Galway Bay Inaugural Scratch Cup and Open Week

The 3rd hole at Galway Bay

On Sunday, 30th July, top Senior and Junior golfers battled it out in testing conditions on the superb Galway Bay championship golf course. The Senior Scratch Cup was played over 36 holes and, after Round 1, local favourite Eddie McCormack and Galway’s Joe Lyons couldn’t be separated with an opening round of 70.

Playing off the Blue Championship tees (7,300 yards) in the afternoon, some great golf saw Joe Lyons pip Eddie McCormack and Ronan Mullarney  to take the inaugural Galway Bay Senior Scratch Cup, sponsored by Pat Power.

Joe Lyons, a big fan of Galway Bay, said:

“The Course is in Fantastic Condition, both the greens and the fairways were perfect. Galway Bay is a true championship test off the Blue Tees. It was exceptionally challenging but I could find no fault with the course and the club, and it will be a perfect host for the Connacht Finals. It was also an added bonus to get one over on Eddie for a change. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does it’s nice!”

Joe Lyons (centre) receives the trophy from sponsor
Pat Power, with Head Pro Dara Ford alongside.

In the Junior Scratch Cup played over 18 holes, Portumna’s Eamon Dervan secured the Cup with a 76, followed by John Bodkin with a 77 and local Marcus Brennan in 3rd with a 77.

Approach to the 12th hole.

The course is in great condition and was a good practice opportunity for the county’s top golfers to test themselves at Galway Bay before the Connacht Finals, which will be held on the course mid-August. This week is Open Week (see below), which will no doubt see added traffic during Galway’s busiest week of the year.

Ireland's Best 18 Holes on the Wild Atlantic Way

The inspiring 16th tee shot on Ballybunion (Cashen)

Everyone has their opinions. What a dull place it would be if we didn’t.

Failte Ireland, in its guise as The Wild Atlantic Way, has produced a list of the top 18 golf holes along the 2,500 km route that stretches from Cork to Donegal. The list was produced for them by In The Company of Huskies, a Dublin digital agency.

The Wild Atlantic Way is Ireland’s new holy grail of tourism, showing off the beauty of Ireland. You’d think the goal would be to pick 18 holes that show off the beauty of the golf courses’ surroundings.

Irish Open Weeks - Part 2

Approach to the 10th at Concra Wood.

The Open Weeks rumble on, and they are all around the country. It makes it difficult to decide which way to go... but go you should.

Here are the events at 

1. Concra Wood
2. Dundrum House (Tipperary)
3. Galway Bay
4. Rosapenna

Galway Bay Golf Club - The Good Photos

View over the 3rd green to the rest of the course.
Taken at 7.30am

The Thursday and Friday of last week weren't the best for photography, but Saturday picked up and the sun burned down on Galway Bay's fairways and greens for close to 10 hours.

Here are a few photos that show off the course. Drop by and play it. It's well worth your time and approach shots to greens are stunning.

Galway Bay Golf Resort - Photoshoot

The start of a four day photoshoot at Galway Bay Golf Resort didn't get off to the best start. The welcome was grand, the tour of the facilities with the head greenkeeper (Damien) was enlightening and I was given a fully charged buggy to get me around the place. So far so good...

... it was only the weather that wasn't playing ball. Friday morning has proved no better. I hope in the coming days to get the weather that shows off this course to its best effect. At the moment (assuming you trust weather forecasts, tomorrow looks like it should be a cracker. Sunrise at 6.50am.

Read on for more photos of the initial foray: