Glenlo Abbey (224)
Glenlo Abbey is a 9 hole course on the Clifden Road just out of Galway and is part of a hotel complex. The approach looked quite promising – and fine looking church (presumably the abbey) connected to an old house leading down past a couple of Pullman coaches converted into a restaurant to the clubhouse – a slightly downmarket looking log cabin next to its grander siblings.
We introduced ourselves to the two chaps manning the shop. They were decent enough but didn’t seem to be in the mood for chat, or at least our brand of it, so after paying our green fees (they’re part of Open Fairways so it was just €20 total) we made lunch and then headed to the first tee.
First impressions weren’t great. The tee boxes were in passable condition but the course looked very exposed and open and you could tell that it just needed a little bit of looking after. My second impression was “Damn, look at all the flippin’ daisies!”
Having said that, for a 9 hole course it was quite well laid out. The greens either had two flags (red for the front 9 and yellow for the back 9) or at a couple of holes there were two greens. The greens were quirky – I quite like the fact that the second had a small patch of rough in the centre separating the two flags – but they were more like a well maintained lawn than a golfing green. They looked nice from a distance but up close they were bumpy and soft, not ideal for picking the right line.
Overall this isn’t a great course, but it’s far from being a bad course – it just needs a bit more attention (to get rid of the daisies for a start – finding the ball was a nightmare sometimes) and a few more trees on the course between the fairways to give it a bit of definition. There are some nice features lifting it – Lake Corrib for one – but it’s let down by being too open and having merely passable greens.
Thomas says:
There were two stand-out holes for me. The par three 4th made excellent use of Lake Corrib with the green extending out into the water. On a windy day like today club selection was all important – I chose poorly on both occasions! Perhaps the nicest hole though was the 8th, a par 5 that snakes downhill around a pond. From the tee Lake Corrib provides an excellent backdrop. The pond is within reach of most golfers I would say but the two bunkers on the opposite side of the fairway are for the big hitters only. Your second shot is downhill into a little dip just ahead of the raised green, which is reachable in three half decent shots for most.
Clive says:
This was almost the last course we still had to play in county Galway – so we are left with the 9 hole ones. To tell the truth I wasn’t looking for a great course but it wasn’t bad. I did quite like the double greens which really did mean you had 18 distinct holes. The course could do with a bit more attention and perhaps better use of the ponds. However, on reflection, I would give it 6 out of ten. The uphill sixth was a lovely hole with stunning views of Lough Corrib. As Thomas said, the men in the clubhouse weren’t up for our craic although they did know that we were arriving. Only 2 more courses to go in this county – Galway Bay which might only be open to members at the minute and Mountbellew – we’ll pick these off in due course.
Here’s what the course looks like according to Google:
