St Patrick’s Day at Connemara

By Sam Blackwell and Rick Hetzel Sam, not feeling too well this morning, thought he might opt for a bit of rest and take in the St Patrick’s Day Parade in the Galway’s Eyre Square.  Knowing I would be writing today’s blog, I tried to be careful to study the course for interesting details and nuances like Sam does so well. Connemara Golf Club,  located on the west coast of Ireland about sixty miles from Galway, is situated in a rugged and isolated part of the country where one may see plenty of  stacked stone walls, sheep in lambing season, and a barren but breathtaking mountain and lake vistas.  Mike commented on the long morning ride from the hotel what an irony that such beautiful golf courses would be located in so many remote locations in Ireland. [SinglePic not found]

Connemara Golf Links – County Galway

Tom Watson once stopped by Connemara, said our caddie, Jamie.  But apparently no one recognized him and there was no name on the tee booking.  As one club member walked across the parking lot of the club and noticed Watson, he asked in the clubhouse if there were any famous golfers on the course.  “No” was the reply, but they later learned that it was Watson on the course.  Despite the remote location and sparse population of the area, by the time Watson reached the 9^th hole a large gathering had formed to follow him during the remainder of his round.  Watson shot 69.  An autographed shirt and several photos adorn the wall of the Connemara Clubhouse. The Irish say a golfer can experience any type of weather in Ireland, and today as we started off playing the beautiful coastal links of Connemara we felt the small blades of sleet hitting us in the face as we approached the first green.  Thinking this might be a repeat of our experience at Carne, Gary, who is more of a warm weather golfer, told me he was really hoping this storm would pass quickly.  Jamie Flaherty, our able caddie from Connemara and a keen golfer in his own right, assured us this little ice storm was sure to pass quickly. Indeed it did.  The following eight holes brought us course designer Eddie Hackett at his best as Mike, Gary and I traversed pot bunkers and coastal winds to reach the clubhouse for a warm coffee. As we prepared to tee off the 10th, we noticed the wind had calmed and the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds off the Atlantic coast.  All of our group were playing well of the tees, but the fast greens seemed to be our Achilles heel.  Mike, who has a masterful short game, was even having a few problems getting his chips close, except for the 12^th hole where, true to character, he holed a chip from off the green.  The rest of the round proved to be a unique Connemara experience as we pulled off layers of clothing to the warming sun and joked about freezing rain in the morning and sunburned faces in the afternoon. [SinglePic not found]

Jamie (caddy), Gary, Rick and Mike at Connemara

The coach ride back to the hotel was marked with periodic roadside stops for pictures of the countryside and the sheep with their new lambs.  Our Irish driver, Kevin, thought it all somewhat humorous. [SinglePic not found]

The month of March in Ireland – lambing season throughout the land

Back in Galway, Joe and Sam told us about the parade, a homegrown affair featuring lots of children’s organizations, marching bands and a troupe from Amnesty International.  Most everyone wore green of some kind, if even in their hair or painted on their face. Afterward, whole families retired to their favorite pub to relive it all. As they say in Gaelic, the original language of Ireland, “ La Fheile Phadraig.”