Day 1: Old Head Golf Links Kinsale, County Cork. Old Head is a relatively new course (1997) but what it lacks in age is quickly forgotten from the momment you top the hill before the entrance. The course is situated on a diamond shape piece of property that's connected to the mainland by a 30 yard wide strip of land that's 300 foot down on each side. During construction they "lost" a bulldozer over the cliffs while finishing one of fairways.
From a visual and geographic standpoint, this place is truly one of kind and will have a special place in my memories mostly due to it's uniqueness and the horrid conditions on day 1. Unfortunetly the golf plays second fiddle to scenery at Old Head. While there are some memorable holes, #4 "Razors Edge" , #17 down hill par5 (pic above) , as a whole the course ranks towards the bottom of my list on this trip. It's not traditional 
links (they moved in 250,000 tons of top soil to grow grass) and doesn't leave you feeling like you've experienced a true round of Irish golf.
links (they moved in 250,000 tons of top soil to grow grass) and doesn't leave you feeling like you've experienced a true round of Irish golf.
Our first round was something out of a twisted golf thriller movie. 60 mph gusts and rain coming sideways. There were only 2 other groups on the course in addition to us. The only beneift in playing such crappy conditions was the fact that no other weather seemed to bother us after that introduciton. We spent the night in Kinsale and gassed it around Old Head again Thursday morning and the conditions were much improved.
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