Waterville

Red Breast - the nightcap of champions!
Waterville is a special place. Perched in the southwest corner of the Ring of Kerry, Waterville Golf Club exudes understated class and golf solitude. Its back nine is second to none among links devotees. It is no small wonder why PGA pros, including Payne Stewart, Tiger Woods, and Mark O'Meara, have prepared here for the British Open. A statue of the beloved Stewart sits prominently near the 10th tee and is a popular site for photographs.
Despite a pessimistic forecast, the weather was shockingly decent for our Sunday round. Sunny day, with winds at 15-20 mph. Considine-Farrell got off to a quick start in the 4-ball match, thanks to a slam-dunk 20 foot Farrell birdie note on the opening hole. This was a classic match, featuring good play by all players. Considine's par gave C-F the 1-up lead after nine. Farrell again came through on #14 with a stellar par, giving C-F a 2-up lead with four to play.
Not so fast....
Two holes later the match was tied. On the picturesque par-3 17th, Healy and Haggerty hit their irons to 20 feet. Considine responds with a 6-iron to 6 feet above the hole. Haggerty's effort just slides by. Healy rams his uphill birdie putt in the jar. Considine's sidehiller misses high, and the match is sealed. H-H play great all day and are rewarded with the hard-earned victory, handing Considine his first loss in four-ball play. Healy with a 79 is the individual star of the day with Haggerty close behind with 83. Considine (86) and Farrell (91) faltered late and were comforted by several pints of creamy guinness in the clubhouse.
Special post-round moment: in the clubhouse our attention was drawn to an enthusiastic group
of golfers adding up their scores and collecting their betting booty. Healy inquired and they
responded they were college friends. What college? WILLIAMS! An eruption of salutes and
laughter ensued. These were seven guys from the class of '82 who made the trek to the ol' sod
to play some links golf and renew relationships formed years ago in college on a small town
New England campus. Sound familiar? A kinship was sensed immediately, and we walked out
with our beers to the first tee to watch their late PM scramble tee-off. After the initial
drive (in the gorse, I might add), we four Jeffs dutifully bellowed out the first verse of
"Lord Jeffrey Amherst" (in perfect harmony, I might add). Awesome moment in a land where
awesome moments seem to occur all too frequently. These were good guys and we were happy to
have shared this time with them. Only in Eire...
Onto Waterville, Act II!