Ballybunion Old - Ireland Golf Trip 2011 - Day 2 of 7

My father let me sleep in a little on Monday morning to recover from being sick and not having slept much the previous night. After a shower, I met the others downstairs for breakfast. I wasn't quite up to a full Irish breakfast, but I managed to eat some eggs and toast. I was, however, ready for my first day of Irish golf on the Ballybunion Old Course.

We had a teams rematch between the "Old Toms" and the "Young Toms" to play that day. Originally scheduled for the day before on the Cashen Course, the competition had been moved forward a day so that I could participate. Back in 2005, the Old Toms won, and this time the Young Toms were out for vengeance!

Breakfast at the Cashen Course House.

The four participants, Paul, Jeff, Erik and Jacob in front of the Ballybunion club house.

Somehow we actually got the people at the Ballybunion clubhouse to remove a 10,000€ Waterford crystal trophy, one of two made (one was given to President Bill Clinton as a gift and the other is kept in this case) so that we could take a photograph of our County Kerry Classic trophy in the case.

Four golfing buddies about to tee off in the County Kerry Classic, a four day, 72-hole, event to determine the champion of Kerry County.

The Young Toms, Erik and Jacob, pose on the first tee of Ballybunion with an ancient cemetery that is strictly out-of-bounds.

The Old Toms, Paul and Jeff.

An example of some of the beauty to be found on the Ballybunion links.

Beautiful form, if I may say so myself.

Links golf is seaside golf rather by definition, as it uses the land that "links" the sea to the useable land.

Four golfers on Ballybunion Old.

These pewter mugs were the trophies for the Young Toms vs. Old Toms match.

The Young Toms absolutely trounced the Old Toms with a best ball score of 85 to 100, winning by a solid fifteen strokes to take home the matching pewter mug trophies.

Erik accepts his trophy.

Jacob accepts his trophy.

The Young Toms win! Youth defeats Wisdom.

Paul, Jeff and I went out for a pint and some dinner in the fairly uninteresting town of Ballybunion. I headed to bed early to boost my immune system, and Jacob and Jeff went for a sunset walk on the nearby Cashen Course. I'll post those photos in a future post.