Hilversumsche GC

Hilversum GC- clubhouse 

 

Hilversumsche Golf Club was founded in 1910 and was a nine hole course when Harry Colt came to The Netherlands and added a second nine in 1928.

It is one of the 'old nine' courses that for so long defined golf in The Netherlands.

The influence of Colt cannot be underetimated- he certainly helped put Netherlands golf on the golfing map. 

Hilversumsche has since been remodelled twice- in the 1950's by Sir Guy Campbell, and more recently by Kyle Philips who added some length so the course can remain relevant in the modern age

This is important as Hilversumsche has a proud history of hosting the KLM Dutch Open- in fact 30 times to date!

 

 

Hilversumsche could best be described as a heathland course with sandy base, spotted with heather & bracken, and framed by dense forest.

It is a lovely walk as there is little elevation change throughout the property- just enough to make the golf holes interesting...

Perhaps one mitigating factor is the spread of the property. I don't know of a golf course with so many lanes which need to crossed.

It is quite charming, and adds a point of difference, but the walks from green to tee add significantly to the walk and the time taken to play a round

 

Some holes are quite tight off the tee and the surrounding forest can impose itself in the golfers phsyche...

And the ocassional green lies at and angle to the line of play, rewarding the thinking golfer who can best place his ball off the tee

Hilversumsche is a good test of golf, but generally would reward accuracy rather than length.

 

Notable holes include:

 

- hole 2, a short 'risk/reward' par 4

 

Hilversum GC- hole 2

 

- hole 11, a strong par 4 where the approach is partially blind

- hole 12, another short par with a blind approach

 

 

- hole 16, a tricky par 4

- hole 17, a shorter par with a challenging green

 

 

Any golfing trip to The Netherlands should include a game at Hilversumsche- it is certainly one of the outstanding golfing experiences in the country