netherlands Archives

Travel insider Jürgen Linnenbürger takes a day trip to Utrecht, the capital of the smallest province of the same name, and gets to know the Utrechtse Golf Club de Pan, one of the leading golf courses in continental Europe.

Part of the Oude Negen

Every time I get to know another top course of our western neighbours, I am thrilled all over again. The number of exceptional golf courses is simply impressive. Those that belong to the group of the Oude Negen (Old Nine) are particularly appealing to me. This includes the course I am presenting today, where I encounter traditional old school golf at its finest.

Leading in the Netherlands and Europe

We have been looking forward a long time to play the Utrechtse de Pan golf course, which currently ranked second in the Netherlands. The club is equally proud of the fact that it also enjoys the highest international recognition. Not only does it rank among the top 3 in continental Europe,
but it is also represented in the top 100 of the world’s best courses. Three Dutch Opens have been held here. The last time, however, was in 1984.

It is the second oldest golf club in the Netherlands. The club’s origins date back to 1894, when it was founded as the Doornsche Golfclub with a nine-hole course. In 1927 the club moved to its present site, was renamed Utrechtse Golf Club de Pan and opened as an 18-hole course in 1932.

Its original design is due to the great Harry S. Colt, who also took on the design of several other top courses in the Netherlands in the early 20th century. The Englishman designed De Pan in 1929.

In the years that followed, some changes were made. In the last decade, however, these were gradually dismantled by the renowned golf course architect Frank Pont, so that the course is now almost back to its original state.
Guests are welcome to join the private Family Members Club on certain days. To get to know and appreciate the traditional setting on the historic grounds, a minimum HCP of 24 is required.
The club is not easy to find. You quickly drive past the small entrance sign. From the car park, a short path leads to the beautiful thatched clubhouse that crosses the 10th hole. Those standing at its elevated tee operate a switch that triggers a flashing light to warn people passing by.

In front of the clubhouse, we are greeted by the bronze statue of the Greek shepherd god Pan, gleaming in the sun, which was donated by members in 1994 on the occasion of the club’s 100th anniversary. He is said to haunt the Forest de Pan and trigger the famous pan-ic attacks in the
players. Fortunately, he spared us on our round.

The shepherd god Pan at the entrance to the course (Photo: Jürgen Linnenbürger)

We are warmly welcomed by Siemon, a member of the Course Committee. In the traditional and cosy clubhouse, he gives us background information about the club and the course. We learn that great importance is attached to environmental protection and that the club has decided, among other things, to use a maximum of 30,000 cubic metres of water per year to irrigate the course. Usually, however, only 12,000 – 14,000 are used. Only in the extremely dry year of 2018 24,000 cubic metres were needed.
We are greeted just as nicely by the friendly caddie master John, who kindly lets us onto the round.

Friendly welcome in the cosy clubhouse (Photo Jürgen Linnenbürger)

Complete tranquility in unspoilt nature

The slightly hilly, classic heathland course is located in the middle of the majestic de Pan forest. It is considered one of the most beautiful in the Netherlands. Its 18 holes are perfectly integrated into the peaceful nature. The masterful routing through the not too large terrain is exceptional and among the best created by Harry Colt. It is very pleasant that they and the tees are extremely close to each other and are only separated by short distances. Some tees are played from elevated tee boxes.

Tee times are spaced at a comfortable distance, so you’re alone on most holes and can’t see the rest.

If you’re lucky, you’ll see deer or foxes on the fairways, which are often intersected by the overgrown sand hills of the dunes, constantly coming into play as natural obstacles.

The fairways, which are not too wide, are lined with tall, old trees and roll over the sandy ground with a short mow. There are no water hazards here as well as not too many fairway bunkers. Greens come in all sizes. The perfect condition and the speed distinguish them all.

Precision before distance

The par 72 course has a length of 6,097 metres from the championship tees. There are a total of four different tee boxes, so that every HCP class has its own comparable challenge. From yellow it plays 5,716 metres, from red 4,935 metres long with an SR of 135 and 136 respectively.
Anyone who enjoys strategic play is in the right place here. It is not primarily distance that counts, but tactics and precision and the choice of the right club. Every single shot is a new challenge.
The varied round begins with a relatively short par 5, followed by a challenging par 4, whose attractive positioning of the bunker is already the first spoiler for many.

Inviting par 5 to start the round (Photo: Jürgen Linnenbürger )

After that, the first of four great par 3 awaits, to be played slightly downhill over the heath field through the aisle.

Hole Three: A par 3 with a length of 153 m from Yellow (Photo: Jürgen Linnenbürger)

From the sixth, the course really turns on. From here to the end of the round, it becomes clear why it is one of the best in the world of the golden age of golf architecture.

Hole six (HCP 1): Two blind shots and 391 m into the green (Photo Jürgen Linnenbürger)

Here, not only the tee shot is to be played blindly, but also the following approach into the green. The sign high in a tree is supposed to give orientation for the second shot. With luck, you will hit the green.
‚Belling‘ is highly encouraged. Already at the tee box of the sixth, you are kindly asked to inform the following group with three strokes on a bell when you have passed the knoll and that the fairway is clear.

‘Bellen’ is expressly desired (Photo: Jürgen Linnenbürger)

The tenth tee shot is played from the elevated tee carry over the aforementioned path and the long heather field.

Beautiful, but not for the faint-hearted – tee-off hole 10 (Photo: Jürgen Linnenbürger)

I manage a perfect drive to the point where the fairway narrows considerably on both sides due to the dune. From here it’s just a wedge into the green surrounded by imposing trees.

Approach into the well-protected green of the ten (Photo: Jürgen Linnenbürger)

The last three holes are then a bit more relaxed to play, as the course opens up wide from the 16th and the wide fairways allow for a good score.

A few steps lead up to the tee box on the 17th, where you have a great view over the heather field.

Hole 17: also a visual highlight – through the heath onto the elevated green (Photo: Jürgen Linnenbürger)

The finish on this fantastic golf course is a par 5. If the long hitters stay in play after the tee shot, they have the chance to reach the green with the second shot.

Straight back to the clubhouse (Photo: Jürgen Linnenbürger)

I don’t succeed, but I am happy about my par, which concludes an unforgettable round on a fan- tastically designed and well-maintained golf course. The trip to our neighbours has been worth it once again. We start our journey home very satisfied and with a distinct feeling of happiness.
Further impressions of this exceptional course can be found in the official club video at: https://ugc-depan.nl/en.

Text: Jürgen Linnenbürger

Change in golf is a hot topic. Social transformations influence the demands of the golf market and of the golf clubs themselves. The approaches to mastering the challenges ahead are as unique as every club itself. Golf Post talks to the people managing golf clubs and shows how they envision the sport in the future. To learn more about the wide variety of golf courses in Europe, read our article series on Golf Post, the digital home for golfers.

Golfcentrum Amsteldijk

Located in Amstelveen on the outskirts of Amsterdam, Golf Amsteldijk is a 30-minute ride from the very center of Amsterdam and it takes 20 minutes from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The club is embedded in a rather idyllic scenery on the border between urban and rural environments.

The fully-fledged 9-hole golf course with a-status was built next to the river Amstel. It was designed by Alan Rijks and opened in 2012. A main characteristic of this course is it’s abundance of water hazards given the course’s location in a typical Dutch polder landscape. Few trees hold back the wind that can be quite strong at times and forms a challenging environment for the long game. “Yes, our 9 hole course very unique and fun to play, but our main business is practice, coaching, and training”, explains Nick Verschoor operational manager at Golf Amsteldijk.

Focus on being a training center

In fact, Golf Amsteldijk puts its focus more on being a golf training center open to everyone than on running a golf course. The vision was an accessible golf center, where golfers can develop in every facet of this sport without going on a professional course straightaway. This was Tineke Loogman’s vision. Loogman herself is missing her left hand. She trained a lot and made up for lack of strength and lack of balance. Soon she played at a high level in the European Disabled Golf Tour and even won it in 2006. She is the owner of the Golfcentrum Amsteldijk, which is quite possibly the largest golf practice facility in Europe.

The bunker game can be trained in a special facility or on an a-level 9 hole course near the capital of the Netherlands. (Photo: Golfcentrum Amsteldijk)

Golf Amsteldijk offers „9 Golf Worlds“ dedicated to the different disciplines of the sport. “Every aspect of golf can be trained”, says Verschoor. A 300-meter long driving range has many targets at different distances. The world of chipping has over forty tee-off points with nine targets at a distance of 15 to 81 meters. Next to a pitching and a separate putting area of 5000 square meters, there is a special bunker training facility and many other options like 9 hole par 3 course for training purposes next to the a-level 9 hole course mentioned before. Except for the latter, you don’t need a handicap (the Dutch license to play is called “golfvaardigheidsbewijs“) and for the training facilities you don’t need to bring balls: “This is a unique service, but all golf balls you need to train are included”, says Verschoor, “we want to be a very accessible club and organize trial courses to give an affordable opportunity to try if golf is your sport.”

So, Golf Amsteldijk is specialized in golfer acquisition and tying them onto the sport and it holds pre-set 9 hole tournaments that count towards your handicap. “If golfers want to experience an 18 hole tournament, they have to go somewhere else. But if they want to play 9 hole or train their game again, they are always welcome back”, says Verschoor.

The golf course is located in a typically Dutch polder landscape. (Photo: Golfcentrum Amsteldijk)

However, the attitude towards accessibility or low-threshold access is impressively reflected in the golfing education of children. 70 children take part in each training program that place in summer (March to October) and winter (November to February). “We developed these programs in the past years. Our teaching pros are particularly qualified to work with minors and we connected to many schools in the neighborhood to present our services to them”, explains Verschoor and adds: “To be honest, the project didn’t work that well in the beginning. We started with less than 15 participants. It took a lot of time and effort until the people got familiar with the idea and valued it in the end.”

Today the golf school at Golf Amsteldijk is well-known in the area and contributes its part in rejuvenating the sport. As always it needs some stamina introducing new ideas to society but in the end, it pays off. There’s still a long way to go, Verschoor is convinced, if the Netherlands wants to catch up with Great Britain or the US. “I’ve been to the UK recently. People of all ages play there. The average age in the Netherlands is much higher.”

People are preferring 9 hole golf

But there are some general tendencies in the Netherlands that imply a change in golf. “People are preferring 9 hole golf. They can’t fit a long 18 hole round into their schedule anymore. Be it because of other leisure activities, be it because of work, in the end, people do not want to invest so much time in golf anymore.” This is why an extension on the golf course at Amsteldijk is no option at the moment.

Instead of expanding Amsteldijk intensifies the member-club-relationship. Next to small persuasive deals Amsteldijk offers a golf trip abroad once a year. “2019 some of our golf professionals organized a trip and a tournament in Cadiz in Spain and many members joined in. 2020 we’ll go to Morocco”, says Verschoor.

Verschoor and Amsteldijk don’t work in a trial-and-error method. In order to meet all requirements, they collect and analyze data concerning how many people are using the facilities, when, and where. In addition, Amsteldijk analyses the interdependency of people using the Golfcentrum and visiting the restaurant. “We hope that our data analysis systems will offer more and broader packages in the future”, says Verschoor. Because it is of utmost importance to monitor reliable data on customer trends. Verschoor is aware of the fact that his club is located almost perfectly on the outskirts of the Dutch capital. Many projects may work very well because the catchment area is densely populated and very good connected to public infrastructure, yet still embedded in rather idyllic scenery.

Golfcentrum Amsteldijk is embedded in a rather idyllic scenery on the border between urban and rural environments. (Photo: Golfcentrum Amsteldijk)

Based on meaningful data the Golfcentrum decided to use the winter for implementing urban offers by making some expensive but important changes to its facility. Golf Amsteldijk now comes with a new restaurant and Top Tracer Range.

The previous restaurant had a good reputation and therefore slightly more non-golfing customers in the past already, but still, Golf Amsteldijk decided to renovate the Brasserie 10. “The restaurant won’t only re-open with new furniture, it is supposed to be an open place for everyone, golfing and non-golfing guests”, says Verschoor. The center of the new restaurant concept is a warm and welcoming atmosphere and a good price-performance ratio.

Freshly renovated is the restaurant Brasserie 10. (Photo: Golfcentrum Amsteldijk)

A recently started highlight is Top Tracer Range. Even though it’s out of season, all 10 bays are fully booked most of the time. “Top Tracer suits us very well. Firstly it is an excellent training device and secondly, it is a lot of fun. I think tracking technology is key to golf in the future and we want to be part of that”, says Verschoor. But, he adds, “Amsteldijk still focuses on golf training. Although Top Tracer attracts young people who have never played golf before, the main function remains sporting progress.” Both improvements of this winter correspond to the club’s philosophy of easy or low-threshold access to our sport.

Golf Amsteldijk celebrates the beginning of the new season with the public every April. “We call it the ‘Kick-off Dagen’ (Kick-off Days). It means free entrance for everyone, free trial lessons, workshops and demos with our pros, club fitting offers and a lot of fun”, says Verschoor. Because of the measures due to Corona, the feast had to be cancelled in 2020. “We’ll celebrate 2021 all the better for that,” says Verschoor. Now, after the lockdown golfing is possible at Amsteldijk since mid-May, the restaurant re-opened on the 1st of June 2020.

Thanks to all these efforts Amsteldijk is a growing and developing club. “Because of our monthly membership options, our numbers are decreasing in winter and increasing in summer. But the all-season comparison over the years shows that we are growing constantly”, Verschoor explains. The club has roughly 1600 members, about 200 of whom have a full membership. Full membership means that you have access to all the facilities and the 9 hole golf course all the time and may use the Top Tracer Range twice a month for free. Golf Amsteldijk offers further membership models in different price categories. “A full membership doesn’t make sense for every golfer, so why shouldn’t we offer other possibilities”, Verschoor asks rhetorically. Golf Amsteldijk is a good example of how to integrate an open and welcoming culture into a successful golf concept.

(Text: Benjamin Reeve)