Monday, May 24, 2010

Machrihanish and Dunaverty

This morning after a full Scottish breakfast, which consisted of a fried egg, bacon, sausage link, two small stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, hash brown, pork and beans, and blood pudding, we were off for a full day of golf. Before I start with the golf, I know some of you have a look of horror on your face - blood pudding? Yes, it really is made of blood, but it's fried like a sausage patty. Is it good? Umm, no, not really. However, we have eaten Haggis twice and we both like it quite well. I'll let you look up what Haggis is on your own, but it has to do with sheep guts. It's quite tasty when mixed with potatoes, chicken and gravy, etc. A quick word about bacon, it isn't the same in the UK, it's better. Kind of a cross between ham and bacon. Not crispy, but very substantial. Count us as fans of this type of bacon.


Enough about food, how about the golf? Today we played two courses, Machrihanish and Dunaverty. They are pronounced "Mack-ri-han-ish" and "Done-averty". Machrihanish was redesigned by Old Tom Morris in the late 1870's, although golf was played there earlier. I'll start by saying the Machrihanish is a world class golf course and the opening nine holes are simply amazing. The back nine is very, very good, but the opening holes are just spectacular. Derek and I both played relatively well today, so that always helps your enjoyment of the course. After lunch in the Machrihanish clubhouse, we drove about 20 minutes down to Southend to play at the Dunaverty Golf Club. Dunaverty is situated right at the end of the Kintyre peninsula and on a clear day like today, you can easily see Ireland about 12 miles away. Dunaverty is a fun course to play, relatively short at 4900 yards and a par of 66, but again the scenery is magnificent. Several holes play along the ocean and the sea is always in sight. Although the day was sunny and clear, it was cooler today and the wind built all afternoon and was a "four club" wind by the time we finished. After spending all day in the wind and sun, we were ready for dinner, a shower and bed!
A quick note along that line, it's 10:45 PM as I type this and it's almost dark. It gets light again around 4:00 AM. We haven't adjusted to the time yet and are up every morning by 5:00 AM.


Derek getting ready to play a shot from the "sand"


Ireland in the distance

5 comments:

Granny Sue said...

Cannot believe you ate haggis! You guys are fearless.

Nanjemoy Nana said...

We tried Haggis too but only after a hefty glass of lager. I have to admit that I wasn't a fan of either. :(
That was a pretty amazing breakfast!
Pork and beans?! Never would have put it on the breakfast menu but why not?
er...what was Derek doing in the sand?

Jaime said...

I have not had the guts to try haggis yet (pardon the pun) but that breakfast looks delicious. The pictures are absolutely breath taking which tells me its even more amazing in person. It always is. I'm glad you two are getting a chance to do this. It seems like an amazing trip.

TheresaandJay said...

You are brave! I avoided haggis and blood pudding when I was there! I am glad you enjoyed your golf day. But, what was Derek doing in the sand? And what is a Four club wind? Love you

Lucky13 said...

I'm with Maggie and Theresa. Haggis and blood pudding? Not with my guts, pun intended. And yeah...why was Derek in the sand? Can not tell you how cool it is that we get to see your adventures. Love you both, Aunt Julie