Great Golfer Series - Windell Humphries

I first met Windell in the late 1990’s in Auburn, Alabama while playing in a local scramble tournament. Windell walked out onto the course to visit with a close friend, Steve Autrey, who was playing in our group. At that time, Windell was around sixty years old. Later I would become a member of the Auburn Links Golf Club where Windell was a member. It didn’t take long for me to discover just how accomplished a golfer Windell was. On Saturdays, a large group of low to mid handicap golfers would assemble for an 8:30 A.M. dogfight. The first hole at Auburn Links is a medium distance par four hole which requires a golfer to twice pass over a bending Parkerson’s Mill Creek. One Saturday morning, Windell drove his ball from the member’s tee onto the green on this par four hole rolling his ball amongst a group of golfers that were putting on the green. Windell claimed he didn’t know he could hit the ball this far, but we all accused him of trying to shake up the group on the green. Extraordinary shots seemed to come often for Windell after that day. He duplicated this same feat on the same hole playing with the Secretary at a Hooters tournament at Auburn Links a couple of years ago. He hit his ball onto this same green in one and proceeded to make a fifty foot eagle putt.

In 1999, Windell made his first trip with our group of six Dal Riadans to play the links courses of Northern Ireland and the northwest courses of the Republic. When we arrived at Royal County Down, we encountered a group of Japanese men and women who were teeing off just before us. We were playing in two groups of three with Windell playing in the group behind us. It was immediately apparent that the members of this Japanese group had either never played golf or were not nearly accomplished enough to be playing a course as difficult as Royal County Down. After interminable waits on the first two holes due to the flailing of this Japanese group, their caddies apparently convinced them to wave our first group through on hole three. This left Windell’s group stuck behind the beginners, but not for long. After we finished putting out on the signature par three fourth hole, our group climbed the long series of steps that lead to the fifth tee box. The Japanese party had reached the area of the green on hole four as we were preparing to hit our tee shots on hole five. As the fourth green cannot be seen from the fifth tee ground area, we were startled when suddenly we heard a cacophony of squeals and shouts coming from behind us. We rushed back over the ridge that blocked our line of sight to see what had happened. The Japanese were jumping up and down screaming wildly. Windell’s group had been waved through the Japanese and Windell had promptly scored a hole-in-one on this magnificent 175/215 yard hole. This was the second hole-in-one of Windell’s career. Since then he has had three more. Ironically the Secretary has a little something in common with Windell. Each of us has a hole-in-one on hole sixteen at Auburn Links Golf Club.

Since 1999, Windell has often traveled with our group to play the great links courses of Ireland and the British Isles. As we have timed our trips to facilitate our playing in Ballyliffin Golf Club’s Annual Pro-Am golf tournament, it has fallen that Windell’s birthday has for several years occurred while we are in Ireland. This year we all sang Happy Birthday to Windell at Gilroy’s Restaurant in Enniscrone, Ireland. Our boisterous singing brought an enthusiastic round of applause from all the Irish patrons dining in the packed restaurant that Thursday night. The photo accompanying this post is Windell and caddy Barry at Ballyliffin in 1999.

While playing a nine hole match in the Wynlakes Golf Club’s Member/Guest in June 2008, Windell birdied the first three holes of our match against the winning team. We beat this team 6 1/2 to 3 1/2 but lost to them on points. We did not lose a match, beat the winning team, but still finished second due to the point scoring method employed in this tournament. Windell had numerous other birdies in this tournament which helped us land the second place finish in our bracket.

Windell also scored one of his holes-in-one at Moores Mill Golf Club in 2005 in a Member/Member tournament which helped carry his two man team to a first place finish in the tournament.Prior to his leaving for this year’s trip in 2008 Windell shot his age or under several times. In 2007, he shot a “two under his age” 66 at Moores Mill Golf Club in Auburn picking up eight birdies for the round.

The Elusive Haircut and Early Irish Breakfasts

We were on our final leg of our 2008 Ireland golf trip and I still had not gotten a haircut; I had tried twice before we left from Montgomery. On the first try, the operators closed their shop ten minutes early and would not open up for me even though I was a “regular”. I went back the next day and the wait was so long it would have extended into my next appointment. I had no choice but to abort. But not to worry, I remembered getting a haircut in the Newark Airport in years prior. I decided just to defer since we would have a several hour lay over there. When we finally got to Newark, I went to the small shop and made an appointment for ten minutes later and sauntered off to get a sandwich. I was back in ten minutes but someone else had come along. They gave away my appointment even though I was on time. This left me a bit ticked so I was off to Ireland with shaggy hair. Every moment from Belfast to Ballyliffin had been scheduled with little free time, so it was not surprising that here it was nearly two weeks later and I still had not gotten a haircut.

It was a Friday morning and our practice round in the tournament at Ballyliffin Golf Club was not scheduled until noon. Culdonagh Manor, our B&B, was located just a few minutes from Carndonagh so I decided to make a quick trip into this small town to seek out a barber shop or hair salon. A fellow traveler, Bruce Christian, decided he needed a trim so he came along. By the time we got to Carndonagh it must have been around 9:45 A.M. The town was absolutely dead. There was no one moving either on the streets or in the windows of the shops that lined the “diamond” (their version of a town square). I was perplexed. I knew from previous trips that the banks did not open until ten but I thought that the other shops should be open by this time of the morning. Walking up the sidewalk, Bruce and I noticed two signs on shops indicating that these establishments had operators capable of bringing us back to respectability. We decided to split up. Bruce took the downstairs shop and I proceeded to make the climb upstairs to a hair salon located on a second floor. As I reached the second floor and entered the door to the shop, finally I saw people, three people to be exact, three little ladies sitting quietly in a queue (as they say there) waiting to receive their coiffures. None spoke a word. Since it would be quite a wait if there were only one operator, I decided to turn around and leave. But as I turned I came face to face with a young lady who had to be an operator since she had on the typical attire. I inquired how long a wait it would be and she immediately spoke up, “no wait at all”.

She proceeded to take me and the three ladies to separate chairs inside the shop that had not been visible from the small waiting area. She robed each of us up in a fashion I had not experienced before in a smock with arms, no less. Before I could recover from the surprise of getting this strange smocking, I glanced around and noticed there were now seven chairs filled with patrons and seven operators all buzzing away. The young lady that had led me to my chair became my operator. I was absolutely amazed at how quickly this had all taken place. It could not have been over a minute from the time I sat down in the chair until all seven chairs were filled and operators snipping. I asked the young lady the obvious question. Why were there no people in town? “Oh, you came too soon. When you get back downstairs the streets will be filled”. I took her word for this and we struck up a conversation. As she seemed to sound more British than Irish I asked why she was here. “My mum is from here, and after my father died she decided to come back home to live. We all came with her”. She and her siblings, she would relate, all came to this rural area in the northern most part of the Republic of Ireland to be with their mother. “Family is very important you know it gives us a support system to help us with children and the like”. I was delightfully impressed and touched upon hearing this story. I thought of my own two daughters who live many miles away from my wife and me and how they often need such family support.

When I was wheeled around in the chair for smock removal and exit, I noticed Bruce had become one of the seven patrons. His chosen shop apparently had not opened and he had followed me upstairs. I waited for him and we left together. We were both astonished when we stepped onto the sidewalk at the bottom of the stairs. There were people everywhere in the town. It was if someone had rung a bell in a school at the end of the day and all the students were immediately milling about outside the building. It all began to make sense. Our B&B proprietor in Enniscrone had grimaced each time we had requested breakfast at 7:00 A.M. when we were there. The first time he had asked about our tee time schedule in an attempt to convince us that we didn’t have to be up so early. The third time we went through this exercise I asked the Enniscrone B&B proprietor, Jim O’Regan, what time he normally served breakfast. Unbelievably he replied 9:00 A. M.!

The Irish believe in late to bed and late to arise! And they arrive in town in sync at 10:00 A.M.!

Don Kennington - Gentleman Golfer

In 1988 after being invited by Harry Howell, I joined a group led by Don Kennington (wearing the green shirt in photo) on a trip which gave me my first exposure to the unique experience of “links golf”. Back then it was not difficult to self schedule tee times on the Old Course at St Andrews, Muirfield, and other British Open venues. Being an Auburn University graduate, I felt at home with a group that was mostly comprised of Auburn alumni. Don was a member of the Auburn Golf team back in the mid 50’s and even though he was now in his mid 50’s he was still a very good golfer. I was always impressed at how Don could consistently score low rounds regardless of the difficulty of the course. Don was a big man with a big heart and a sly grin that quickly revealed his gentle nature to anyone who happened to meet him. Don had a storied golf past filled with remarkable golf accomplishments. It had started when he was in his teens winning the inaugural Press Thornton Dothan Future Masters event in 1950. This tournament for young golfers is still held each year at Dothan Country Club. After his collegiate career had ended, Don completed a degree in Veterinary Medicine and began his practice in Dothan. Some years later Don would travel to Scotland to compete in the British Amateur Tournament held at St Andrews. He was not eliminated until after he had reached the quarter finals, a significant achievement.

This exposure to links golf no doubt led to Don’s affection for these annual trips. On the last trip I took with Don before his death, Don confided to me just how much he looked forward to these annual trips. In a quiet moment he once told me that even after he was no longer physically able to walk the distances required to play links golf he would, nevertheless, like to continue planning and traveling on these trips even if he had to sit in the clubhouse while the rest of the group played. Most of the group that traveled with us were life long friends of Don. They were constantly ribbing Don. This was mainly centered around his inflexibility in altering schedules and his insistence on always reserving the right to make the decisions on the trip. Years later after I began planning trips myself, I came to appreciate Don’s gentle insistence on being the “in charge” guy. At times the peppering of humorous barbs directed at Don would reach a level that made me think that they had gone too far. If this banter ever rattled Don, he never gave evidence of it always maintaining his gentle good natured manner. This group included several doctors. One of these, Patrick Jones, a pathologist, always claimed that Harry Howell was his only living patient. Another member of this group was Lamar Miller, a urologist, was constantly entertaining the group with humorous comments.

One year as we met in the Atlanta Airport waiting our departure, Lamar told this story. Needing trousers for the trip, Lamar went shopping at the local department store. After he realized that his old size 38 would no longer hold his girth, he conceded that size 40’s would have to be purchased. Not wanting his wife to know this just before his leaving on the trip, Lamar made another stop at another store on his way home. Here he purchased a pair of scissors which he used to remove the size 40 tags. Problem solved! On another trip while waiting at the gate in the Atlanta Airport, Lamar was paged by the check-in gate to come forward for a consult. Misreading the name on his ticketing which was A. Lamar Miller, the announcement came over the speaker as Alamar Miller. As you can imagine, from that time on for the rest of this trip he would be referred to by all those on the trip as “Alamar”.

Don was big guy who I would come to learn was a world class snorer. Once as we dined at the Rusacks Hotel in St Andrews, Don excused himself early and retired to his room. By the time the rest of us had dessert and coffee, Don was sound asleep. As we walked by the door to his room, we could hear a roar coming through his door. Later Don would be diagnosed with sleep apnea and on subsequent trips, after receiving his breathing machine, his sleep was more enjoyable for both him and those with whom he roomed.

We lost Don in 1999. He was a consummate gentleman, always encouraging the lesser talented ones of us on the trips. In addition to his great talent and warm good nature Don had a remarkable memory. After a couple of rounds of play with Don I realized he didn’t need to keep a score card. He could remember the score for each member of his foursome on every hole. He could even remember each player’s shot on each hole. I was always amazed at this ability.

I still miss Don. Each time I play a new links course I think of him. In 2001, I joined Ballyliffin Golf Club in Ireland as an International member. Don never played Ballyliffin, but he would have been comfortably at home there. Ballyliffin members exhibit the same warm hospitality that Don always extended to new members of his group.

Don Kennington, a great guy, a great golfer, and a great traveler! Thank you, Don, for introducing me to links golf in the magical sand hills of Scotland and Ireland.

"Best of Ireland 2006" Trip Report

"Best of Ireland 2006” has come and gone, but what a trip. Our vehicles logged over 1200 miles. We had a few snags along the way, but all in all, the trip ran rather smoothly. There were a few missed turns, but fewer than in years past, due to the navigation efforts of Windell and Eddie, but also due to the competition that has developed between the “van duo” and “the bus rigade”. Seeking not to be outdone, the secretary worked hard to reduce “missed turns”. It was with great pleasure that pay back came in Carndonagh when the “van duo”, while leading, missed the R238 turn in Carndonagh towards Ballyliffin.

We ran the gamut in Ireland, learning where we would like to replay, the courses of the southeast such as The European Club (where we played all day for one rate), Portmarnock, and “The Island Club”, and areas we intend to avoid in the future; namely, the southwest which has for sometime been in a “soak the American tourist” mode. There was a couple of exceptions in Waterville and Lahinch but not worth coming back to the area. Never again will the secretary play the over priced “Old Head of Kinsale” where we paid 50 euros for 13-14 year old boys who were passed off as senior caddies. Along with a 275 euro green fee price tag, several of the junior caddies lied to new members of our group as to what they were supposed to be paid. (Always negotiate the price of caddies including tip before any round of golf anywhere.)

We learned good value in hotels such as “The Great Southern” at the Dublin airport and dumps such as Treacy’s Hotel in Enniscorthy, which cost exactly the same for a night’s stay. We confirmed, once again, that the North has better roads, and plenty of good courses including the top two in Ireland (Portrush and Royal County Down). We strengthened our relationship with Ballyliffin, where the Pro-Am tournament continues to be the richest social experience and least expensive three days of golf in all of Ireland.

Even though we had a lot of rain in our first day Saturday round, our teams managed to score respectably under the conditions. Sunday afternoon was different as better weather enabled two of our teams to rise to the top two spots on the Glashedy course. Playing with my son, Pat, pro-Seamus Clinton, and Ryan Doherty, a sixteen year old junior member, our team finished first with 88 points in the Stableford, best two ball competition. This was out of fifty four teams. That followed Saturday’s 75 points on the Old Course. Windell and Joe had the best junior girl, Agnes Doherty, and Donal Gleeson for their Pro. They finished second with 86 points on Glashedy on Sunday and also won crystal. Overall, our team nosed out the Howard/Humphries team by one point for the two day tournament.

Another highlight of the trip was our round at Royal County Down. There I met Oliver, a seventy something year old caddie who shepherded the secretary into his best round of the trip, an 83 with an eagle and three birdies, garnering 31 Stableford points, clearly my best ever. What made this so special was my son Pat, playing with me, also had an eagle and scored 28 points. When it came time to leave I wanted to take Oliver with me. He made me relinquish my “go for it” mentality, and for just one round made a pretty good golfer of the Secretary. Pat went on to play well at Ballyliffin and it was due largely to his great play that we were able to bring home “The Crystal” .

There were comical moments, as when the Secretary tried to follow Joe Howard’s van over a hump at The Island Club and drug off a muffler and tail pipe assembly from the bus. Many photos were taken of the Secretary as he struggled to disengage the back portion of the tail pipe assembly and wire up the front muffler and tail pipe portion so the trip could continue. Many miles later at Carndonagh, I managed to find a muffler shop open just before Friday afternoon closing. There three boys were found ranging in age from about thirteen to twenty five. The three were covered with dirt and grease from head to toe. They looked as if they had each been made up for a presentation of the Charles Dickens play, Oliver Twist. After surveying the situation and much discussion between the three, they went to work. The youngest pumped on the jack and literally ran back and forth with tools that the senior member requested. The third young man acted as the “holder” of the apparatus as it was lifted back into place. When the work was completed I asked the oldest what I owed. He meekly replied, “a tenner”. I asked if he was sure and he replied just “a tenner”. Before Eddie Caldwell and I left, I called him back and tried to give him another ten euro. He would not take it! If there was any doubt why I fell in love with this part of Ireland in 1999, it was erased by three dirty and greasy, but proud young men in Carndonagh, Ireland.

Best of Ireland 2006 What a great trip!!!!!!!!!

If you have any memories you would like to share of your experience of this trip or any other golf trip to Ireland, please share them in the comments section. I would love to hear them! In addition, if you have any questions regarding this post or anything related to links golf, please ask them in the comment section as well. I am sure me or one of our readers could answer it.

Keep them straight!

Welcome to the Dal Riadas Golf Society

In 1988, we took our first trip to the world of “Links Golf”. That first trip included rounds at The Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie, Panmure, Muirfield, Crail, Turnberry, Royal Troon, Western Gailles, and Barassie. We have returned every year since, except for the year of the Gulf War in 1990. In later years trips were made to Ireland and eventually to England.

I owe my introduction to “Links Golf” to my friends from Dothan, Alabama who invited me along on one of their many trips. Don Kennington was the leader of this group. Don was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. In those early years my golfing skills were somewhat lacking, but Don never failed to encourage all members of the groups, regardless of their skill level.

Don had been a member of the Auburn University Golf Team in the 1950’s and years later he competed in the British Amateur Championship, making it to the quarter finals. A lot of rounds have come and gone since that first trip. Don is no longer with us. I feel certain he is putting together golf outings on the greatest links course of all, and at the same time smiling down at us with that wry grin that he so often exhibited. Who would have guessed that I would some day have my picture taken with the reigning British Amateur Champion, Robert Hory, which occurred at last year’s Ballyliffin Pro-Am Tournament.

It is my goal to pass on worthwhile information that that will encourage you to play and learn about this special brand of golf.