Cloudless, sunny skies – LINKS75 can’t believe its eyes. A day without rainwear and four jumpers. Can we play properly in the sunshine. We head for Portstewart’s neighbour – Castlerock. On the terrace we indulge in lunch and a Guinness. We examine the course through sunglasses and dream of low 70s. In front of us two juniors are diligently practising their putting. We dream on and make our start just in the nick of time. “The besty greens in the county,” the bartender tells us before we stagger out to the 1st tee. Classic positioning – 1st tee meets 18th green – Hunstanton & Leven. Sand dunes facing the sea and gorse facing land – fantastic.The 1st and 2nd go past without notice.
Second green, Castlerock
The 3rd – one of five par 5s – runs along the familiar links railway. The 4th – a signature hole – is a par 3 with railway and burn, a real one, but we feel no pressure and set up our white gold. On the 5th, another par 5, one half of LINKS75 angles an iron shot over the boundary fence, hits the rails and lands finally in the middle of the fairway – no worries! The other half plays more orthodox golf and scores a desert-dry birdie. The 6th – a par 4 – heads back over the burn, which captures the white gold. Par 5s alternate with long par 4s – Which are which? Does it matter? We ponder over monster bogeys and golf’s inner essence. On the 8th – a consummate par 4 dogleg right, over 400 yards – we play a 200 yard approach, uphill with some small sand dunes covering the shot – links delight – fantastic. In the middle of all this joy – sun – sweet sunshine. Between the course and the sea lies a 9-hole stretch, which may be even better. Play it as the sun goes down and a last Guinness makes its way down. Pure links pleasure. We continue on to the 9th – par 3 200yards – with the flag half covered by a real sand dune. A true finish to the opening nine.
Great par3, 9th Castlerock
We allow our gaze to rest on the horizon and purr. A links course to wind down on at the end of the week. From the 10th we play adrenaline-lined holes that are arranged short par 4 – short par 5 – long par 4 and short par 4. TGIF golf every other hole. Good course management despite random links play. The sound of the sea is heard in the background and the sight of huge sand dunes arouses our love. The 16th – a par 3 – is wonderfully situated along a ridge. A hole where you really want to make par. The 17th is a par 5 into the wind, long, narrow, with elevated green. Can links delight on a Friday get any greater? Absolutely. The 18th makes a superb finish – a par 4 – slightly angled to the right with skyscraper sand dunes keeping the dogleg in check. We play perfectly straight and long down the hole – 130 yards remaining.
18th, Castlerock
LINKS75 looks expectantly at the clubhouse and lands the ball dead by the hole. It’s Friday, a LINKS75-Friday.
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