Boards Golf Society 2025 (Round 3) - Rathsallagh - 19th April 1pm

Was due to play Athy today but cancelled. Greens are flooded. Hope Rathsallagh can hold up

It is still raining heavily here in Wicklow since last night… Not sure how much water the course can hold 😩

Thanks for all the updates lads. Just heard on 3pm news that Wicklow is under a status orange.

Not sure ill be fit to play though 😁

I keep checking here to see what trousers to put on today.

I got some funny looks getting the croissants in dunnes this morning.

So tees ?

I guess full placing , including bunkers ?

Casual water relief and relief if on intended line on green ..to nearest point ?

Above all questions?

Placing everywhere. White tees. All Bunkers GUR nearest point of relief outside the bunker.

I was incredulous when Captain @Kiith gave the green light in the morning when home it was still down pouring and hadn't stopped in 36h. I live in Arklow that is not that far at bird's flight. So 1h drive and get to the course, not really looking forward to my golf as the chip and putt was killing my game and my head is exploding after a few holes of decent drives and approaches to kill the score with the putt.

I had played Rathsallagh 13 years ago, I thought it was a good course but there my memories ended. I always wanted to come back but tbh it is a stretch of a not a nice drive to get there.

What a great call that was, the course was in great condition given the amount of rain received in the previous 24h, greens a bit slow but that is normal at that height as deep frost is still common during the nights. I really enjoyed the course, I think it is a great design, some ample fairways, some trees making you think about your shooting, well protected greens, some huge, some small… Really impressed about the course, one of the best designs I have played lately for enjoyment.

And last the company, the best of the day, great atmosphere as always, I have missed plenty of outings in the last few years because of travelling and commitments, I hope I will be able to participate a bit more this year with Captain's in home turf.

Great craic with @spacecoyote @Sorbet and @shefellover93, really enjoyed the round, a pity some errand shots for @shefellover93 as he was hitting the ball great otherwise, but we all had our ups and downs, great shots followed by not that great ones. As usual lately my short game and putting let me down, cannot get the speed right for any of those, I four putted in one of the holes from 70 feet and missed a foot putt too as a glimpse…

Looking forward to the next one, I will be quick to book before the sheet fills up, great job Captain and committee, all working perfectly with the hugely increased number of people attending the outings

Was holding off on posting after the seven stages of grief from last Saturday but feel ready to now!

First of all, I know people have said it here, but how we got out in that weather I'll never know. Fair play to captain @Kiith and all the team for making it happen.

Came into the round having figured out how to hit reasonably consistently with driver, had shot my last three rounds in the 90s at different courses so was feeling pretty positive about my game.

Started by blocking one left off the tee and then slicing the Provo OB on the right, and that was pretty much the story of the round. Normally I don't mind hitting some poor shots here and there, but I essentially played the majority of the course as 3 off the tee, which was maddening, despite trying to club down and take my medicine. At one stage I blocked one left that ricochet so hard off the tree it ended up in the gardens of Rathsallagh Manor, was pretty much ready to pack it in and make the long drive back home after that.

Played with @spacecoyote @jarrieta & @Sorbet who were really excellent company. I was probably the most miserable I've been in a very very long time with a round of golf on the back 9 but they were extremely generous and understanding, even after the round it was good to chat over some food and put some perspective on things.

@spacecoyote is so consistent, superb iron player and some great touch around the greens. Got unlucky on a few occasions where decent drives were punished a bit, and just the slow nature of the greens didn't suit him.

@jarrieta as SC said, the 4 wood was an absolute weapon. I have to say I'm extremely envious by how consistently straight he hits the ball, and was also able to shape it left and right as well. Putter wasn't behaving but would rather have that problem than mine 😅

Sorbet hit one of the shots of the day on the first with an iron to about 8 feet. Definitely a very good golfer in there, was consistently chipping away with points here and there, but like myself just needs the driver to behave a bit more.

I'm missing next month which to be honest is no bad thing for me. Need to get a lesson or two on the driver and come back when I can actually have a part in every hole instead of picking up so often.

Congrats to Seve and all the other comp winners, and I hope ye all have much better weather in Grange Castle next month!

As usual when the weather turns nasty, the boards timesheet stayed full much in contrast to the one at my own club which was empty by Friday afternoon! I’m old enough at this stage of life to value my comforts and other than the fact we were back out on tour, I’d have spent Saturday afternoon at home watching whatever sports were on the tele. Having heard the course had been closed on Friday, I was not looking forward to playing in a potential mud bath. The rain was pretty heavy and constant on my drive down till I got past Naas when it finally started to clear up. The closer I got to the course, the drier the roads became and my fears of playing on a mud bath of a course soon dissipated. In all fairness, the course is very well designed around the hills and drained very well. With the exception of a bunch of waterlogged bunkers and no more than a few wet patches around the course, it really did hold up extremely well against the deluge of rain which fell during the week. I guess the last month being pretty much void of rain did help a lot.

I have been playing well lately, the lessons in recent months are paying off and I actually feel like I know what I'm at least trying to do most of the time now when I address the golf ball. Last Sunday, Castleknock hosted a Green Jacket Green Tees special event in honour of The Masters and while I was going nice and steady, I brain farted on 8 and 9, a point on each hole after 2 silly doubles and turned with 18 points. I went for it on the back 9 as I was either out of it at that stage or going to need 9 of the best holes of my life to have a chance. A run of solid pars and a kick in birdie had the later in my cross hairs as I was -1 playing the 17th. Unfortunately my worst drive of the day resulted in double there but then I got up and down on 18 for another par. So +1 on the back 9, a gross of 80, 42 points (a half decent cut and and ESR 😁). Absolutely delighted but I felt it was going to be a shot or 2 shy being off the forward tees, but tricky pins were the order of the day though and people struggled out there and it turned out that I was donning the Green Jacket of Castleknock just ahead of Rory in Augusta last Sunday.

I have played Rathsallagh a few times but it must have been nearly 20 years ago now and to be honest, I remembered nothing of the place. I really enjoyed the course, it is really well designed and in despite the weather, it was in great condition. If I was to be picky, a good few tee boxes probably need levelling out and the greens need a little bit of love and affection to bring their standards back up a little, but they were still quite good, if very slow. The welcome in the clubhouse before and after was very warm and friendly and I would imagine it's a lovely place to be a member. Indeed, I believe they even picked up a new member from our group on Saturday. The food was excellent, a green curry with a bowl of the most unusual but probably nicest chips I've ever had.

So onto the golf. I had the pleasure to play with @BohToffee, @boccy23 & @awec all whom I know a little at this stage and we had a really enjoyable round together with the usual bit of boardsie craic, slagging and banter. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting my game to be up to the standards of last Sunday and I would have happily bitten your hand off for a top 10 placing before I teed off. Of course I then go and push my tee shot on the first and although I did have to hit a provisional, the original ball had luckily remained about 3 or 4 yards the right side of the OB stakes. A decent second shot over the trees but then I shanked my 60 yard approach and paid another close visit to the OB stakes. Pin high was not an easy shot next down that hill with little green to work with and I ran over it, but managed to get up and down for bogey. My green side play has much improved and I'm getting up and down a lot more than ever lately which I did again on the 2nd hole after taking a drop out of the waterlogged greenside bunker. Regulation par followed on the 3rd hole after a 4 iron fairway finder off the tee. The blind dogleg probably helped me stay conservative off the tee there. A complete duffed tee shot into the water on the handy par 3 followed and double was the score. I had a good look at birdie on the 5th hole after @BohToffee sunk his putt from a similar line, but I soon found my nemises of the day. The slow greens. I rolled a decent putt but finished about a foot short and dead centre. The 6th hole presented an unusual tee which I felt might have been an easier shot from the back tees. Indeed I thought that of a few holes during the round as being forward either brought some of the trouble more into play or left you a bit blocked out from taking on the shot you would like to play. The 6th hole presented both dilemmas for me. I opted for 5 wood off the tee and aimed to get over the trees and go up the left side which I navigated pretty well. From the first cut of rough, with eyes for the green 213 yards away I had the 5 wood in hand again but then after realising the pin was at the back and a second look at the GPS, I'd need 3 wood to cover the 234 yards. Shot of the day/year and one of the best of my life followed as the ball took off like a homing pigeon and landed a few yards short of the pin and ran right up to finish 5 foot past the hole. I've had 3 eagles in my life and a good few missed chances but this was probably the easiest opportunity I'd ever had. Bloody slow greens, 8 inches short, right in the jaws 🤬. I think I was still annoyed at myself when I chunked my next tee shot into the water and another silly double. A soft 3 putt for bogey followed on the 8th hole. But I was still doing well, so had a little chat with myself and put it behind me. On the 9th tee I aimed left of the big tree to cut the corner and shorten the hole. Another tiny push saw me head straight for the tree instead but miraculously found a little window and finished well up the fairway. I am definitely controlling the driver much better lately as on lots of other days these small pushes would be out and out slices.

Myself and @BohToffee were marking each others cards and as we walked off 9 with a couple of pars he asked if I wanted to know cause he didn't. I can never understand this. I always know exactly what my score is, unless I am playing absolute pants. As it happened @BohToffee had a pretty tidy 20 points. I found it unusual that the indexes of the course weren't evenly spread over front and back 9's and as a result of my 15 shots on the day, I had 9 on the front which helped me to 22 points.

For the second game on the trot I played the back 9 a bit better as I went close to chipping in for the birdie on 10, left 2 more very makable birdie putts agonisingly short on 11 and 12, lipped the hole on 13 with my chip and almost held my 65 yard second shot on 14 to leave a kick in birdie. A very soft 3 putt followed though on 15 and then on 16 after another solid drive, I played safe with a 4 iron for my second shot when I really should have pulled 5 wood. I foolishly aimed up the left hand side as the camber of the hole was telling me it would feed in from there, but I pulled it ever so slightly and it was lost in the trees. There was loads of room out right as I realised with my dropped ball which found the green side bunker. Dropping it back left me a tricky flop shot which I hit well but could have done with another yard or 2. Still a great chance for 6 from about 10 foot but it of course needed to be hit a bit harder so another double. Now I knew, 2 pars were needed to break 80. I pulled the wrong club on 17, needed 9 iron but hit PW and came up a little short. I didn't play a great chip and left myself with about a 5 footer. This time though I did hit it hard enough, I thought it was in, but a little horseshoe dance around the cup teased me and I had to settle for bogey. The last hole and I completely forgot it was Long Drive. Lucky enough cause I surely would have messed it up, but into the wind, I teed it low and just caught it really nice. Clocked it at 265 dead centre of the fairway and thought to myself that I might just have a sniff at the Long Drive award, but alas the young muscles of @scotty_golf9 stole my glory on that one. Still one more task to complete though, finish with par for an 80. A decent approach, 8 iron, saw me almost pin high on the right and just off the green. A long putt but at least on the right level of the 3 tiered green. Of course it came up about 4 foot short but I finally held a putt of some substance to close out my round with a par for my second 80 in the space of a week. Obviously delighted with it, but I still couldn't help but feel that I let the best round of my life slip through my fingers with a few silly mistakes.

Absolutely delighted with the win and congrats to all the other prize winners on the day, especially (my old buddy at this stage) @charlieIRL on a great score as I know how hard he works at his game and the serious effort he puts in. Big thanks to Captain @Kiith on the organising and picking a great venue, one we surely have to make a return visit to. I'll get full results up hopefully tomorrow folks as I'm sure the analysis of the GOTY table is eagerly waited on.

Really Great Craic,
It was myself @charlieIRL @bluenote @paulos53
and everyone played well.
I had some truly bizarre breaks.

I had a lost ball after clearly seeing my ball go in the bunker on the front right of the short par3 4th hole and took a scratch.

I clipped a tree on the 14th hole and ended up just in front of the green somehow (my only good break)

I clipped a tree on 18 and ended up about 40 yards back and right, buried under a tree having to hack out out.

I took a bit off my driver on the 10th and pushed it slightly to lose a ball on the right and had to reload off the tee.

I shanked badly off the 17th tee and scuttered the ball only a few metres forward to a terribly lie.

Additionally, despite feeling I was putting well, I couldn't make a birdy putt to save my life.

Given the above, my lowest handicap ever of 4 shots on the day, and the weather conditions, it should have been a really bad round. But it wasn't. There was a ton of great golf in there both from me and from everyone in the group.

The table of results aren't out yet, but I reckon my 35 points was the lowest of the group.
Charlie was plodding along very nicely with some amazing pars on difficults holes adding massively to his scoring tally. He could have easily won today!
Bluenote hits the ball an absolute mile (with ease) and with a very nice controlled fade. Start of the round the fade was a draw, then a nice smooth fade, later the fade turned to a bit more of a slice. Tiny bit more consistency off the tee on 9 and 18 in particular and He could have easily won today!
Paulos, is a very tidy, clever golfer, can count on his controlled draw and just doesn't get into trouble. No mistakes. He could have easily won today!

I still don't know where my 35pts places me in terms of GOTY points, and am eagerly awaiting the final results.

Myself and charlie had a side match happening on the day. Which was a nice sub-quest and it ended up as a half at the end which is probably a little unfair on him as he had 40 pts and played great. But I fought hard and dropped a few special putts at just the right times to do enough to keep him in check.

Particular thanks to the captain for arranging this one and dealing with the club and communicating excellently in the run up to the event.

Ended up having a sneaky pint with long time friend @tigerwood1 after the event and was delighted to hear he has recently signed up to be a member again of rathsallagh now. Perfect course for him given how close he lives to it. Next pint is on me buddy!