The last time I played a round of golf was my annual Bandon Dunes trip in late 2024. It was a crisp week with frosty mornings and clear skies (honestly the best golf weather). My handicap was down to 12 and the week was a ton of fun.
Last year I spent more time running and, with all that went into moving to Ireland, simply ran out of energy to get out on the course. The Bandon trip’s shifted to a spring date in 2027, though, so I wanted to get my game back in shape well ahead of then.
On Thursday I took advantage of a (mostly) dry spell of weather and drove down to Skibbereen to play 18. It’s a 40 minute drive for me to any course as, somehow, our dream home happened to be in a relative dead zone in a country known for its prevalent golf courses. Oh well!
I knew it was a low-key course when the woman in the pro shop greeted me with, “Oh, you’re our visitor for the day!” Every other slot was members, which meant they were very curious about this random person on the tee sheet. After 10 minutes of friendly chitchat that spanned everything from nearby hippie communes to US politics and Irish cost of living I snuck out to the first tee box.
It was a perfect re-entry to golf, as I got to play solo and had no groups within 2 holes of me. That took any and all pressure off for bad shots (of which there were a few!). All told, though, it was a solid round after an 18 month gap. I shot 91 with a birdie, a handful of pars, and a full round in just over 3 hours.
The course is a ton of fun with some real elevation change. I had easily a half dozen strokes caused by simply not knowing the layout; there are some holes where you end up in a bind if you hit it to the wrong side of the fairway. And despite a wildly wet spring the course was in good shape. Now I’m itching to get back out!
