Connemara Isles Golf Club
Date played: 1 May 2004
Weather: Gorgeous!
We arrived at this remote place late on the last day of April 2004. It is located in the Connemara Gaeltacht which means of course that all the signs are in Irish. It was a challenge finding the place in the dark but eventually we saw the golf sign and drove down to the clubhouse, the only one with a thatched roof in the whole of Ireland. Well, we were greeted like long lost friends by four or five slightly drunk Irish speaking gents. As ever, we explained who we were and that we were playing there the next day. All was fine, the Guinness flowed and these dyed-in-the-wool western Irishmen, Tom in particular, could just not get over how much I (with my still slightly Scottish accent) knew about Ireland’s history.
At length we repaired to the van for a good night’s sleep and awoke to quite the loveliest day ever. There were only a few men around and one good man, Colm by name, agreed to accompany us around their exquisite 9 hole course. The second time round really did seem like an absolutely different course. I recall the beautiful greens hanging over the water’s edge, the careful shots needed not to find oneself in the Atlantic Ocean and especially the par 5 5th. A well-placed 7 iron (!!) was needed from the tee to be sure of finding the fairway and then a huge wood for the second shot was required to get over yet another arm of the sea – I failed and Thomas hit a great shot and made the fairway on th e other side but lost the head of his three wood in the process. The 9th hole is a beauty – not the longest but mighty tricky with, yes you’ve guessed it, more ocean to be got across.
In the morning before we played we had breakfasted outside the van at a convenient picnic table at the water’s edge. The whole experience was a delight of the highest order. I’d recommend this gem to everyone. The problem is that most people would think it too remote. This is true but the journey is so worth it. To get to Connemara Isles you need to go west from Galway along the southern road past the road to Rossaveal where the Aran Island ferries depart. You then get into the Gealtacht so you need to have your map handy or your GPS fired up and your eyes skinned for the golf club sign near Lettermore Island.
This is definitely one of the nicest courses we have ever played – make sure to visit if you’re on a golfing tour in the area. There are plenty of other courses in that part of Galway – Galway, Galway Bay, Oughterard, Bearna and Connemara.
Website: Connemara Isles
