Herring Way (15th Hole, 321 yards)

Where the golf course curls along the sea’s
granite edge and wholesome turf seeps
around outcrops of dark rock, a modest drive
is required to carry beyond a deep gully
reaching into the heart of a succinct
and slender fairway.  A poorly struck ball
can leap between knobs of stone
before, occasionally, being tossed
just a short chip or long putt away
from the wavering flag.  More normally,
you will see its final despairing hop
into the ravine, sacrificed to the tide
or disappearing into camouflage
among like-sized pebbles on the beach below.

At one time or another, in a kind of ritual,
most golfers reaching this high place
will also pull out an older ball and tee up
the wrong way, facing the lumbering swell.
For some reason, the prevailing wind here
neither helps nor hinders these delinquent shots
and a high proportion are beautifully struck
with a long, smooth flight chasing coastal depths
where vast herring shoals once grazed.