“I just dress up what the Good Lord provides.”– Legendary Irish course designer Eddie Hackett
Eddie Hackett’s words best sums up Ireland as a whole. The beauty is simple yet breathtaking. Largely due to the Forty Shades of Green as Ireland is it is commonly referred. The forty shades of green reference was further popularized by the well-known 1961 Johnny Cash song by the same title that he wrote while visiting Ireland. This small geographical region is currently experiencing a rebirth and once again establishing its place as a global golf mecca.
The Land of Major Champions did not disappoint.
The Irish Open held at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, was a huge success on all accounts. It was the first time the Irish Open had been played in Northern Ireland since 1953 and this time they saw record breaking crowds of 130,785 for the week.
The player turnout was spectacular and seemed to mirror the forty shades of green concept with almost forty types of Irish. Northern Ireland was represented by Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, the Republic of Ireland most notably represented by Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley as well as English, Welsh and Scottish players and Irish American Keegan Bradley. Fellow Celt and Welsh golfer Jamie Donaldson won the event in spectacular fashion. The Irish Open had the energy and buzz of a major. Given they had the ultimate foursome of Irish players in the field (Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy all major winners) the atmosphere felt more like a mix between a European football (soccer) match and a Justin Bieber concert than a golf tournament.
In typical Two Good Rounds style the trip would not be complete without a visit to the world famous home of Irish whiskey, 
Bushmills Distillery. Tours are available and we were fortunate enough to have a private tour of the distillery which concluded with a tasting in the 1608 bar. Irish whiskey differentiates itself from Scotch malt whisky with the absence of a smoky taste. In Scotland the malted barley acquires a peat smoke character as it is being dried giving it a smoky flavor. In Bushmills the smoke is not introduced resulting in an absence of smoky taste and the more subtle malt honeyed flavors are more pronounced. Another difference is that in Scotland most whiskies are generally distilled only two times, whereas in Bushmills the whiskey is distilled a third time thus achieving a greater smoothness. Read more here…