The Gawf - A Capsule Summary (Part I)

On Sunday we awoke to a simply magnificent day, warm enough to contemplate and, fortunately not live to regret our first round ever in Scotland or Ireland in shorts.  It's not that we've never had days sufficiently warm, it's just that we've never previously bothered to bring them.  The golf was of a slightly improved standard, but inconsistency ruled.

The two courses are intertwined, which is very unusual in my experience, but necessitates charming road markers such as that above.  As I'll share below, despite the quality of the signage, it is quite possible to make a wrong turn.

Most importantly, the Old Links was as charming as we remembered it.  It's not especially lengthy, 6,900 yards from the tips for the men (I played tees at 6,450 yards) and 5,400 for the ladies.  The fairways are reasonably generous and, in stark contrast to its sister course, the terrain just off the fairways is mostly playable, a mixture of thinner whispy stuff with longer fescue grasses that tend to fold over creating turf that feels like a trampoline under foot.  The good news is that you've a decent chance of finding your ball, though the lies can make you look quite foolish..

Madam coils before punishing her innocent golf ball, with Glashedy Rock Island in the background.

But its fairways are a complete trip, with all sorts of hogsbacks, hummocks, hollows and other alliterative h-words beyond my meager vocabulary.  Between tee and green there are few level lies to be found, and that may be the course's most significant defense. I mean, beyond the demon bunker, gusting wind and frightfully tight lies....

The author tees off on the Par 3 seventh.  Not the best of photos, but I can't resist the pictures of us in shorts.

Our match was competitive, and the best of the golf came late.  Your humble blogger had a notable up and in from a front bunker to a pin on the back tier of the tenth green, and Theresa made a timely fifteen footer to force me to make a six foot par putt and keep the match all square on No. 17.  We halved the three-shot 18th, for a halve of our first match.

Current Standings:

T. Simpson 1/2

S. Simpson 1/2

 One last item for now (and it seems impossible for me to catch up), but I captured the video below on our first day.  Theresa did well to escape this bunker, but she seems awfully pleased with herself, no?