Tralee

Our smiling Irish weather eyes came to a crashing end overnight as rain and wind lashed our new digs in Killarney where we had arrived after a 2 1/2 hour drive from Lahinch. Ominous forecasts in the morning had us very concerned golf at Tralee would be a non starter. But……our luck of the Irish came through and we faced nary a drop despite the presence of storms all around us.

The original nine hole Tralee GC came into existence in 1896 and 84 years later its members purchased the current site in Barrow, 14 Kms west of the town of Tralee. Arnold Palmer was hired to design a layout that opened in 1984 with the goal of attracting world wide attention. Mission accomplished in spades.

Tralee is also a course of two distinct nines. The front nine incorporates a limited amount of vertical dunes and as such is more windswept and open. And I do mean windswept. We were buffeted by cross winds upward of 25 – 30 mph which meant aiming well left or right of targets with dubious outcomes.

The presence of stone walls added another hazardous element.

Oh and the fairways ended abruptly in either knee high rough or the ocean.

The back nine introduced big dunes which helped temper the wind but meant challenging elevation changes and unique shots.

The hills, chasms, long grasses et al offer such a difference to the style of golf we’ve become so accustomed to “back home”. Here a miss is truly a miss.

The storm that threatened to arrive fortunately held off until we were done but created a unique image of clouds shrouding the clubhouse.

Unlike say, Lahinch which is at the village’s edge, Tralee is very secluded and has a completely different vibe. It was a workout in the wind and the ups and downs. Interestingly the last few kilometers to the club is via a narrow single lane road that the large touring coaches bringing groups of golfers traverse. Not sure how they do it.

Tomorrow is a Pit Day where we plan to explore the Ring of Kerry. If the volume of tourists in Killarney is any indication it will be a busy traffic day. According to the guide book all the coaches travel counterclockwise. We will not!