15th Green, Ballybunion Old Courtesy of Evan Schiller www.GolfShots.com
My Heart Will Rest at Ballybunion Old
By Matthew E. Adams
Ballybunion Old, an apt moniker, indeed
For this masterpiece was not built, not shaped, never put to seed
It is as God left it, a natural beauty, something to amaze,
Deep valleys, plummeting cliffs and heather shrouded dunes, bathed in ethereal haze
Upon the First Tee, heart racing and senses acute and ablaze,
Remiss the ball sliced too soon, for awaits an eternal entombed gaze
To each, these links whisper an individual refrain
Of humor, perspective and joy, in sunshine or in rain
For here, one’s soul is set free to soar,
Like a spinning orb of light chasing an elusive score
Starting down wind, to each a snickering grin,
But upon the Seventh Tee, reality sets in
Hard by the Atlantic, a ferocious tempus gale,
A low drive, squarely struck, is rapture to prevail
Imagination is perhaps the most important club of all,
For links golf is quirky and sincere, a maiden siren’s call
The Eleventh Hole, the “best in the world,” so Tom did decide,
While the Fifteenth awaits another to abide
The Sixteenth is soaring and majestic, surely not the least,
The Seventeenth awaits, an ancient Celtic feast
Embraced by dunes, the Eighteenth offers the putt one will sink,
Moments aloft from the Guinness one will drink
Thank you, Ballybunion Old for memories never forgotten,
For here my heart will rest, a links-love begotten
Copyright 2009 Matthew E. Adams, www.FairwaysofLife.com