Our final day of golf took us to the Carton House Resort, where we played with a father-and-son duo named David and Jackson. There are two courses, and we played the Montgomerie Course.

Jackson was celebrating his 18th birthday, and it sounded like the trip had been his idea. Like me, his dad had won the email contest and decided to bring Jackson along for the occasion. Jackson was a heck of a golfer, and his dad wasn’t too shabby either.

Carton House was completely different from every other course we had played in Ireland. It was a parkland course, meaning it felt much more like the traditional American golf courses we were accustomed to. There were plenty of trees, much softer fairways and greens, more water, and enormous bunkers throughout—as evidenced here by Beth.

After five consecutive days of playing links golf on firm, fast surfaces, Carton House felt surprisingly familiar. That familiarity was welcome, but readjusting our games proved harder than expected. We had finally begun adapting to an entirely different style of golf, only to have everything change again for the final round.

The grounds were arguably the most beautiful we visited during the entire trip. Carton House is a historic estate that has been transformed into a Fairmont resort, and both the hotel and the surrounding property were absolutely breathtaking.

We ultimately lost our match to Jackson and David, but it was still a very, very fun day and a fitting conclusion to an incredible week of golf.

Afterward, we made the hour-long drive back to Portmarnock. Carton House had been our farthest golf destination of the trip, so we had just enough time to get ready for that evening’s barbecue and closing ceremonies.

Everyone gathered in the beautiful restaurant at Portmarnock Resort for a wonderful dinner. Mike and Eli from Chasing Scratch, along with the gentlemen from Fairways and FunDays, handed out awards, crowned the trip’s champions, thanked everyone for coming, and bid us all farewell.

Because Beth and I had scored 51 Stableford points at The Island—the highest round of the entire trip—we received a bottle of Irish whiskey, two beautiful polos embroidered with The Island’s logo, and a couple of very nice golf club headcovers.

Once dinner was over, a whole group of us gathered to play the wonderful Worst Game Ever. We spent the next couple of hours laughing, playing, and enjoying our final night together.

At some point, we made a pact: if we won the game, we would all run into the ocean.

It was getting close to midnight when, sure enough, we won.

We hightailed it down to the sea and spent the next 20 or 30 minutes frolicking in the water. When we came back onto the beach, we discovered jellyfish scattered across the sand. One of the guys had spent a great deal of time near the Gulf and was very familiar with them. He showed us how to handle them safely, including which parts we could touch and which parts we definitely needed to avoid.

It was an unforgettable ending to a wonderful final day of golf—and to our last full day in Dublin.

The following morning, Sunday, we would pack our things and begin our journey north to Belfast.

Beth & Jeff ☺️