Galway Bay Golf Resort – Review and Rating

The course is a very open parkland course, with wide fairways and big landing areas. 

Gorse is plentiful, and really the only spot where you are likely to loose your ball. Bunkering is good, with some green bunkers reminiscent of links courses, deep and with high walls. There are also several well manicured artificial lakes to catch a few of your stray shots. The course is lightly undulated, but not too much of a challenge to walk, it is a delightful walk in fact.

The course start with a few fairly ordinary, but not boring, parkland holes. On the fourth, a short par 3, you get close to the water of Galway Bay, and several of the following holes follow the rocky beach.

The second par 3 on the course, the seventh, is short at 120 m, but nonetheless a challenge, especially on a windy day. In front of the green is a sizable lake, with the green jutting out towards you. You need to control your distance as well as your line well on this hole.

After the turn at the clubhouse you work your way down to the water, and a few holes later you reach the point where Galway Bay meets the Atlantic. On this side, the holes take on a linksy character, with slightly harder fairways, and deeper linkslike bunkers. Here again you need to mind the wind, as the prevailing wind comes in from the Atlantic.

Notable on the back in the par four 12th hole that demands a long tee shot on a good line to have a reasonable approach shot to the green below, guarded by a lake. A very good risk/reward hole.

The course finishes with a par four just below the clubhouse, with two very deep bunkers guarding the severely sloping green. I can see tournaments being decided on this very nice hole. A good finish.

When you first walk out on the clubhouse terrace overlooking the course it is easy to think “Oh, another American style parkland resort course”, but the course grows on you, and when you walk off four hours later you come away with a much more favorable impression. You may have travelled to Ireland to enjoy links courses, but if you are near Galway and have a chance to play Galway Bay we sincerely recommend it.