The Dublin Adventure

A very close friend of ours turned 39 a couple of months ago. For his birthday party they went to go see the movie "Once" at a theater in Redmond called The Big Picture. We went to the Apple movie trailer site and watched the trailer for Once. (http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/once/trailera/) After watching it we decided that since the movie takes place in Dublin and we live in Dublin we would make a little spoof of the trailer for Steve since we could not make it to his party. We tried to get the theater to play our trailer prior to the movie, but unfortunately because it was an actual public showing of the movie they would not show our trailer. So we posted the trailer on YouTube and have gotten some good feedback by people we don't eve know! So I decided to post it on our blog as well. It was a lot of fun to do. Please watch the trailer on the apple site first so that you can see our inspiration. Enjoy!

For my 40th birthday, Christy was looking for a unique gift that I would not figure out. For some reason I usually guess the surprise gifts that she gets for me. Don't know what it is, but it just pops in my head and I guess the gift. You could call it a seventh sense. Anyway's, she found something that truly is unique and will be a good reminder of our time spent here in Ireland. I work with a very talented Photographer, Philip Pankov (http://www.philpankov.com/-/philpankov/), who Christy has bumped into on a couple of occasions at art shows. She worked with Philip to get a custom shot of our local pub Slattery's on Shelbourne road. They are wonderful nighttime shots. Here are the proofs that she had to choose from.

Christy ended up selecting the third shot, and the picture has been printed and mounted in a beautiful frame and is now hanging in my office. What a wonderful gift! As if I needed anything that gets me thinking about having a Guinness!! :)

As we wrapped up the last round at Ardglass, and headed into the clubhouse, the news was that Padraig Harrington had eagled the 14th par 5 to tie Sergio Garcia for the lead in the Open Championship. We quickly went into the clubhouse bar and were lucky enough to find a few seats in the packed house. After ordering a few pints of Bulmers we settled in to watch one of the most thrilling finishes of any open Championship that I have seen. Being in Ireland in a packed bar of Irish watching Harrington double bogey the 18th, and then to be given a second chance at the miss of a 12ft birdie putt by Garcia was thrilling. The roar from the crowd in the bar was electric. The playoff holes were filed with drama and the commentary from all of the different individuals made up what was one of my top experiences in Ireland. When Harrington hold the last putt for the win, and the eruption of the crowd for one of their own bringing home the Claret Jug was more than I could have dreamed of. I don't think I could have scripted a better finish to the golf weekend. An experience that will live on in my memories for years to come.

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to play golf in Scotland and Ireland. A number of years ago, I decided that for my 40th birthday, I was going to try an get over to Ireland and play some of the top links courses in the world. Well now that we are living in Ireland, that dream became a reality. This past weekend three of my mates from work joined me on a 4 day 6 round golf extravaganza in Northwest Ireland. It was truly an amazing experience. The golf courses were exceptional, and the we were blessed with absolutely gorgeous weather for all four days. Here is a break down of all the courses that we played with some pictures from each of the courses.

Day 1 - We head out early on Thursday to Donegal to play Donegal Golf Club (Murvagh) It was an great course to start out on. It was a mixture of links and some inland holes which were a bit more Parkland in the feel but truly a great layout and wonderful links course. We were very lucky that the wind was mild. This course would be a monster if the mind was howling.

Day 2 - We stayed in a small town called Letterkenny which was between the courses we were going to play on Friday and Saturday. Friday we headed Northeast of Letterkenny to Ballyliffin to play 2 of the top courses in all of Ireland and the UK. Ballyliffin has 2 18 hole championship courses. The Old Links and the Glashedy Links which was designed by Nick Faldo. They were both brilliant courses. A step above Donegal, and true links style courses. The fairways had so many bumps and mounds that you would rarely have a flat lie. We walked the Old Links course first, and were very happy that we had buggies for the Glashedy Links in the afternoon. I think walking in the afternoon would have killed us all. The rough was treacherous. If you were able to find your ball, there was little or no chane to progress the ball forward. In most cases you just had to take a wedge and try to get it back to the fairway. Once again the wind was mild so the courses were very enjoyable. At least for those of us who could get off the tee box! :)

Day 3 - On day three we head Northwest of Letterkenny to Rosapenna to be play the challenging Sandyhills course, and the Old Tom Morris links courses. We started on the newer Sandyhills course which was a true test of links golf. A bit more like the Glashedy Links of Ballyliffin, the course was very hilly and tight. No room for errors and if you missed the fairway the rough was tall and nasty. The Old Tom Morris links was established in 1891 by Tom Morris who designed St. Andrews in Scotland. It is due to be upgraded and was definitely an easier test than the newer Sandyhills links, but still was a great links course.

Day 4 - The final day we set out to Northern Ireland to play what was a little known and I must say now a very underrated golf course. Ardglass had some of the most interesting holes, and by far the best greens we had played all week. The holes that ran along the cliffs and the coast were some of the most beautiful holes. The inland holes were more wide open, and not near as difficult. It was a great way to finish off the week.

Overall throughout the weekend there were good holes and bad holes, but I have to say that it was one of the best times that I have had playing golf. The lads were great company and the match plays and stableford scores came down to the wire. This past weekend truly held up to all my expectations and was a great way to celebrate my 40th birthday. The only thing missing were some close mates from the US, and I hope that when they venture over for a visit I will be able to take them to enjoy some similar wonders that are here on this beautiful island.