Golf in Westport, Ireland 

My family and I decided we would take a non-traditional Thanksgiving vacation and spend a week in Ireland. (This American holiday is not generally observed in Ireland, but we all wanted to return to revisit this incredible country. This would be my fourth trip to Ireland).

We weren’t sure if golfing weather would cooperate, as we penciled in our possible outing for the last full day of the trip. As it turned out, it was the best weather day of the week, sunny, 50’s, with no wind, which was nice after all the rain we’d had up to this point. Westport golf club is in County Connamara in the northwest corner of the Republic of Ireland. It is an 18 hole, parkland course, with stunning views of Crough Patrick, the mountain named after the patron Saint of Ireland.

Brian and I weren’t sure how busy the course would be at this off-season time but we made a teetime for 10:20 am. The morning got off to a rough start at our Air BnB, trying to get the shower “on” switch activated, which was located outside of the bathroom. Typical crazy Irish electrical setup.

We all went to “The Place” down the street in Westport for a breakfast cappuccino and egg & bacon sandwich. The ladies planned some extensive shopping while Brian and I went to the Westport golf club. At the pro shop we got pull carts (trolleys) and rental clubs. Altogether it was €100 each including the green fee. As expected, there were not many other golfers there, especially since we were willing to tee off immediately, in front of a foursome of locals. The course was saturated and Brian‘s shoes got instantly soaked for the entire 18 holes. My waterproof FJ’s did quite well, fortunately. I played reasonably, staying up with Brian scorewise, as he is a 9 handicap and I’m a 12, (he beat me by four strokes 89 to 93). It was a bit of an adjustment for sure with a strange set of clubs, especially since my driver wouldn’t go beyond 160 yards! I ended up hitting Brian’s, which got me off the tee a bit better. There was no standing water on the course but it was so wet that we each lost balls due to plugging, me 1 and Brian 3. Came close to running out of balls as I’d only brought 2 ProV’s from the States. Thank goodness the starter informed us of the local rule lift, clean, and place rule for the day, it definitely helped.  Not our best golf scores consequently but the scenery was outstanding.