Golf at The Hawthorn has completed a major bunker redevelopment on its championship course overlooking Galway Bay, removing 59 bunkers and cutting total bunker surface area by approximately 70 per cent ahead of the opening of The Hawthorn by Galway Bay, the five-star hotel due to open this summer.
The project, delivered by specialist contractor European Golf Services, leaves the par-72 layout with 55 bunkers. Previously known as Galway Bay Golf, the course was designed by Ryder Cup legend and Galway native Christy O’Connor Jnr and opened for play in 1993. It stretches to 7,300 yards from the back tees.
The reduction in bunker count does not simply soften the test. Larger parkland-style hazards have been removed or reduced in scale, while several greenside bunkers have been replaced with contoured run-off areas designed to introduce a wider range of recovery shots around the putting surfaces. Smaller pot bunkers have been added in select locations to sharpen precision demands and improve the visual definition of key holes.
All remaining bunkers have had drainage renewed and a resin-bound liner installed for consistency and longevity, an upgrade with practical value on an exposed coastal site in the west of Ireland. Drainage has also been improved across the wider course, with a focus on greens and surrounds. The maintenance dividend is part of the calculation: fewer bunkers free the greenkeeping team to spend more time on greens, fairways and tee boxes.
Dean Montgomery, director of golf at The Hawthorn by Galway Bay, said the project was about shifting the course’s identity to better suit its setting. “By reducing the number of traditional parkland bunkers and introducing smaller pot bunkers alongside more natural run-off areas, we have created something that is more in keeping with the landscape while also adding greater variety to the challenge for golfers,” he said.
Montgomery, who previously worked at Royal Liverpool, Bearwood Lakes and Yas Links before taking the role in March, said the timing was deliberate. “With the opening of The Hawthorn by Galway Bay approaching, it was important for us to ensure the golf course reflects the same level of quality and ambition as the wider destination,” he said.
The course has competitive pedigree to match. In 1999, it hosted the West of Ireland Golf Classic, won by Costantino Rocca at 12-under-par with Pádraig Harrington finishing runner-up. The field that year also included Justin Rose, Ian Poulter and Paul McGinley.
The Hawthorn by Galway Bay is a 114-room luxury hotel set on the Renville Peninsula near Oranmore, featuring a signature restaurant, spa and bar overlooking Galway Bay. Positioned on the Wild Atlantic Way between the celebrated links of Ireland’s south-west and the rugged championship courses of the north-west, the combined hotel and course offering is being aimed at golfers planning trips along Ireland’s Atlantic golf corridor.
To discover more about The Hawthorn by Galway Bay and to book, visit: www.thehawthornhotel.
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Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.