In an odd but most welcome scheduling hiccup, I was able to play two of the best courses in Northern Ireland twice last week. I played Portstewart and Royal Portrush (fairway bunker on the 17th hole, pictured) before my conference then got to play both in a single day the day after.
What struck me was how much my opinion of the Strand course at Portstewart changed during my second visit. After my first round, I thought that the course too extreme. The front nine is routed over and between some of the biggest dunes I have ever seen on a golf course—some were 200 feet high.
The experience wasn't so much links golf as it was mountain golf. The back side was much flatter, and the holes were so different from what had preceded them. After putting out on the 18th hole, I felt disoriented, as if I had just finished riding a roller coaster. Hours later at dinner, even after gathering our wits, my playing partners and I couldn't figure out the layout.
