Ireland, Day Six: Royal Dublin and an Anniversary Dinner
Day six in Ireland took us to none other than the Royal Dublin Golf Club—a course with an incredible amount of history, much like Portmarnock Old.
Royal Dublin sits on Bull Island, a man-made island in Dublin Bay. Years ago, golfers would travel to the island by boat when the tide was in. When the tide was out, they could simply walk across the exposed bay floor. It’s a fascinating setting for a golf course and unlike anywhere else we played on the trip.
Royal Dublin was also the only true out-and-back links course we played. The first nine holes take you steadily away from the clubhouse, with nothing waiting for you at the turn, and the back nine brings you home in the opposite direction. I had never played a course with that kind of routing before, and it made for a very cool experience.
We played our round with two great guys named Tommy and Lucas. We were also able to snap a pic with Declan (on the right), arguably our favorite lad. He is part of the Fairways and Fundays crew and was the person who sent ous off each day with our scorecards and course knowledge.
Austin was our caddie. He was a university student, and reminded us a lot of Benton - he was hyper-cerebral - he was so incredibly smart.
Beth got things started with another phenomenal drive and played really well throughout the day. I also played a strong front nine, shooting a 39, if I remember correctly. The back nine was a different story. We played much of it into the wind, which made the trip toward the clubhouse considerably tougher.
Then came the 18th hole—one of the hardest holes of the entire trip. I hadn’t lost a ball all day, but on 18 alone, I somehow managed to lose three. That should tell you just how difficult the finish was.
Despite that ending, Royal Dublin was absolutely beautiful and another memorable course to add to the trip. After the round, we enjoyed our traditional post-golf pint with Tommy and Lucas before hopping back on the bus and returning to Portmarnock.
We rested for a while at the hotel, got dressed, and headed into Dublin for our anniversary dinner at Chapter One. It is one of the most highly regarded restaurants around, so I thought we were in for an extraordinary meal.
Unfortunately, the food was awful.
The service was exceptional, and the plates were breathtakingly beautiful, as the photos show. But the menu was heavily French-influenced and overwhelmingly rich, with lots of liver, foie gras, butter, and similar flavors. It simply wasn’t for us. When the bill arrived, the price pushed us even farther toward the “not good” end of the spectrum.
Still, it was an experience. More importantly, I got to spend our anniversary dinner with the lovely Beth, so it was a happy anniversary regardless of what was on the plates.
After dinner, we walked through Dublin briefly. We soon realized we weren’t in the best part of the city and decided it was probably time to call it a night. We caught an Uber back to the hotel and quickly went to bed, ready to rest up for another round of golf the following morning.
