Photo: Wikimedia CommonsConnemara Golf Club
Ballyconneely, Co. Galway · Designed by Eddie Hackett · Est. 1973
On the morning of June 15, 1919, Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Brown completed the first non-stop transatlantic flight in a Vickers Vimy biplane. They had left Newfoundland 16 hours earlier. From the air, they spotted the masts of the Marconi wireless station near Clifden and chose to land. What looked like a flat green field turned out to be bog — the plane sank into the soft ground and nosed over. Both men climbed out unhurt, having just crossed the Atlantic. They won £10,000 and were knighted within the week. Their landing site at Derrigimlagh is 3 miles from Connemara Golf Club.
Eddie Hackett designed the course in 1970 and it opened June 7, 1973. The club had almost no money. Hackett, one of the most important figures in Irish golf course design, offered to place a stone in for a tee and a pin in for a green until the club could pay him. The local community largely built the course themselves. Fr. Peter Waldron, the club secretary, later called Hackett "a saint." The course celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023 and is still largely as Hackett intended.
This is not a pure links in the sand-dunes sense. The terrain is rocky moorland — craggy rock outcrops, rust-coloured bog, wind-shaped ground with the Twelve Bens filling the horizon and the Atlantic at the edges. There are no dunes to provide shelter. Tom Watson played here in 2000, shot 69, and called it spectacular. The back nine is where the course reveals itself fully — the 13th, set in what players describe as a lunar landscape, is the beginning of a closing stretch that is genuinely unlike anything else in Irish golf.
Holes worth knowing
- 113th (par-3, 211 yards): Where the lunar landscape begins. The green sits on a raised plateau — miss short and the ball rolls 30 yards back, miss left or right and it disappears into trouble. The Twelve Bens rise behind it. One of the best par-3s in Connacht.
Highlights
- Twelve Bens mountain backdrop
- Atlantic links isolation
- Eddie Hackett routing
Good to know
- →The Alcock and Brown landing site at Derrigimlagh is 3 miles from the course — there is a white cairn memorial on the bog. Take the minor road from Clifden toward Ballyconneely and follow the signs. Worth the detour.
- →No dunes means no shelter. Wind exposure is total and conditions can swing four clubs in either direction. Check the forecast but assume it will be different by the back nine.
- →Clifden is 8 miles away — the nearest town with proper restaurants. Mitchell's for seafood, Mannion's Bar on Market Street for chowder and a pint of Guinness in a proper pub.
- →The Sky Road loop from Clifden takes an hour to drive. One of the great coastal drives in Ireland — bog, white beaches, dry stone walls, and Atlantic views to the islands.
- →The C nine (9 additional holes) is available if you want to extend the day — €60 and a completely different character to the main course.
Visitor Information
Getting There
Common questions
How remote is Connemara Golf Club and is it worth the journey?
Connemara Golf Club is in Ballyconneely, ninety minutes west of Galway city. The drive through Connemara is part of the experience: bog, mountain, and sea in every direction. The course, designed by Eddie Hackett in 1973, was routed on a principle Hackett described as: "Mother Nature is the best architect." The granite outcroppings and uninterrupted Atlantic views create something genuinely unlike anything else on the island.
What is the story behind the creation of Connemara Golf Club?
Father Peter Waldron was transferred to Ballyconneely in 1969 and immediately identified the coastline as ideal links ground. He tracked down Eddie Hackett and brought him out to see it in October 1970. Hackett agreed to design the course on the spot, telling them: "I'll design the course for you and you can pay me when you can. We'll put pins in the virgin soil." The 18 holes opened on 7th June 1973 — Father Waldron played in the very first fourball alongside Hackett himself.
How do I book Connemara Golf Club?
Book directly through the Connemara Golf Club website or by phone. The club does not use GolfNow. Tee times are generally easier to secure than at Ballybunion or Lahinch.
What should I do near Connemara Golf Club?
Clifden is the nearest town and the natural base. Lowry's Bar on Main Street has won Best Traditional Bar in Ireland three times — it's the place for a pint and trad music in the evening. Mannion's is a near-century-old family pub that does proper Connemara food: lamb, locally caught fish, Doon Castle oysters. The Sky Road loop from Clifden is one of the great short drives in Ireland. Kylemore Abbey is forty-five minutes northeast. For golf, Westport is ninety minutes northeast and Carne in Belmullet is ninety minutes north — both worth a second day.
Where to Stay
Book directly with the club — no agent, no waiting
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