New Golf’s Greatest Holes TV Series Launched

A new TV program showcasing some of the best golf holes in the world is set to launch on NBC GolfPass. Rob Smith went to meet its two presenters…

Paul McGinley and Chris Hollins are the presenters of Golf’s Greatest Holes
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)

New Golf’s Greatest Holes TV Series Launched

For those of us who are as enthused by golf courses as we are by the game itself, there has been very little dedicated television coverage in recent times. The series lands on NBC GolfPass on 8 March following critical acclaim from major broadcasters around the world.

Aside from their use for regular tournament play, we have seen little of some of the amazing golf holes you can find in all corners of the world. Happily, that is all about to change.

Golf's Greatest Holes is a new series devised and presented by BBC personality Chris Hollins along with former Ryder Cup-winning captain, Paul McGinley.

I went to meet them at Sunningdale, to talk about this exciting new project. I also played a hole with Paul while he talked about design for the November issue of Golf Monthly.

Rob plays the second hole on the Old Course at Sunningdale with Paul McGinley

The project is the brainchild of 7-handicapper and 2009 Strictly Come Dancing winner Hollins. Lockdowns led to a stop-start inception, but happily the first series has now been filmed. It is set in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

There will be six 30-minute episodes, with the two extremely knowledgeable and entertaining presenters playing some wonderful holes. These are at fabulous courses such as Royal County Down (the Golf Monthly number one), Ballyliffin, Adare Manor, Rosapenna and Lahinch.

The spectacular par-3 16th at Adare Manor, one of the holes to be featured in the opening series

During each, their love for courses and golf is obvious. They talk about the design, the setting, the history and anything else that is relevant to each hole.

Lahinch is one of Paul's favourite courses

The pair hope to film future series of Golf's Greatest Holes in the USA, the Caribbean, Australia and Europe. More than 20 broadcasters worldwide have already committed to screen the series across 160 countries.

Rob chats to Chris Hollins on the terrace at Sunningdale

According to Hollins, “As an avid golfer, I was keen to share what makes the game of golf so special in terms of social interaction out on the course, as well as the amazingly beautiful courses that golfers dream of playing and many have on their bucket list."

“We’ve been fortunate to explore legendary landscapes and embrace local anecdotes, while playing signature holes together that literally take your breath away. I couldn’t be happier with the first series and hope golfers enjoy watching it as much as Paul and I did making it.”

There is more information on the website, golfsgreatestholes.com.

In time, this will also allow golfers to see behind-the-scenes footage, plan their own journeys and even suggest future destinations. For all golf course enthusiasts, this is extremely exciting news.

Rob Smith
Contributing Editor

Rob Smith has been playing golf for over 45 years and been a contributing editor for Golf Monthly since 2012. He specialises in course reviews and travel, and has played well over 1,200 courses in almost 50 countries. In 2021, he played all 21 courses in East Lothian in 13 days. Last year, his tally was 81, 32 of them for the first time. One of Rob's primary roles is helping to prepare the Top 100 Courses of the UK&I, of which he has played all, as well as the Next 100 where his count is now on 96. He has been a member of Tandridge for 30 years where his handicap hovers around 15. You can contact him at r.smith896@btinternet.com.