What a difference a day makes. We awoke to bright sunshine and a cloudless sky. The question was, would it last through the day, especially since we would be next to the sea at County Lough GC. The answer was a resounding YES.
About 40 minutes south of our current base in Dundalk, the drive was made easier by using the M1 which is the main highway along the east coast. There were still enough narrow country lanes, roundabouts and oncoming traffic of all sizes to ensure 100% concentration at the wheel.
Located where the Boyne River empties into the Irish Sea, County Louth is known to the locals as Baltray which is the nearby local village and is the 8th ranked course in Ireland. A two time host of the Irish Open and multiple major Irish championships, County Louth couldn’t be more different than the previous days round at Royal County Down. Massive sand dunes, rumpled fairways with more humps and bumps than you can count, blind shots both off the tee and to the green, steep runoffs around many tiny greens and did I mention – sunshine!
County Louth has a local club charm with members acting as caddies and two lady greeters who answered any and all questions and wished you full craic during your round. Look up craic as it’s a core word in the Irish vocabulary.
Without caddies we would still be wandering around, unsure of where to aim and in fact, where the fairway or green might be.
Another day of some good shots and some rather head spinning misses. The sunshine and limited wind made for a most pleasant round.
Knock on wood the weather holds for tomorrow as we’re off to Ardglass GC and then through Belfast and into our next base, Londonderry tomorrow night.
The Bennetts On Tour 