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Birthday Golf in Ireland
Written By: Tom Chillemi - tomsgolftours.com | Issue: 2018/08 - August
Jimmy Maurin recently received a once-in-a-lifetime Birthday present from his three son-in-laws. It was a fantastic golf tour of Ireland, arranged through Laurel contributor Tom Chillemi, PGA, owner of Tom’s Golf Tours.
These are his field notes for a birthday present that will always be treasured.
“What a trip we had. Ireland is golfer nirvana. Courses are awesome, people extremely friendly, countryside beautiful and the beer just tastes better.
“We started our trip by landing in Shannon. Took a helicopter to Waterville so we could get in a round on the first day. We ended up playing six days of golf at Waterville, Dooks, Ballybunion, Old Head, Tralee and Lahinch.
“We had some great caddies with awesome ‘Irish’ attitudes. My favorite quote was when Jimmy hit the ball pretty far right at Tralee and asked his caddie if we could find the ball. His answer, ‘If the ball was wrapped in bacon, Lassie couldn’t find it,’ was a classic! We laughed the entire round.
“For all of the differences between the courses we played, the beauty of Old Head sticks out in my mind as the most distinctive feature of our trip. I would highly recommend anyone planning a trip in this region to make sure that course is on the list.
“All the courses were great but my favorite was Tralee, even though wind blew 35 mph. It was just an awesome setting with memorable caddies.
“We had pints at so many pubs, but loved our stop at Kate Kearney’s Cottage on the drive back to Killarney from Dooks. Just a really cool place with
great Guinness.
“The food in Ireland was very good, but what particularly stood out to me was the ambiance at the various restaurants. I never felt like we were at a restaurant at all, but rather had been invited to someone’s house for a home-cooked meal. We frequently struck up conversations with the owner, which really added to the overall experience of each meal.
“Tom understands the great courses of Ireland and Scotland, and clearly has an insider’s knowledge of the magical courses that dot the Emerald Isle.
“If anyone is thinking of taking such a marvelous journey, the first step should be a meeting with Tom.” – Jimmy and The Birthday Boys from Mountaintop.
