A discovery
FLANDERS
THE SLOGAN, VISIT … PLAY … ENJOY … RINGS VERY TRUE ANYWHERE IN FLANDERS.
The Belgae, the bravest of all the Gauls, Julius Caesar …
HEART OF EUROPE Driving down from Belgium’s main airport on the northern outskirts of Brussels, the road network expands as far as they eye can see. It takes you swiftly and efficiently to any of the close to 60 golf courses you can find dotted around Flanders. Half an hour further North and you end up in Antwerp, one of Europe’s most iconic, be it relatively unknown, cities in Europe. In and around Antwerp, there are several golf clubs all within easy reach of the city centre. Royal Antwerp is the historic jewel in the Belgian golf crown … the oldest (1888) golf club in Belgium and the second oldest on the continent. it does tick all the traditional boxes, a distinguished membership, a Tom Simpson designed golf course on a prime piece of sandy soil and with a great pedigree producing top class players. Current acting Secretary Fredrik de Vooght was one of Belgium’s top amateurs and his cousin, Didier de Vooght, a former European Amateur Champion and touring pro are just a few of the names that have honed their skills on this magnificent golf course. The club was founded in 1888 on the site what is now the Crowne Plaza hotel. A number of English golfers decided they needed a golf course to continue playing the game. At that time, Antwerp was surrounded by fortifications and the a piece of land was rented from the military. There
were several inconveniences playing golf on military lands. The soldiers used to dig trenches through the course so the greens had to be marked out of bounds. The holes had to be filled after every game to prevent the horses from breaking their legs. All this became too complicated and in the early 1900’s, the club was on the look out for a parcel of land where they could play undisturbed. So they ventured north and outside of Antwerp and found land in Kappelenbosch next to the railway to Holland. Will Park Jr. laid out the first course and in the 1920’s, additional acres were bought and Tom Simpson laid out the current course.
This is very much a traditionally designed layout. Doglegged and tree lined holes draw your attention to the task at hand of the tee and although on a flat piece of land, clever little undulations make approach shots hard to judge. This was designed for the days when there were no distance markers, no yardage devices and you very much had to play on sight. Modern technology has taken that skill, the visual game, out of it but still … you are always wondering … if only I could get it past that green side bunker only to find out that that bunker is actually 30 yards short of the green. Now, having said that it’s a traditional course doesn’t mean that this is a pushover. You will have to be on your game to score well but the atmosphere playing on a over a century old golf course is second to none. Antwerp is a great city for eating and drinking or just wondering around the medieval streets and squares underneath the imposing cathedral. All the golf clubs are within 30 min from the city centre and once you’re back in town, the car can be locked and parked.
Belgium has a number of Royal courses all 50 years or older. The latest addition to carry the Royal Seal is Royal Limburg Golf & Country Club. Again a local initiative of golfers tired travelling to Liege and Spa to go and play, back in the mid 60’s, they decided to start their own golf club near home. Designed by Fred Hawtree on a 65 hectare part of the nature reserve “Tenhaagdoornheide”, the course partly meanders through pine trees and patches of heather. The club received the Royal seal in 2016 and is never far away from being the Nr. 1 in Belgium. A recent bunker upgrading program has now been completed and made the hazards blend in better with the surrounding playing surfaces. This is a a vibrant members’ golf club with a fabulous golf course and the sand base makes it playable all year round.
Now, Belgium is amongst other things, famous for its beers. Every town has their own brewery and beer type and in Antwerp it’s called the ‘Bolleke Koninck’, an amber ale drank from its own specific glass. Going out in Antwerp you will find ‘Bollekes’ in virtually every cafe. With plenty of restaurants and different international kitchens, given that Antwerp is one of Europe’s main ports, basing yourself in the city will allow you to discover all the sights and sounds of downtown Antwerp. Strolling underneath the impressive 123 meters sphere of the cathedral which ‘only’ took 169 years (1352 - 1521) to build, one will be hard pressed not to find a good meal in a fine establishment.
We’ve mentioned before that Antwerp, although inland, is one of Europe’s busiest ports. Since medieval times, the river Schelde has always been a a rich vein around which multiple settlements started. As the port was limited to where it could expand to on the right river bank, around 40 years ago, development started on the left bank. Now the docks on that side of the river can take some of the world’s biggest container ships and is one of the main RO/RO terminals for cars from all over the world. On the edge of all the 24hr hustle and bustle, a small golf club is intently forging its way to become one of Europe’s best 9-hole courses. There is no room for expansion so the focus is on improving the course. Young Belgian architect Dimitri Hauwaert got the brief to turn Beveren GC, already sand based, into a links style layout. And what a course it is, fast running fairways, undulating greens with run offs just like the old links courses make this a thoroughly enjoyable experience. With towering ships passing through the adjacent lock, playing Beveren Golf is a surreal experience. The simple but functional clubhouse provides members and guests with great quality food and it is an oasis on the outskirts of a frantically busy world.
Not necessarily in that order …
GOLF, BEER, FOOD
There are around 50 courses in Flanders. You can divide them into three pockets. East, Central and West. Royal Limburg is near Hasselt/Leuven and is East, Royal Antwerp and Beveren Central and going West, we head towards Ghent, Bruges and ultimately Ostend on the North Sea. None of these cities are very far from Brussels airport but traffic can be busy at times so do take care when driving. For those of us who know our cycling, Oudenaarde is famous for the ‘Tour de Flanders’, one of the iconic one day cycling classics where riders tackle short but steep hills like the ‘Koppenberg’, ‘Kwaremont’, ‘Paterberg’ and the ‘Geraardsbergen Wall’. Oudenaarde itself is a medieval town also situated along the river Schelde and famous for its tapestry industry which made it extremely affluent in the middle ages.
The Golf & Country Club of Oudenaarde is a 36 hole complex in the small village of Petegem and around the Petegem Castle. The 19th century Neo Classical castle provides guests with a royal welcome. The restaurant is always full as good food forms the base of most Flemish members’ golf clubs. The Castle and Anchor layouts are lush and treelined with holes meandering along an old arm of the river Schelde, a river which for many centuries has been at the forefront of economic development in Flanders. These are typical Flemish parkland courses with dogleg holes flanked by mature trees and large, well protected greens at the end of it. There are no significant elevation changes so walking the courses is no issue. Either course will provide visitors a pleasant round of golf followed by a good meal.
Hertz Rental Cars provided us with the necessary wheels to get from golf course to golf course. Hertz cars can be rented from both Brussels National airport or the Southern Brussels Charleroi. Wheels in various forms and sizes will definitely get you something you need and even want. With regards to lodging, there are several options. The Vandervalk Hotel in Beveren, a modern, large hotel with spa facilities is only 20 min from the golf club in Beveren and they have an arrangement. A choice of two restaurants, a more traditional one with good Belgian food and an Asian style fusion restaurant, provides guests with choice and the bar stocks a large selection of Belgian beers. Large bright bedrooms and ample parking make this a good hideout for golfers. On the edge of the city of Antwerp, ironically on the land originally used to house the Royal Antwerp Golf Club, stands the Crowne Plaza Hotel. A towering feature along the ring road round Antwerp incredibly conveniently located to reach from any golf club. The rooms are functional, though not spectacular but when you’re higher up, the views are incredible. Apart from being easily accessible and having secured parking, it is only a 5 min. taxi ride to the center of Antwerp where it all happens. The hotel also offers complete wellness facilities including an indoor pool. As far as convenience goes, not many hotels beat the Crowne Plaza. A short taxi ride gets you to the ‘Groenplaats’ from where you can walk towards the Cathedral and take in all the bars and restaurants along the way. You can hardly go wrong as that area is popular amongst locals as well as tourists. For more information about the destination, visit www.golfinflanders.com Words: Jo Maes, President of the EGTMA