36 Hours in Islay- Not Enough Time!

CalMac ferry "Isle of Arran"










In planning our Scotland trip, I decided it would be fun to spend time in one of the country's western islands. Taking a ferry boat and experiencing a bit of the maritime atmosphere was appealing. And what better island to visit than Islay (pronounced Eye-la), with its bevy of scotch distilleries , and quirky historic golf links, "The Machrie?"





We and our Kia, boarded the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry at 6 PM for our two and 1/2 hour evening sail, bound for the Islay port of Port Ellen. After a quick but serviceable dinner down below, we spent most of our voyage topside as there was a lot to see. The wild and mostly vacant islands of Gigha and Jura encompassed our view on this clear summer night. As we approached Islay, we could make out the waterfront facilities of the Laphroaig and Ardbeg distilleries. Upon docking, we motored off the gangplank three miles up the coast to our cozy B & B, "The Excise House" -so named because in bygone days, it served as such for the nearby Laphroaig scotch whisky distillery. http://www.theoldexcisehouse.com/




Port Ellen harbor

We were greeted by innkeepers Ron and Emma Goudie. Ron by trade is a golf professional who came close to qualifying for The Open Championship on several occasions. He and Emma previously lived in Epsom, England where Ron worked as the professional at the local golf club. But the Goudies audaciously dreamed of striking out on their own as pioneers to more remote regions. After considering other western islands of Scotland, they knew they had found their destiny the first time they laid eyes on The Old Excise House. In short order, they purchased the property, and fixed it up beautifully. The place is now bright as a penny with comfortable
fresh bedrooms. Meanwhile, Ron discovered that The Machrie Hotel and Golf Links did not employ a resident golf professional. He worked out a deal where he serves as the professional on an independent contractor basis. He keeps busy giving lessons and hosting visiting golf groups.




Emma served these tired travelers her very special rockcakes.Pleasantly sated, we turned in early. Having scheduled just one full day in Islay, we wanted to be well rested for our whirlwind of activities on Sunday. After polishing off Emma's sumptuous scottish breakfast, we motored 15 minutes to The Machrie for our 9:12 AM tee time. If you want to golf at a natural links that is reminiscent of the game's ancient past, you really should tackle this 1891 antiquity. Basically the topography of the ground played is unaltered by man. In the 19th century, golf architects did not have the equipment to move tons of dirt to provide the golfer a full view of where he or she is going. Thus, blind shots at Machrie abound. There are forced carries over dunes from the tee, Several of the fairways abruptly plunge into punchbowl greens in dells that cannot be seen until the player is within a few yards of the putting surfaces. Others hide behind formidable sand hills. Only directional posts provide a clue as to pin locations. Did all this make the course less fun to play? Our verdict was that it was rollicking good fun. Each hole became an adventure in exploration and discovery. Although all golfers are immersed in their games often to the exclusion of the surrounding scenery, we did take time to savor the view from the 10th tee of Laggan Bay out to the island of Jura and then the open Atlantic. Lisa and I came off 18 exhilerated by a links that still challenges and bewitches golfers after 119 years.

















Scenes from the unforgettable "Machrie" links














After golf, we hurried to make our scheduled 2 PM visit to the Laphroaig distillery, one of many on the island. Lovers of single malt know that Laphroaig is a peaty, very powerful (some would say bordering on medicinal) scotch. I used to hate it; now I love it. Lisa understands the manufacturing process better than I. She can rattle off the various steps in making single malt with ease. I do know that the distillers take barley and soak it until it germinates. Then the barley is heated by a peat fire; next it is turned into grist. Then I forget exactly what happens - I get lost in the minutiae- but smarty Lisa can tell you with annoying specificity. Anyway the tour was informative, and we both downed a wee dram thereafter.









Bill contemplates all he can drink at Laphroaig Distillery

Scenes from Laphroaig (below)






































Continuing our whirlwind, we meandered northeast of Port Ellen to see the Kildalton Cross, which is located in an abandoned churchyard. This eighth century relic is the only known Celtic "High Cross" in Scotland. It is in astonishingly excellent condition.















Kildalton Cross











Ron and Emma recommended "An Taigh Osda" for dinner. This hotel-restuarant is in Bruichladdich (home of another distillery) a 45 minute drive from our lodging on the north side of Islay. This afforded us an opportunity to further explore the island. On route, we repeatedly encountered sheep lingering in our path often forcing us to stop. We drove through Bowmore (home of still another distillery). Because we were late for our reservation, we failed to check out Bowmore's famous circular church, so designed so that the devil cannot "hide in the corners." We did not expect to encounter such a fabulous sophisticated dining spot in this most remote area. But the dinner and its presentation by Paul and Joan were top notch. Check http://www.antaighosda.co.uk/


On the way back from a fairly late dinner, we stopped at the Machrie Hotel to watch some U.S. Open coverage on the telly. Innkeeper Ron was still there at 11 PM, entertaining a group of golf visitors. We watched Dustin Johnson's collapse, but did not stay to conclusion of the tournament as we had to board the ferry back to Kennacraig in the morning. Ever cordial Ron saw us off at the dock.




Lisa with innkeeper and golf professional
Ron Goudie at Port Ellen dock


















In retrospect, 36 hours in Islay was too short a stay. Lisa, sad to leave, envisioned herself starting a croft in Islay , raising a few sheep and inviting her knitting group from German Village to visit her en masse to help knit the wool.



We hope to be back soon.

"The Long and Winding Road" to Machrihanish

Bill -ready to tackle Machrihanish

Remember the old Beatles song "The Long and Winding Road?" Turns out this song is Paul McCartney's ode to the A 83 which twists its way down Scotland's Kintyre Peninsula. McCartney owns a farm near Machrihanish not far from the southern tip of Kintyre. The enchanted golf links at the Machrihanish Golf Club was the destination for the first leg of our 17 day 2010 Scotland trip. In our previous journeys to Scotland, we have visited renowned golf meccas like St. Andrews, Prestwick, Troon, Carnoustie, and Gleneagles. This time we focused on great links golf in more remote areas. So though we were bleary-eyed from our overnight flight to Glasgow, Lisa and I motored our rental Kia about four hours down the aforementioned long winding two-lane A 83 road. Fortunately, the splendor of the scenery kept us wide awake. Loch Lomond, then Loch Fyne, and finally the sea on one side of the road; pastoral countryside and farms on the other. Lyrically named towns such as Inverary, Tullochgorm, Clachan, and Kilchenzy dotted our route. The scent of burning peat- an aroma Lisa and I associate with Ireland, reminded us that the Emerald Isle lies just 12 miles across Machrihanish Bay.





Aside from a few B & Bs and the bustling golf club, there has not been much going on in Machrihanish in recent years. However, an american developer has sought to change that by developing the area directly across the road from the Golf Club with luxury "residential golf villas" and a very comfortable golf pub as part of an ambitious project called Machrihanish Dunes. The developer also built a new links course seven miles away. We took advantage of a Mac Dunes promotion and stayed three nights in one of the golf villas.

coastview -Dunaverty Golf Club

Usually we play a round of golf on arrival day in Scotland. Given our jet and auto lag, we exercised rare discretion this time, and elected not to play, contenting ourselves with a stroll around the charming but short Dunaverty Golf Club- located at Lands End hard by the Mull of Kintyre. This was followed by a drive down single track farm roads with sheep and cattle ever-present. An early fish dinner at the golf pub, rousing bagpipe music from a young local band "Sound of Kintyre," and then to bed to rest up for our 9 AM tee time at Machrihanish Golf Club.

"Sound of Kintyre" pipe band

Two caddies in their sixties, Calum Maclean and Davy, greeted Lisa and me at the club. Calum is the caddiemaster, and was toting the bag himself for me on this day. Calum has twice won the club championship at Machrihanish. Davy, a retired oceanic oil rig operator, was likewise a good player and member. It is one of the unique aspects of golf in this kingdom that your caddie often is a member who may well join you for a round in the clubhouse after the golf.

Bill drives at the famous

"Battery"

You could not have a more rousing start to a Scottish golf trip than the first tee at Machrihanish Golf Club. The club boasts, not without cause, that the "Battery" hole is the "greatest first hole" in all of golf. The Battery is a "cape" tee shot in which the player must decide how much of the beach to risk carrying in order to reach a fairway that lies at a 10 o'clock diagonal from the tee. Lisa played smartly into the fairway while I yanked my tee shot into the beach from where I made a double bogey. Thereafter I righted the ship and shot a first nine 37 featuring two birds which launched caddy Calum into his self-described"birdie dance." Machrihanish (particularly the first nine) exhibits those features that exhilerate links golfers: crumpled fairways, blind shots, massive sand dunes, and deep reveted bunkers. I would strongly recommend taking a caddy at least your first time around this links. Looking for balls and uncertainty over club selection certainly adds to the stress of the round. Davy and Calum brought Lisa and me around in 102 and 80 respectively-not bad for our first outing. We savored lunch and whisky in the welcoming clubhouse. The Scottish golf clubs treat you like a member and the food is generally the best in town. Calum proudly showed us an old club scrapbook which featured photos of him at his peak when he was winning his two club championships.


Davy, Lisa, Calum Maclean, and Bill

Still revved up for more golf after our promising starts, we tried an additional nine at the club's
relief course, "The Pans." The club's "juniors" play The Pans until the club professional judges them ready to move on to the championship links. Finally exhausted from our efforts, we motored into nearby Campelltown for dinner at Craigard House, a small hotel with a very good restaurant. As is the custom in the U.K., we were initially ushered into a parlor instead of the dining area. This led to convivial chatting with others waiting to be seated; civility is fostered by this arrangement. After devouring excellent local fish, Lisa and I borrowed "Beanie", the hotel's resident collie mix pooch, and walked off our repast alongside Campbelltown Loch.



Day two found us again at Machrihanish Golf Club for a second round sans caddies. Neither Lisa nor I played with the efficiency we showed under the wise supervision of Davy and Calum. Lisa carded the round's lone birdie. After a brief rest, we made a mistake going out for a second try of the course. We have often walked 36 holes in Scotland, but this time it was too much. After 12 holes, we packed it in, and walked in the rest of the way. We arrived back at the clubhouse just before 9 PM- still light. With the summer solstice at hand, sundown would not arrive until 10:30 PM, and even thereafter daylight lingers at this Hudson Bay latitude for another hour. Lisa required a sleep mask to drop off.

Lisa -happy at

Machriha-nish

We scheduled the new links course,

Machriha-nish Dunes, for Saturday. Let me say this about Mac Dunes: it is situated on a spectacular landscape. Great sea views from everywhere! Several memorable holes challenge the golfer with drives across towering sand hills and gorse and punchbowl greens tucked away in dells. But with the omnipresent wind, there is in my view too much target golf`for Mac Dunes to be viewed as a pleasant experience for the average player. It is certainly nice too gaze out to sea, but any pleasure derived from the view quickly dissolves when you are confronted with the difficult task of finding your ball and then extricating it from the manifold difficulties presented. Another problem is that unlike most of the links courses in Scotland, this is really a long walk. Architect David McLay Kidd was forced to adjust the routing of the course to the needs of the environment as this stretch of seacoast is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Thus you walk a long way from green to tee- about two more miles than is customary on links courses. Without the "guide" services of personable caddy and ex-boat captain Peter Stogdale, we would have had a hard time finding our way around. Peter and the staff (loved the hearty soup served at the turn) catered to our every need. Our verdict: glad we played it; extremely difficult; greens are still too new; not a track that we would hurry to play again. It will be interesting to see whether Mac Dunes ultimately becomes a mecca for golfers. Our guess is that it is destined to play second fiddle to the venerable and magical Machrihanish Golf Club.

Mac Dunes (right)


After our windswept round, we hopped in the Kia and motored north on the A-83 to Kennacraig to catch the 6 PM ferry to the island of Islay, the next stop on our Scottish sojourn.