Galway is a lively university city with a rich cultural life and an interesting history. It began as a fishing village - salmon still fight their way up the Corrib River through the city - but by the fourteenth century had developed a lucrative sea trade with continental Europe. You can see traces of Galway's rich mediaeval past in the narrow streets leading from the port to the city centre. Connemara has no clear definition. In the language of tourism it means everywhere west of Galway city. More accurately, it is the region between the western shores of Lough Corrib, the Atlantic and Killary harbour. The name conjures up a landscape of bare mountains, peaty lakes, islands and rocky inlets of the sea constantly altered by fleeting clouds across the sky. The light plays particularly on the Twelve Pins - a cluster of rounded peaks about 600metres/2000ft high. If you can see them you are definitely in Connemara. Even if you can't see them you may still be in Connemara. The weather in the far west of Ireland is famously unpredictable.

GALWAY
18 holes - par 70
At Salthill, 5km/3miles west of Galway city on the R336 to Spiddal.
Telephone: 091 522033

"Dr MacKenzie is one of the real artists in golf course construction. In years to come visitors will probably come from overseas to see the works of the master. 'This is a genuine MacKenzie bunker' they will be told, and the visitors will view it with a reverence with which we at the present day view a Holbein or a Rembrandt.
(Golfing magazine, October 1923)

OUGHTERARD
18 holes – par 71
2km/1.5miles east of Oughterard on the N59 to Galway.
Telephone 091 552131
Oughterard golf club, near the shores of Lough Corrib, has a well-founded reputation for friendliness. Patrick Merrigan (Tulfarris, Woodenbridge, Faithlegg, Water Rock) has recently remodelled the course. He has added three deep ponds by digging into the peat around the 9th, 10th and 11th holes. This means they are natural bog lakes in which the water rises and falls naturally. They don’t have the PVC lining which is sometimes visible on man-made lakes. He is also encouraging the club to remove some of the evergreens, which line the fairways and surround some of the greens, and replace them with native hardwood trees. (Evergreens can slow the drying of greens in winter by blocking the wind.)
    Oughterard is set in lush, tranquil wooded parkland, bounded by stone walls, with views across the untamed countryside – gorse and hawthorn-filled fields rising to craggy hills beyond. In late spring and early summer when the gorse and hawthorn are in bloom, the mingled scent of pine and blossom is carried everywhere on the breeze. The 2nd demands a drive to a typically tree-lined, generous fairway. But the well-bunkered green is over a hill, and the length of this par 4 (375metres/410yards) can tempt you to over-hit and land in the trees. Nor can you see the green from the 8th tee, set back in the trees. Neither can you see the curve in the stone wall on this double dogleg that tempts you to cut corners. Don’t. The walls, trees, bunkers and out-of-bounds are there to trap you. Play it as the par 5 it is and you’ll be fine. The 9th (par 3) over the first of the ponds, calls for a long and accurate strike to a green protected by bunkers on both sides. The 13th – a pretty par 3 through an avenue of trees to a well-defended green – is a particular favourite with the members. The 16th (par 4) along a boundary wall, seems longer than its 394metres/431yards because it’s usually played into the wind. The 18th is a dogleg right, the green is tucked in behind pines and copper beeches.
    The greens are subtly contoured and not as straightforward as they look. Trees, shrubs and lush grass in the rough punish those who stray from the wide fairways. Large windows on three sides of the bar in the clubhouse overlook the course.

CONNEMARA ISLES
9 holes - par 71
29km/18miles from Oughterard. N59 to Maam Cross then R336 to Costelloe and R374 to Bealdangan. The golf course is on Annaghvane Island connected to Bealdangan by a causeway.
Telephone: 091 572498/154
Connemara Isles is an absolute charmer. It must be one of the most glorious spots on earth for a game of golf. When the three O'Loinsigh (Lynch) brothers - a vet, a guard (policeman) and a teacher - inherited the family farm on Annaghvane Island in the heart of the Connemara Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) they decided to develop it as a golf course. The thatched farm cottage that is now the clubhouse adds to its charm.
    On a fine day, when the sun sparkles on the sea, it's joy to walk the course, admire the views and never mind the score. On a cold and rainy day, you can look forward to a hot whiskey beside the open turf fire in the clubhouse. The course is laid out on Annaghvane Island and on a tiny island connected to Annaghvane by two causeways. It's a short course that, nevertheless, demands some long hits. The 3rd (par 3) requires a long carry across an ocean inlet to an island green. There is no dropping zone. (The scene in Tin Cup where Kevin Costner refuses to lay up and insists on hitting a 7-iron across a lake comes to mind. He got across on the seventh attempt.) With the wind behind, a big hitter could take a wedge. Wind against, and it's a driver you'll be pulling out of the bag. The 4th is played along the smaller island with the sea on both sides. The 5th requires another long carry back to Annaghavane and uphill to the green. You have been warned.
    This is exhilarating golf, but shorter hitters might prefer to play Stableford. Look out for seals by the bridge connecting the golf course to the mainland. There are blackberries in autumn and golden gorse in the spring. In the summer it's light from 5am until after 10pm. In the winter, it's dark at four. But that still leaves time for a round of golf. The course is never waterlogged and frost is rare.

The detail in this article was extracted from Emerald Greens - The Essential Guide to Holiday Golf in Ireland by Roisin McAuley, published by Appletree Press.