We started the day early and found that despite the wildness of last night’s party, the whole group was up, taking care of animals before work! We had breakfast and were out of there by 9 am, on the road to the west and Royal Troon! It was raining steadily, which slowed us down a bit, and we are still suffering from slight jet lag, so when we reached our lovely B & B, Fox House Third Part Farm (this was the third part of a divided farm), we rested a bit before our big round.
I hate to mention the price, but Troon was expensive, and even though it was a fabulous course, I’ve now made a long list of “Why to avoid big, famous courses in Scotland.” Ask me later. Everyone was extremely friendly, and we sat in the dining room watching very wet, miserable golfers slog off the 18th green. Oh, what a morning it must have been. We donned all our weather gear and barely had time to chip a few balls before we were called to the tee by a very determined starter. There were people everywhere, players and caddies with their bibs, a lowering sky, and with the Open stands still up off we went. We were playing with two Danes who both hit strong drives. John’s went long but into the stands and was lost. Mine was not long and into heavy grass, which meant I had to play again with all those people watching. Then off to a strong game with a few balls in bunkers that seemed to appear from nowhere, like sand monsters, to eat your ball with their great green jaws.
Little is it advertised, but Troon does not have ladies’ tees. (Shock and horror.) Instead, it has at least three men’s tees and a separate set of pro tees for the Ladies European Tour (LET). Our caddie suggested that for convenience and some advantage, I play off the green tees, which were 10’ (not yards) in front of John’s tees. We separated from the Danes on the second hole (one of their players was a bit slow so the caddies made the call.) And off we went, learning to stay clear of bunkers, keep it in the fairway, and play putts mostly straight. When we got to #7 (called Tel-el-Kabir, named for a battle), however, things changed. Collin told me to hit the cart path for the best result— and I did! Hooray. Then he told me to nail one over “that huge mound”— and I did. Hooray! Then I chipped 10 yards onto the green and made the putt for par. Hooray! Even though that was my best hole, John and I both gained a bit of confidence from then on. John had lots of great holes, learned to get out of any bunker in two, and hit ‘em long and straight, but together we started to fade after about #12. The rain had stopped before we started, but then the wind started up. Even when the sun shone through, we were a bit worn down by the excitement, the conditions, and those green jaws of sand— ha ha!
Dinner was at a darling Italian restaurant called Lido in the town of Troon, and from there, we took the winding road back to the Third Part Farm (for short.) Tomorrow might bring much, much better players. We’re going to the Ladies Scottish Open!
