Belvoir Park

My summer golf membership is coming to an end. I have fallen in love with Belvoir Park. It is a parkland golf course, which means it has mature trees--a lot of oaks, my favourite. And an apple tree! I played today and felt a bit sad that I’ll have only one more game before the membership ends. I’m in London Sun-Thurs. I’ll play the afternoon I get back, the last day of the membership. Here I am on one of the holes.

Belvoir is one of the most expensive courses in Northern Ireland. It has a 1,700 pound joining fee plus a 1,100 pound annual fee. Other clubs just have the annual fee. There’s a course up the street from me that’s a few hundred pounds. The ladies I play with are planning to continue through the winter at pay and play courses. Next summer, we’ll buy the summer membership again at Belvoir. You can do that three years in a row, then you have to decide to join properly--you won’t be allowed another discounted summer membership.

The golf doesn’t seem to make my shoulder worse. Probably doesn’t help either. I wouldn’t say I’ve made great gains as a player, maybe modest gains. I guess what I’m getting out of it is: the joy of being outside in beautiful surroundings, the companionship of an interesting group of women, and some exercise. You can’t beat that.
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