Carton house, home of the GUI and National Academy, lots of prestige here, and I dont think i could have played the front 9 any worse! To begin, when you pay for a round here, you are entitled to use the range for free, although in our case we had to collect the balls from the range first!! It wasnt so bad, gave me a few more mins to warm up! The first tee is a bit of a trek away, so either drive your car up there, or wait for the pickup van.. The 18th finishes by the same carpark, so thats rather convenient..
So lets begin...
Front 9,
The 1st is a nice hole, its fairly straight forward, and doesn't present too much danger. Just keep your drives on the straight and narrow, clear the bunkers which gaurd the front of the green, and a par should be straight forward.
The 2nd was a little tougher, and I made a mess of it! Sliced drive into the rough and trees, hashed attempt to escape, and and overkill on the next shot over the back of the green and into more rough... I'll save the embarrassment and stop right there!
The pic below is the tower which dominates the opening 9 in particular, you will play around this quite a few times, and is quite simply a fantastic feature to the open landscape, perched up on the hill and overlooking everything.
I liked the 3rd hole, it has a lot of character, and is a dog left right par 5. There is a bunker community right on the turn, Its best to avoid these if you know whats good for you, hitting over them shouldnt be too much bother for many players, playing left is the next best choice. If you chose to sail high over these bunkers, you would probably be left with the guts of 250 yards slightly uphill to the green, the green itself is barracaded to the front and left with sand, sand and more sand. A wise choice would be to ping a ball a little right of the green, and pitch on for 3. I should have done this myself, but i was too busy searching for my wayward second shot in the long rough along the left. Beautiful hole none the less, looking forward to tackling it a little better next time.
The 8th had me a little perplexed, as the society Tee's appeared to be at an unfair dissadvantage to almost every other Teebox that day. Sure i prefer to play from the members Tee's, but when in Rome and all that... Yea, the societies Teebox was tucked away on the left, with a gigantic Tree absolutley in your way, I had to play a high draw to dodge it, was probably the best draw I ever hit, and i doubt i could pull it off often. I played a 3w for that shot, and that left me a 6i to the green, missed it, chip and putt, par. happy memories.
Back 9,
Now this is what I came here to play, and this is what will have me want to play it again. Really, this 9 is a totally different kettle of fish to the previous, Spectacular, exciting, and challenging.
The 10th hole is a long downhill par 4, 427 from the members, however if you can hit 270 yards with your driver, then you can drive this green.. We all took aim, and it sure took an eternity for the ball to descend from the heavens. A slight draw will favour your attempt, but the fairway does become tighter the closer your ball bears down on the green. This is a birdie hole, I say go for it! All 3 of us did, and 2 of us were just shy of the green. Short par 4's really raise the excitement on a golf course, everyone wants a crack at them. Just so much fun, and this one in particular made my day.
From here on in, the course is nothing short of spectacular, Ive heard it mentioned as Irelands own Amen corner. It begins on number 14, 185 yard severe downhill par 3, where the green sits periously on the inside curve of a great bend in the river. The approach shot is massively downhill, id say 2 clubs shorter than the distance reads, and you don't want to be short, left, or long. I found the green on this occasion, pin high, 15ft putt and made par. Was fairly pleased with that.
The 15th is a par 5, dogleg right and over a few more bunkers. There are bunkers all over this course, very American feel I must admit, but then again it was designed by American great Mark O'Meara. So, this hole probably requires a 3w off the tee, 6/7i lay up short of the river and a short approach to the green, I lipped out a birdie putt, and accepted par. I think both scores are equally obtainable for most.
The walk to the green and then onto the par 3 16th hole is wonderful, you must walk alongside the river, then cross it along the wooden bridge pictured above and below. I remember crossing this bridge and looking at the next green, I remember saying to myself, this green has a nice slope along the middle, and the pin is at the front, "I will take an extra club and safely use the slope"... Did I remember my own wise words just a few mintures later? not at all, forgotten them like a good Saturday night. I took a 9i out from my bag, and hit it sweet as could be, i reckon it fell short by an inch or 2, dissapointing as it was only when the ball was in mid air did i remember my veteran like words on the bridge. anyway, this hole which is is a lofted club over a lovely lake is something we should be looking to score well on, but i hobbled away with a double bogey, my only blemish on an otherwise par-fect back 9.
The 18th is a tough finishing hole, The drive is fairly straight forward, the bunkers on the left should pose no threat to anyones launch. It is the approach to the green that is difficult, steep incline all the way, and a sheer tall rock fact protects the front and left of the green, a crafty bunker rests above the rocks, and for us the flag jeerfully taunted us to be bold and take it on. We had mixed results, One of my playing partners fell prey to the rocks, and another to the rough. I made the green again, my iron play was spot on the the last 3rd at least, and again just missed out on birdie.
I will remember the closing 9 fondly, but thought the opening 9 was a little bland at times, lacking charisma, and charm. Bunkers galore, but they become a little monotonous after a while. I'm glad the water came into play later on in the round, It was a welcome break from the mundane, but it excelled, and I feel honoured to have played those closing holes. Fantastic stuff!
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