Where do i begin? what can i say about this course that paints a picture as majestic as these fields of dreams that McGinley rose from a remote region of the Wicklow hills. I knew little about this place when we visited, but i had read a few reviews that paints this course in a particularly positive light, Kevin Markham's book being prime example. So off i set with my brother in tow. The first challenge about Macreddin, is finding it. First off, its not easy, and the roads are rather bendy. Trust your GPS, it should get you there. Ill add the co-ords below for your reference.
So, Macreddin village, well its not really a village is it? Its more of a country retreat with all the facilities of a village, and nice facilities at that.. Don't get me wrong, i do like it.
The First Tee box and starters cabin is located across the road from the village gates, I say cabin as the clubhouse has not been built yet due to the woes of the recession, but stay tuned, hopefully we wont have to wait too long for one.
Golf is a game of 2 nines, and on this occasion, the 2 nines were rather contrasting. Separated by a road, a downpour and a lot of hills. Ill set the precedent right now, and divide my blogs in 2. So, let us begin.
Front 9,
An easy opener followed by a cracker of a par 5, and let me just say this now, All the par 5's are Beasts!
The par 5 2nd, its a dogleg right, a raised tee box to a landing plane sandwiched between OOB on the left and a Tree lined right. My bro sailed over the white sticks on the left, and I found position A, right down the middle. Did this do me any good? not really, I attempted to layup with a soft hybrid, but what a load of good that was, pulled left, behind a tree, nested behind a root.. My God, if I ever try to play safe again, shoot me! I got a 7, where a par should have been within reach. It Was a shocker, anyway, roll on.. It was a fantastic hole.
(see pic)
The 4th is my next fav hole, and these fav holes do add up. Par 3, Downhill, Way Way Way downhill. We played from the back tee, into a slight wind, took aim for the target with an 8 iron, pin high, landed just over the bunker 30yards left of the bulls eye. My brother found the green, and we both managed par.. We were happy. but we wanted to play it again, wouldn't dare do it though, the walk back up the hill would have been unbearable, took us a few minutes to get down in the first place.
Next on my list is the 6th, a drivable par 4 which i made a mess of. :) I pulled my drive and found the trees and tall rough, didn't find the ball however. The hole itself is fantastic, a little stream plays havoc to a safe knock-down drive, and the green nested within a haven of trees makes targeting from long range rather delicate. I say go for it, Its worth a punt, but only if you can hit long and straight and about 270 mtrs downhill.
(see pic)
A sweet par 3 leads us on to the next brute of a par 5 8th. Smash a drive to the pinnacle of the hill, and a 3 wood could get you close to the green, but you would do well to hit this in 2. best again to lay up, these par 5's are a risk to adopt a brutish attitude, with a small pond right of the green, i chose to layup, then i chose the wrong club, over hit the green with my 3rd, chip and putt. Ill take a par.
A stitch in time saves 9, and its a dog leg left par 4. There are a lot of dogleg lefts, a shade more than dogleg rights, 6 versus 5 on my count. So, the 9th requires an accurate Drive, take a 3w is my advice, and take more club than you would guess for your second, or simply trust the yardage, the bunkers in front of the green provide a deceptive illusion of length, its further away than you would imagine. Actually, it took a long time to play this hole, as we cowered under the tree on the apex of the turn as the rain began belting down, this was also the time i realised i left my umbrella at home, my wet suit trousers and wetsoft gloves. silly me, my game took a turn for the worst because of this. Let it be-known, i did have my sun cream!! I forgot to check met.ie for the weather report that morning, and this was my critical error, most bag carriers like to travel light when at all possible, cutting corners though bears its brunt on the unprepared.
Back 9,
Where is it? I can't see it.., alright, lets snoop about, and cross the road, take a right as you walk in the gates of the village and head straight for a couple of minutes, you should find it up there somewhere :) The initial thing that stood out for me was the huge wooden cabins built adjacent to the 10th, I never really approved of building homes on golf courses, but these ones seemed to fit in.
The first hole I really admired was the 12th, it is sublime, amazing, and really intimidating, I've attached some pics to help you visualise it, and to play it out in your mind, which is better than our experience, as this is when the serious downpours started. Its a shame really, as there are few holes in golf that can pose such serious threats to your scorecard whilst maintaining an royal elegance that requires even the audacious to humbly bow down. My advice to play this masterpiece, is to take a 3wood, and target the middle of the fairway, that should be enough to clear the stream in front and hopefully avoid the gorse, stream and rough on the right, and the large trees on the left. A daunting Iron approach over all the danger would be your second if you want to attack the green, but there is a safer route up the left, to take this route, you will rely on your short game to earn a par, and indeed a par here should bring a smile most faces. I carded a bogey, but id welcome another shot at it in fairer weather.
(see pics)
Number 13, a delicious double dogleg par 5. Take a 5w here if you don't know where to aim, Draw a 3wood if you can. This safe drive should position you at the end of the fairway, which indeed is the end of the turf, as a stepped drop below follows. From the end of this fairway, you can see the beautifully protected green very far away, and many metres below. If you can carry the 5 bunkers with a 3w and stop the ball dead, then by all means take the green on, but the best advice should be to lay up and play the rest of the hole as a short par 3. I chose the former and lost my ball in the long rough, stumbled across the line with a 6.. I must read this blog before I play it again!!
(see pics)
The 15th and 16th are very tough holes, the drives are fairly straight forward, long and straight is best, but with greens cosied up between the trees, and the run-off the hills place the premium on accuracy, a par 5 and a par 4, again, id happily take a par, but the birdies are on if you can dial in the approach shots.
The 17th is a downhill par 3, we played a 6 and 7 iron respectively, this green hides behind the same stream that we have seen countless times before, which in turn leads us to the 18th, which is rather pretty. 3w/Driver here, don't hit the stream on the right, and don't hit it too far into the stream as it crosses in front. Aim between the big tree and the bunker is my suggestion, this should leave you anywhere between a 6 & 8 Iron to the green. nice finishing hole which brings us back to the village.. I do prefer a closing hole where the clubhouse is your gallery, but that's just my preference.
____________________________________________
Macreddin is well worth the bendy, twisty journey through the backroads of Wicklow, so pack your bags, your satnav and dont forget to check the weather forecast. €40 is a steal for a round of golf at a course like this. This is one of those courses where as you stand on each Teebox, look at the preceeding hole as a puzzle and a piece of art, we just have to decide if its logic or brilliance that we hope should get us through.
http://www.macreddingolfclub.com/
Geo coordinates are 52° 52' 55" North, 6° 19' 47" West
No comments:
Post a Comment