While we were in Ireland my buddy Michael Althoff met us in Dublin. We spent some time together drinking pints at the local pubs and loaded the car to drive to Northern Ireland. We hit a few more pubs along the way and met in the hotel bar for a beer before bed when we arrived. The next day we headed to a golf course.
Last year Michael met me in St Andrews to play golf. We didn’t play the Old Course, but we did manage to play The Himalayas one afternoon. We also spent a lazy Sunday walking around St Andrews while the course was closed. It was only fitting that while in Ireland/Northern Ireland we play 18 holes together! When we arrived to Royal Portrush Golf Club, I thought to myself, “I haven’t written a steps blog post in quite some time. Let’s do that today!” So on the first tee I grabbed my steps count and decided to track my steps/miles for the round.
We didn’t have time to hit balls before we teed off. I was wearing tennis shoes and playing with rental clubs. Needless to say, I wasn’t focused on my score. I did manage to find the fairway on the first hole and made a few pars along the way. I had 2 double bogeys on the front, though, but managed to shoot a respectable 42. I hit the halfway house and grabbed a beer. When I handed the bartender my credit card, he said it was a £10 limit. Fine, give me a shot of Bushmills. Even after ordering a shot of whiskey I STILL had not reached the limit. Make it a double! I ordered a big bottle of beer and 2 shots of whiskey for less than £12. Impressive.
I don’t remember holes 10 and 11, but I did manage to lose 3 golf balls on 12. I hit my drive right… Lost ball. Hit a 3 wood left. Lost ball. Hit my next shot just right of the green. Caddie goes, “Oh, that’s in the water.” What? Yep… I managed to play 11 holes with the same ball before that happened. I gave up from there. I hit a few bad tee shots, hit a few shanks and just started laughing. The rough is so thick it didn’t matter. If you missed the fairway you were making bogey. Keep in mind Rory shot 61 here when he was 16 years old.
I digress. After walking the front 9, I looked and realized I had walked 6,803 steps. I actually forgot to track the miles, but 6,803 steps is no joke! The back seemed shorter, maybe because of the whiskey, but I walked 7,226 steps on the back 9. In the end, I walked 14,029 steps. I don’t know how many miles that is, but that is a LONG way! Again, I was wearing tennis shoes, so it didn’t feel like it was that long, but it was a hike! I took a lot of swings, too, which didn’t help.
There are no carts at Royal Portrush. Everyone walks, which I love! The caddie did have a pushcart, but he still walked. It was a great day… And I will never forget how hard this golf course is. Want to see how hard it is? Watch the TOUR guys tackle this layout next year during The Open. If you miss the fairway, good luck finding the ball, let alone making par!
Michael, thank you again for the invite. It is always a pleasure to play golf with you, sir. I walked 14k steps, but I am sure I made up for that at the bar after our round. I mean, we were on holiday in Northern Ireland, after all. Sláinte!
