Belvoir Park

The club were even luckier in having the foresight to appoint Harry Colt, one of the world’s leading golf course architects of his day, to set out the eighteen holes. His timeless design features are as valid today in the modern golfing era as they were over eighty years ago.

The members are rightly proud of playing on a course that has been largely unaltered since it was first laid out through magnificent stands of mature oak, beach and fir trees. Other varieties of tree, like Scots Pine, Larch and Cypress have been planted since, with Dr J A Smiley, Club Captain in 1958, largely responsible for this, particularly between the 7th and 15th fairways, an area which is known as “Smiley’s Wood”.

The great pity is that the vast majority of visiting golfers who come to Northern Ireland may arrive at the nearby City or International Airports in Belfast then make a beeline for the coast to play links golf without ever giving a thought to the pleasure of playing such a stunning parkland track like Belvoir Park.

The lush fairways, meandering streams, wonderful bunkering and super putting surfaces make Belvoir Park a delight to play. The quality of the general landscape is such that it really deserves to be on any serious golfer’s Belfast itinerary, along with Malone and Royal Belfast – now there’s a tasty threesome!

A programme of course improvements was started in 2020 under the guidance of William Swan of Swan Golf Design, concentrating mainly on the re-design and construction of bunkers. The intention was also to replace all tee box complexes over the following five years. A woodland management plan was also implemented, clearing scrub to open up areas to airflow and help with the return of native flora in these areas.