Gerry looks at history of golf around Ulster courses

Gerry looks at history of golf around Ulster courses

19 June 2019

LIFELONG golf fan Gerry Kelly explores the history of golf in Ulster on BBC2 this weekend.

In Links to the Past: Pioneers of Ulster Golf on Sunday at 9pm, Gerry visits some of Northern Ireland’s top courses, including Royal County Down and Royal Portrush, as well as St Andrews in Scotland, recognised internationally as the home of golf. 

 Gerry begins his journey at his home club in Ardglass, tracing the beginnings of golf in Ireland and reveals a few surprises as he discovers the relatively unknown Ulster-Scots golfing pioneers who helped establish the sport here.

He visits stately homes including Mount Stewart and Grey Abbey House on the shores of Strangford Lough chatting with Lady Rose Lauritzen and William Montgomery, as well as private museums, plays the world’s most famous course, and also looks ahead to The Open at Royal Portrush.

He also sets out to finally answer the age-old dispute about which club is actually the oldest in Ireland. 

The history of golf in Northern Ireland is intrinsically connected to Scotland. Gerry travels to St Andrews to explore how the Scots claim to have invented the sport and what part they played in bringing the game across the Irish Sea.

He reveals the key roles played by statesmen, politicians and a Scottish schoolteacher who designed three of our most celebrated courses but has been all but forgotten. 

Gerry, who has been playing golf for over five decades at Ardglass, said: “Before I began filming despite playing the game for most of my life I actually knew very little about its history, and that’s a shame because there are few sports with as long and as rich a history.

“So myself and the camera crew set off to find out more of its history and the early beginnings here, and we uncovered some surprises along the way in our quest to find out which club is the oldest in Ireland.”