Saturday 1st September 2018
For a change we woke to blue skies and the warmth of the sun! With a spring in our step we made our way down to our local shops in Jørpeland. One of the supermarkets in this delightful little coastal town was located on the harbour and the views around made our food shopping experience a little more enjoyable.
On the main road heading back up to our campsite we happened to spot a sign saying golfbane and decided to investigate. For those of you that know us well, we were once avid golfers and played as often as we could and despite carrying our clubs around on our travels, have yet to have taken them out and use them! This could be our opportunity 😉
To our surprise the sign for Preikestolen Golf Club was at the next road after our campsite! We followed the narrow lane through some agricultural land and finally arrived in a small car park adjacent to the clubhouse, where we also spied a driving range and practice putting green.
On entering the clubhouse we were met by a very approachable young lady, who informed us that we were more than welcome to play. A day pass was 350 NOK and we could pay her and receive a green fee ticket or as she would be leaving at 4 o’clock, we could use the self service vending machine outside.
We decided to bite the bullet and purchase 2 green fees and then head back to the campsite to drop off the shopping and get the correct attire for our big adventure.
On our return to the club there were 2 other cars in the car park but we couldn’t see another soul anywhere and that was how the rest of the round played out.
After hitting a few balls on the range, which surprisingly we hit quite well, despite the lack of practice, we decided to head out before the aches and pains really set in 😉
The 9 hole course, which has separate tees on the back nine, looked so inviting. The course is definitely challenging. Even more so when you haven’t played for so long and are carrying your clubs for the first time in over 13 months!!
With some long carries, steep climbs, undulating or tight tree lined fairways this was a baptism of fire! Several areas were quite water logged and on one hole we had to search quite hard to find Ray’s drive which has plugged in the fairway.
Neither of us had played on a course where it would have been possible to ricochet a ball off the granite like rock faces on some of the holes. The beautiful views and spectacular scenery made up for the lack of skill, on this occasion.
Despite the fact that we were completely shattered and ached all over, the weather had been fantastic, the best we had experienced in ages and we were so pleased to be back doing something we both love so much.
