It’s hard to believe that the European Legends Tour has reached the halfway point. At the beginning of the year the tournaments were dotted all over the globe and there were often many weeks separating one event from the other. Perth is a great place to live but it can be quite the journey and quite tiring to travel to somewhere across the globe for just one week. The good news – I have more frequent flyer miles than Father Xmas!! Since June, the events have been exclusively in Europe and the UK which is far more user friendly for the old boys on this tour.
Following the Senior PGA in Scotland, I got to experience two weeks of this year’s heatwave in France. If the temperatures weren’t over 40 they were 38 or 39… I guess not so different from a hot Perth summer! Only difference…most places here don’t have aircon!! So, of course I was looking forward to the cooler temperatures of the English summer.
From what I have heard, Perth has had its wettest winter in many years but England has been the opposite. England has experienced one of their driest summers in many, many years (I think the infamous summer of ’76 is drawing a comparison for those that have lived through both dry spells) resulting in hard and dry golf courses. Brocket Hall, a course just north of London, could quite easily be the firmest golf course that I have ever played on. The ball was running so far (sometimes annoyingly running off into the trees) that a flat, 480m par five was reduced to a driver and a wedge. Having said that, the course was a nice course and the event was enjoyable to play. I didn’t take home the trophy but my game showed some promise.
From there, it was to Northern Ireland for the next tournament. This event was the furthest thing from warm and dry that I could imagine. The heavens well and truly opened up and the wind quite literally blew some people off their feet. The trifecta of cold, driving rain, and winds up to 60km/h meant getting to the clubhouse with your sanity intact was an achievement. The bag was bursting at the seams with plastic bags to keep the gloves dry (2 gloves were not enough), three towels to keep the grips dry, and extra socks and clothes to change at halftime. Being a caddy on days like these is nothing short of awful as the order of keeping things dry: 1. The player. 2. The bag. 3… a distant 3rd – the caddy. However, like most golf courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland, this course was very good. Testing all parts of the game. I played okay but shooting a 68 in 60km/h winds on the final day was good way to finish a physically and mentally challenging tournament.
Monday was a travel day and it was back to Europe – Spain. The next tournament in this run of three events was located on the French/Spanish border in San Sebastián in the Basque region. The area is known for many things but recently claiming the bragging rights to having the highest concentration of Michelin Star restaurants. Although I didn’t get a chance to dine at one of these fine restaurants, I did have a chance to wander around the historic part of the town and take in the sights. The golf course is situated up in the hills that surround San Sebastián and it was a very challenging walk (think the 16th hole at Araluen), especially between the greens and tees. Thank goodness the weather was mild. Although the rounds took just over 5 hours playing in threesomes I was able to recover quickly for the next day. Finishing with my lowest score for the week was a nice way to end the tournament.
From San Sebastian I headed back to France for two weeks R&R. From there I will head to Germany and then back to Perth. There are only 6 events left for the season so I am looking forward to a string of good finishes.
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