Belvoir Park Course Review
Tight and tree-lined, this parkland gem by Harry Colt is a must-play amongst Northern Ireland link classics.
A healthy number of golfers who take their clubs to Northern Ireland do so for their fix of links. Given the country’s plethora of famous coastal layouts, this is, of course, understandable. However, should you add one or two parkland courses to your itinerary, of which there are some real unsung beauties in this part of the world, you’re going to test every aspect of your game.
To find out who the most complete golfer in your party/society is, I can highly recommend a trip to Belvoir Park, described by master architect Harry Colt as “a course affording an excellent test, and at the same time, one that will give maximum pleasure to golfers”.
It’s quite rare for a course to remain largely unaltered since it was first laid out, but the course the members play today hasn’t changed a great deal since it was formed in 1926, which adds a certain appeal to playing what is regarded as one of the country’s classic parklands.
Ask me for the first thing that comes to mind about golf in Northern Ireland, and, like a lot of golfers, I’d say coastal views and mountainous dunes, but I’ll remember Belvoir Park for its weathered oak tees, beech trees and firs, all of which I encountered as I made my way through 163 acres of mature woodland. There’s no such thing as a lone tree here, and nor would you say the trees line the fairways. It’s more a case that the fairways lead you through the forests.
Finding the lush fairways, however, was every bit as satisfying as threading a long iron through the dunes, and the varied landscape reminded me why this part of the world has welcomed many a film crew and wildlife enthusiast, for its rich and diverse topography really heightens the senses.
You’ll be hard pressed to find 18 holes that flow so seamlessly from first to last.
