me and was like, holy shit, like, what are you doing at Ballybunion? And then she told me that yeah, she had contacts there. And so I was like, oh, okay, we're going to come over, sort us out around.
00:14:18
Speaker
And yeah. And basically what happened was, I don't know ins and outs of it. could have been a bit of family politics, unsure. But the sister-in-law basically just dropped the ball on it completely and just said like, yeah, we I can't do it sort of thing.
00:14:39
Speaker
And my godmother, Karen, was obviously... devastated because she sort of arranged it and said but she everything would be sweet. And so Karen tried to book it online.
00:14:52
Speaker
She couldn't. And then so she she drove down, basically pleaded to the caddy guy that um these boys have come all the way from New Zealand. Real sob story, blah, blah, blah.
00:15:06
Speaker
Can you do anything to get us on? And the caddy said, okay, come to the you I'm going to book you onto the caching course, which is the other one. Come to the golf course, and then I'll slot you in on the old course.
00:15:23
Speaker
But just tell all the reception that you're at the on the caching course. um And so, yeah, it all felt a bit weird. It felt like we were really committing some serious crime.
00:15:35
Speaker
um Like we were still paying... But yeah, I, like, forever in debt to... I can't remember the head caddy's name, but... That didn't mean that much to you, mate.
00:15:51
Speaker
Oh, yeah. What did say? Can't remember the big fella's name. Oh, yeah. Well, you know. um Yeah, that's bad for me. But yeah, it was a bit of a rollercoaster to get on this golf course. And then, like, since...
00:16:06
Speaker
Because of the circumstances, Monty and I didn't hit a single ball on a range, didn't have any parts. It was quite odd. Yeah, it was super cagey around the first tee. It was like the caddy master was sort of like whispering in our ear, like, just wait around here and then, like you know, just come out when I call you. And then and then the caddy was like, it was just a bit random. But as soon as we hit the first tee shot, you saw it away and it was fine. But it was, yeah, pretty cool in the end.
00:16:36
Speaker
like pretty awesome Karen to do that like that was she went so far out of her way which was nice yeah because my godmother just would hate smucking anyone around and the fact that she got let down by someone else she was obviously devastated by that and then um but yeah in terms of now that we're actually there oh what a golf course the first day there there's the cemetery on the right, like right there. like If you block one five metres off the fairway, you're hitting a tombstone.
00:17:13
Speaker
What a way to pay your respects. yeah Not a good omen for the rest of the round. And yeah, I think the Bally Bunyan's just got such great variety.
00:17:29
Speaker
um I think there might be five par threes, Monty. or And some really good par threes, some short threes, long ones.
00:17:40
Speaker
um Yeah, just there's a few holes as you come. I think there's i think it's 11 that's the signature hole, Monty. Yeah. that correct? um That is a hard golf hole too. I think we both i think I won it with a double.
00:17:57
Speaker
Yeah. um Monty was playing ping pong by the green. But yeah, that back to the other thing is, yeah, John Rahm was three groups behind us, I think, when we teed off.
Encounter with John Rahm at Ballybunion
00:18:10
Speaker
Um, and as we were going along, the caddy, there was all these caddies sort of behind us, like picking up any divot, any broken tee.
00:18:22
Speaker
They had the flash pins out. Um, and then I think we get to about the eighth hole and we, we have to pull aside and let John Rahm play, play through, which was pretty surreal.
00:18:35
Speaker
Um, I don't know if you have anything else to add to that, Monty, but I'll never forget. just yeah was it was Yeah, it was one of the craziest things, obviously, that ever happens to us on the golf course. We watched him play through nine, and then we were right there when he teed off ten.
00:18:58
Speaker
And lucky... Probably gave us a nod, maybe said hey fellas, but didn't give us tons. didn' Didn't toss any banter with the big Spaniard? Not really. i who It was very quick. like It all happened quite quickly. He was just shuffling through.
00:19:15
Speaker
I think, might be wrong, like he was playing the tips, we were playing the mids. Did he shoot 65? I can't remember.
00:19:28
Speaker
something like that yeah i think the caddy city shot six under bogey free yeah though the black tees were pushed way way back for him um pretty incredible to think he could shoot that but they you know yeah like belly bunion probably felt the most like championship of all the courses we played like it was yeah I think probably the best condition, like I got some photos that you can see around the greens and the bunkering, like super mint.
00:20:00
Speaker
um And I think I had decent day again, probably shot like 82, thought I played all good. And he shot, you know, 16 shots better, give or take off.
00:20:12
Speaker
You know, tip that. It is the best ranked course in Ireland, so like that does check out that it was kind of, it had that massive championship feel when the and the conditioning was premier. I think it's pretty warranted when you turn up to a place like that, that's ranked like that, that it is.
00:20:29
Speaker
But um yeah, that's a crazy story about getting to Valley Bunyan and like, geez, it's a pretty good pub story to tell for the for the rest of your lives kind of thing. It's a like you you got onto all of these places pretty much scot-free and then, you know, the best one of the lot, yeah you've pretty much been shuffled in the back door by a bloke that you don't know it's pretty funny yeah and it was the one that I thought was guaranteed basically because we had a contact and it's just funny how it all worked out but I'm just grateful that it happened yeah um yeah can't my Irish geography is probably failure of it but like you've got La Hange on the west coast there you've got
00:21:18
Speaker
like La Hinch, Bally Bunyan, and then we'll talk about a couple more shortly, that are all in like, yeah particularly La Hinch and Bally from memory, like quite close proximity, that have that like, yeah, pretty epic, pretty epic base to have that around.
00:21:36
Speaker
Clubhouse Guinness at Bally Bunyan, did you make your way up there after, you know, kind of lurking on? um yeah I remember there was like a ah course marshal roaming around and I'd always sort of be a bit concerned as well just going back to that like i just felt a little bit like I was walking on eggshells at times which it didn't didn't take away from the experience but yeah we did muster the courage to have a pint up there we weren't marshaled off the property which was good and just one one other thing at these joints
00:22:15
Speaker
afterwards. Are you guys strictly Guinness in the and the clubhouse or did you cleanse the palate with something else as well? No, I think we basically had a rule right. We were running Guinness the whole way through. Yeah.
00:22:32
Speaker
I've definitely acquired more of a taste for them since I was there. They weren't going down that easy. No, we just We've probably never mentioned it either. Like, oh, I'd rather have a lager right down six
00:22:51
Speaker
now. Well, boys, anything to add on Ballybunion? You know, where does it rank in maybe the courses you've played now? You've accumulated across you know New Zealand,
00:23:06
Speaker
Australia as well and and now Scotland and Ireland where where would Ballybunion rank out of those courses you've played Monti?
00:23:16
Speaker
Yeah, it's um It's like Like the good thing about what I like the golf I've played is like Ireland and Scotland are quite unique so it's quite hard to compare I think Ballybunion for me was my favorite Ireland um
00:23:36
Speaker
You know, it's probably not as playable as like a St. Andrews or a North Derricks, I probably wouldn't, or a Royal Dornick. I'd probably put those three in Scotland ahead of Bally, but Bally wouldn't be far behind at all.
00:23:50
Speaker
Probably would be my take. What about you, AC? I'd be similar, actually. I haven't played Tareidi, so Bally Bunyan's definitely my top fives.
00:24:04
Speaker
ah I'd probably put it my third with North Berwick and St Andrews ahead of it. Awesome. So, boys, after Ballybunion, it was to Tralee, which is another very famous court course in Ireland.
Impressions of Tralee Golf Course
00:24:20
Speaker
Monty, I'm sure you you watched the the No Laying Up boys on Tour of Source before you'd gone on to the venue. What were you expecting, and and what did you get when you you got there?
00:24:32
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I was expecting... All the chat from like all those guys is like how epic your back nine is and maybe the front nine being weaker.
00:24:45
Speaker
I think I love Charlie. Charlie sort of exceeded my expectations. The back nine everything that's talked about and more. You've got this sort of two amazing par threes, like one of which you're hitting over this like fucking like crazy hole like i don't even know how to describe it it's probably like a it's like a 30 meter deep ditch I'd say it's not a long hole but your landing area is not that wide but you've got this dune behind the green in that like you can probably just bang one into the green and it trickles down into the dune sorry yeah back nine is just oh
00:25:30
Speaker
so so good like it's actually crazy how many epic holes it's a good short four oh yeah epic but what I was going probably on that line of thought is that the front line's not that weak either like you hear like the no laying up boys but I think one of them might have mentioned just the front line being it weak and maybe not but anyway like yeah the front line's quite contrasting to the back the front the back line's quite grand and Ireland's journey whereas yeah the front line would be more akin to probably more like Scotland golf.
00:26:06
Speaker
A bit fairer, bit open. And, yeah, front line's epic as well. So, um yeah, I think, like, Charlie, yeah yeah really cool contrast, I think, between the two lines. um Yeah, anything to add, AC?
00:26:25
Speaker
I think because the back nine's so hyped, you... you don't have any expectations going to the front nine and then you're playing it and you're like, oh, this is a great golf course. And then you turn and then obviously the back nine, just tons of wow factor. I'm sure a lot of people in the pod have probably seen photos of it.
00:26:46
Speaker
um But I love the front nine too. Admittedly, I played really well in the front nine. I think I've won over and then just, none of us broke 80 in Ireland and this was probably one of my, after shooting one over I was like okay here's your chance and then just proceeded to light myself on fire on the back nine.
00:27:10
Speaker
Like I hit, I hitting one the fairway bunker on 10 and trying to advance one near the green and just hit the lip and then Oh, the world, everything was moving quickly after that. I think I made a triple there. I think I made a triple there. I tripled 17.
00:27:28
Speaker
stephen ta Yeah, it just, oh, it was not good. I think it it was ah probably like a 48 back nine or something like that. It was pretty bleak. Triples in New Zealand are often quite hard, even if you lose a nut.
00:27:42
Speaker
You can make triples in Ireland without losing a nut, without doing, you know, a whole lot long. i think I think the experience factor in playing Ireland golf is huge. Like, I would ah assume, stroke, hope that would be a lot better next time around.
00:28:00
Speaker
But, yeah, there's numbers left. Sorry, I see you go. Yeah, I think it also just ah made me learn. Ireland, actually, I think, made me learn not to beat myself up as much.
00:28:17
Speaker
Because you could sort of, you could walk off holes just scratching your head how you made a double. And if you if you, to beat yourself up about it the whole way around, it'd be exhausting.
00:28:29
Speaker
had a little piss in calm, it can, but I think AC and I can walk away from the trip being quite proud of our ability to keep our chins up, don't you reckon?
00:28:40
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. had a couple of points in our Scotland trip where wasn't great, but I think Ireland, I was really good. yeah You say that, but there there is a pretty good um photo of Monty launching a wedge into oblivion like he's Beatrice Farmerwiener at the ah the Beijing Olympics.
00:29:02
Speaker
Yeah, that was that was a con. That was one he was referring to. Nice. As long as you step out of it afterwards, I...
00:29:14
Speaker
I love a good club launch. It's great value. But another thing I do want to know, boys, is you've been to some pretty premier venues, world-renowned. Are you dropping a whole heap of cash in every pro shop, or are you kind of picking and choosing where and when you spend your hard-earned?
00:29:35
Speaker
I've been quite selective. My approach is ball marker at every place, and now I'm now trying to do a flag where I can at like the top tier courses.
00:29:50
Speaker
So I've got, don't know, maybe six flags now for the man cave. But fuck me, like the pricing power or the or the there their ability to push prices unmatched, you would be like, ah you see it in New Zealand a bit, but fuck, it's like TRI levels.
00:30:13
Speaker
and maybe even more, like, every place you walk into. it's They know how to price a bit kit, that's for sure. Yeah, you know youd pick up a polo, and you go, wow, that's a nice polo, and then you'd look at the price, and it's $250 NZD, and you'd be be turning your nose at that.
00:30:33
Speaker
I think I was similar to Monty. Yeah, the odd hat, maybe, and a polo, but I just, Also, I don't want to look like a complete tosser when I go to the golf course and be like, oh look where I've played sort of thing.
00:30:49
Speaker
With your belly bunion polos on and whatnot. I'd rather just get markers and have like sort of a display or like a something where I can just like look back on it rather than let everyone know that I've played these courses.
00:31:07
Speaker
A humble head cover or two doesn't go on this. Yeah, the way to go, I reckon. And hacks, for sure. But, boys, after trailers, speaking of pro shops, ah even I'm familiar with how cool the logo is here. It was off to Waterville next, where I imagine you must have dropped some cash in the pro shop there because it's a pretty... ah ah Actually, AC, if you want to explain what the logo is to the listeners, ah that'd be great.
00:31:38
Speaker
Well, it's just the hair with the date it was established either side of it. um But it's a great logo. It's a classy hair, though. Yeah, it's cooler than it sounds. Yeah, it is.
00:31:53
Speaker
It's one of the great golf logos. I don't know if I've seen a better one. And it just looks good on merch. You actually do see a few hairs as you play the golf course, too, which is... Yeah, so...
00:32:06
Speaker
yes i The shop is outrageously good. You could literally buy anything with a waterfall logo on it. Some of it's quite funny.
00:32:17
Speaker
I wish I had some more examples of shit you could buy, but there's some random stuff out there. Like a lot of flasks and like, yeah, coffee mugs. um ah ah should I should have had like proper stuff.
00:32:33
Speaker
Yeah. Shoe horns are so... Like yeah the the club cleaners, like everything. Like it's outrageous.
00:32:45
Speaker
If you can fit the logo on the item, it's there.
00:32:50
Speaker
That's brilliant. um Well, do you always want to talk me through your day at Waterville? How you liked it? What happened the day you got? I understand we're a little bit pressed for time here because AC's got to get on the tube to work. So...
00:33:04
Speaker
ah If you could talk me through Waterfall, that'd be fantastic.
Analysis of Waterville's Logo and Playability
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah. um I think like from an American consumer point of view, it's probably like near top of the pops when people come to Ireland.
00:33:18
Speaker
I'd probably put it like mid-pack in what we played. i think pound for pound value-wise, I'd probably put it near the bottom. I think it was our most expensive round. Yeah.
00:33:33
Speaker
yeah i wouldn't I wouldn't leave it out if you if you're not money constrained or like you're down those ways. like Actually quite a cool back nine and again like a couple of really famous holes out there on the back nine.
00:33:45
Speaker
Front nine just felt like a lot of par fours. You're sort of just running around an area just playing a bunch of par fours. It felt more or less the same. But yeah, gun pro shot.
00:33:59
Speaker
Again, like you're in a cool part of the world playing along with Coast. as you come down the stretch, which was nice.
00:34:07
Speaker
Yeah, I'd put it in the, like, yeah, if you're there, you've got the money, you've got the time, do it. But I'd prioritise, you know, your tralees of the world ahead of it.
00:34:20
Speaker
It was, yeah, I remember getting quite sulky on the front line. I think i was actually messaging Cal being like, oh, I'm near the end of my wits of golf. But I... i I agree with all that you said, Monty.
00:34:34
Speaker
i thank I do think it was of more playable courses we played.
00:34:41
Speaker
It wasn't too peen off the tee compared to some. um I remember, though, there is one par five. I think it's 11. yeah And you just had nowhere to go other than dead straight.
00:34:55
Speaker
Otherwise, you're making a number. um And it was tight, too. So and the other hole that gets a bit of airtime there is a hole called the mass hole. um This is par three with this ditch in front of it.
00:35:09
Speaker
And I think basically, um i think in the 18th century, was like punishable football by death you were to have, like, actually, going to just get it up here. oh
00:35:26
Speaker
ah good well While while i see has a look for that, I'm just on the Waterville Pro Shop and just having a little look at what what we can buy You can get a can give us a Waterville cigar case for €85.
00:35:40
Speaker
You can get a leather belt €55.20, which is on special. Look, the Kerry head cover for €45 is best. twenty which is on special look the carryprom hit cover for forty five yeah is pretty good shopping.
00:35:56
Speaker
i I paid 251 NZD for one similar at TRI. And then you can also get a bottle opener, which value for cash there at 10 euro is is pretty good. But yeah, like there is some, you can, what do you reckon a Lynx legend bag sending you back? 300 euro. Ah, keep going.
00:36:21
Speaker
i keep going it $469 and even better you've got a canvas leather backpack here that's €325 so you'd like to think about making a bit of cash on some tourists just using money as an object in their shop but yeah this stuff is cool though they've got an Instagram account as well the Waterville Links Pro Shop or something I um
00:36:53
Speaker
I'm pretty sure they had like a hair that was ah like a cuddly toy. Yeah. bought It was just, yeah, it was pretty absurd. you could probably go and win one at time zone.
00:37:06
Speaker
It looks similar. Exactly. One of those, or one of those claw drop. Imagine if they had one of those five euros to play. That's a good marketing point.
00:37:18
Speaker
I don't think the amount of coin you'd put on that machine you'd be up You'd be able to get that hair cuddly toy because I never had much luck in those claw machines. Nah, especially with the bruddy balls. That's tough to get a hold of. But ac can you tell us what was punishable by death, please? Okay.
00:37:37
Speaker
Yeah, so there's the mass hole. So I'll just read what was on the rock on the T. So it says, in the eighteenth century the celebration of mass was punishable by death in ireland forcing the local population to use the secluded valley in front of this the screen to hold their services the original links design called for a grain to be placed in the hidden veil. However, the lo local workmen declared the area sacred ground and refused to disturb the site.
00:38:06
Speaker
A compromise was made with the green being on top, with the bass part below. So yeah, there's just some interesting history when you play these golf courses. And that's, yeah, quite a famous hole in Ireland.
00:38:20
Speaker
Even though the hole itself isn't actually that amazing.
Final Rounds and Reflections at Dukes
00:38:24
Speaker
Oh, right.
00:38:27
Speaker
Boys, anything to add on Waterfall before it's you know your your last last hurrah of your Island Golf Series at Duke's? Another fantastic logo. Is it a frog, I believe? A code, if you're being released. Sorry, Oh, sorry, mate. Well, and I could have called the Waterfall a rabbit too, and that...
00:38:54
Speaker
Yeah, in same basket. But boys, Dukes, how was it? ah I understand, speaking of pro shop purchases, Monty, I believe you did make a big one here, having a fork out for a polo. Before we get into the gulf, maybe talk us through your pro shop experience there.
00:39:21
Speaker
Yeah, good one. Second best logo on the trip behind Waterville, no doubt. Try to, on each trip now, you know, the loser buys the winner of Polo at the last stop.
00:39:34
Speaker
AC got lucky that Dukes was good from a logo point of view for the last stop. Not every trip will be that way. But, um yes, I think I got dusted up probably well before Dukes. AC is probably fair. Yeah, I think so.
00:39:52
Speaker
Yeah, I think I paid 130 euros for Apollo, which is and in line with you know line with average, I'd say. but Yeah, it's pretty expected, I'd say, at these type of places.
00:40:08
Speaker
I think probably I didn't want it yet either. No, wore it the old course, Monty. Oh, God. Yeah, no, I wore it. Before that as well, we probably won.
00:40:20
Speaker
probably a core memory from the trip actually was we, was an afternoon tea time and the Scottish Open was on that day. So we, we made the wise call just to get to the golf course, you know, multiple hours before our tea time, I think from memory, just posted up in the, in the clubby. And, I think at a couple of pints, we're watching Rory close out the Scottish Open, which is, you probably remember was the year where he hit that.
00:40:50
Speaker
two or three iron, I can't remember what it was, into the 18th. Super good shot below the wind, basically. And Bobby Mack was with him, um, dueling down the back nine. Yeah, just... He was already in the tent, wasn't he, Bobby Mack?
00:41:06
Speaker
Yeah, he was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 30, 17 and 18 to win, didn't he? Um, Rory? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was epic. Yeah, yeah, that was, yeah, that was, like, one of the great shots and pretty cool doing it that way. um And yeah, Duke's, yeah, it's pretty mid-tier golf course in the context of the trip, but it was super enjoyable day.
00:41:33
Speaker
Members out there were kind, good value. um Yeah. It was a fun round golf. Yeah, we had a couple good young English fellas playing with us and yeah, I'd do it again.
00:41:49
Speaker
Just Just fun. And probably also in that bucket of being a bit more playable as well, which is which was a nice reprieve from memory.
00:42:00
Speaker
But Monty, we dodged such a bullet there with who we played with. Because Monty and I are in the pro shop and there was just these two yanks like trying on all these polos.
00:42:15
Speaker
middle-aged men um just the biggest cheese balls you could think of and um we were meant to play with them and they're like shaking our hands in the in the pro shop and then yeah we we bumped into these two scouse lads on the the putting green and just played with them brilliant um and i think yeah that that was one of the enjoyable days and i don't think it was anything to do with how good the golf course was. The golf course is very good, but I wouldn't say it was, you know, it wasn't in our top five or six.
00:42:53
Speaker
But, like, yeah, I'll remember that day for rest my life. Yeah, right. It went under a massive renovation, Dukes, around that 2006 period, which really took it to kind of that top tier of Irish links. um Did you always play very well around there?
00:43:14
Speaker
Nah, I think that was a day like where last day of the trip, more playable. He just, from memory, maybe just went on a string of bogeys, just make a ton of bogeys.
00:43:27
Speaker
But no, super, super cool course. Just probably didn't have like that like natural wow factor that you get at the likes Tralee, but one you'd love to be a member at. And, you again, in a good sort of,
00:43:43
Speaker
geographical spot with lots of good courses around it so yeah definitely do it
00:43:51
Speaker
yeah I'll start to wrap yeah oh sorry AC but yeah if you don't have much to add you know I'll start to wrap up this pod kind of thing but if you guys were to you know be making an itinerary for someone that's heading to Ireland to do a golf trip whether they've got they might have time to do the whole hog like you guys did or, or maybe slightly
Top Irish Golf Course Recommendations
00:44:17
Speaker
shorter.
00:44:17
Speaker
Is it, what are the kind of the must dos and the potentials to leave out and, and maybe some stuff that you, you wish you did do? Yeah, I think by and large, we, we, we did it super well. Like for the first time is think like you could, you could help me run it, run back exactly what we did and, you know, be super happy.
00:44:41
Speaker
Probably, must-do is hard, but, you know, Le Hinch, Ballybunion, Charlie, Sligo, and Kahn, probably, if had to do a five, like, must-do.
00:44:57
Speaker
um I think, sort of alluded to it, like, if you were super tight on cash, you could probably take or leave Waterville, Spanish Point, save time, just move on.
00:45:10
Speaker
Um... Yeah, the other thing... If you did the loop, we did... I'd add Port Marnock if you can get there. Yeah. Yeah. Good call. And then... we way was We were... We We spent an evening in Killarney.
00:45:29
Speaker
Which... Isn't that southwest area, right, AC? Yeah, it's more inland. Yeah, and... So we...
00:45:41
Speaker
We were unfortunately driving, so we weren't able to get on the lash too much. But um we went to JM Reedy's, which featured in the NLU video. You can watch the good man Neil Shuster breaking down to some content.
00:46:00
Speaker
But that was an amazing joint. Like... Oh, top, top tier joint. Like, the energy in there was insane. Like, this Irish music, just, like, jeet-up Irish music out of these, like, I don't even know the instruments. Like, the bandos. I don't either.
00:46:20
Speaker
The accordion. Accordion. Yeah. Yeah, it was, actually. It was an accordion. Yeah, and just, like, the energy was insane. Like, all walks of life there, there stag dude where these guys were just so mothered.
00:46:35
Speaker
It was like hilarious. And AC and I being sober, more or less just wall riding. Right, AC? Yeah. We were wall riding. And just watching these bikes, just having an absolute whale of a time. Whale of a time.
00:46:54
Speaker
So, yeah, like I would budget in a couple of nights in Killarney, including a rest day, to take him into account the sherbets you'll have East.
00:47:05
Speaker
Yeah, epic. ah Yeah, if we did it again, we'd definitely do that. Well, AC, I'll get you to maybe, if you can, off the top of your head, from part one and part two, i won't ask for your top five. I'll ask for your top three.
00:47:24
Speaker
Three, two, one. Three yeah being worst. Yeah, I'm glad you've played. AC loves it when I break down... How rankings work.
00:47:37
Speaker
Rankings. Okay, so one would be Valley Bunyan, two Lahinch, and then
00:47:50
Speaker
three Sligo. I'm not actually, no, I'm going my favourite. I'm not saying best golf course. I think if you're doing best golf course, Lahinch has to be number two.
00:48:02
Speaker
Or one. But I'm going to go my favourites were one, Belly Bunyan, two, Sligo. Ah, two, Sligo, three, Charlie. I love Sligo. multi i only I think that's a good take.
00:48:18
Speaker
I'd probably... I'd maybe flip Sligo and Charlie. But if you like, yeah, for fun factor. Also, though, fuck, the... The Kilmore Nine at Cannes is, like, out the gate as well. Yeah.
00:48:35
Speaker
Yeah, it's that's tough. But, yeah, Ballybunion, Charlie, and Le Hintz probably your best three, like, out-and-out golf courses. But your experience at Sligo probably gets a spot in the top three, I reckon.
00:48:49
Speaker
Somehow. Yeah, and i actually think probably... Sligo's a better routing, because we could do this all day, but Sligo's probably a better routing than Charlie, but Charlie's just the land and everything there. Arnold Palm had a lot to work with there.
00:49:07
Speaker
it Yeah. know Just rounding this up, I'd say, I think our trip was great, obviously alluded to on um maybe slight adjustments.
00:49:20
Speaker
if you had If you were super time-constrained, you just hit the southwest in a weekend from London you take a couple of days' leave, you can hit the southwest like Tralee and Ballybunion and La Hinch and All-in-One, which if you've got the cash and want three days or four days and then have a night out at Reedy's or something in there like to condense it, that's a pretty epic few-day stretch.
00:49:52
Speaker
Well, boys, I really appreciate you stopping to break down this second part of the island pod. It was well overdue. You boys are becoming pretty well-travelled. Ireland and Scotland. Monty's recently done a little bit of Melbourne.
00:50:06
Speaker
Is there anything next, anything on the horizon, I should say, ah you boys, golf-wise? Because in your young lives, you've you've ticked off some pretty incredible places.
00:50:20
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I see guys. Yeah, very grateful for all that. um I'm doing a little trip to Scotland in May or April. I'm just waiting to hear back.
00:50:32
Speaker
But I'm probably going to try hit Old Course, North Berwick, and then just play a few more that we didn't play. Like there's Crail, Dunbar, Killspin. There's a few there.
00:50:43
Speaker
I'll probably do like four-day trip, play your 36-hole day. That's probably probably the plan. And then from there, I don't think I'll be doing too much more golf trips. And while I'm over here in the UK, I'm going to make sure that I get down there to St. George's at some point before I leave too, though.
00:51:04
Speaker
Yeah, I think ah Melbourne actually exceeded my expectations. So I'm pretty easy to tap into that more regularly. No, nothing near to them. But I think the next big one will be Northern Ireland.
00:51:21
Speaker
Yeah, maybe i can maybe I can tap into that itinerary because that's high on my bucket list is Northern Ireland, you know, Portrush, your County Downs. like that is I'm sick for that. So, well, boys, i appreciate i could talk to you boys about golf and travel all day, but I'll i'll let you go.
00:51:40
Speaker
appreciate you guys all tuning in, listening to the part two on Ireland. I know you guys have been hanging out for it. So we we do appreciate you waiting around and listening. So, And we'll catch you next time when we break down Scotland with these boys again on our Course Nuffy series. So thanks again, and we'll catch you next time.
00:51:59
Speaker
Cheers, boys. um whole how do you look like for your own um me um um