A continued blog piece to coincide with our filming releases in The Netherlands…
in partnership with
Day 3 (Afternoon) – Noordwijkse
Time was more than tight. I think all three of us are proud to say that we’ve never missed a tee time before, but this one was looking tighter than Rory’s episode at Medinah in 2012. We departed Kennemer 15 minutes before balls were meant to be in the air at Noordwijkse, Google Maps was showing the journey time as 20 minutes, and it later transpired that the Club was a further 3 miles past the pin location that we’d been aiming at…
Bruce was his usual composed and efficient self, driving us safely and very much within the speed limit, whilst Sam rang Maarten to make some advance apologies. Fortunately, we had a small bit of leeway and it looked like we were going to make it.
The arrival at Noordwijkse is memorable for all, not just for those who are running up to the clubhouse whilst stamping down the backs of their FootJoys, flailing around for gloves, balls and tee pegs, and feeling completely unprepared to start playing golf and wielding cameras. The landscape is like nothing you’ve ever seen before: crashing, sand-blown dunes that stretch as far as the eye can see; a modest, beach-style clubhouse situated on the sea ridge which somewhat protects the course from the elements; and an anonymous, Cold War era radio tower which looms tall in the distance.
Noordwijkse Clubhouse on the sea ridge
After some brief hellos with Maarten – the current Chairman of Green and another highly-decorated Dutch amateur golfer – we were underway. That feeling that you’ve arrived somewhere completely unique is reinforced as you tee off down the first. The Club’s driving range is situated about 15 yards right of the centre-line of the fairway and approximately 250 yards away from the elevated tee, and we hear it’s a spot which many players frequently play their seconds from. A quirky feature of the course, but undoubtedly something that the long term plan would look to resolve. Indeed, the plans for the course proved to be a frequent talking point for much of our round. Maarten in his capacity of Chairman of Green is seeking to elevate Noordwijkse from being not just one of the best links courses in The Netherlands, but globally. The land here is without question befitting to such an aspiration, and Maarten’s passion clearly shines through as we make our way around the course, as he gently points out various aspects on which the Club is working with Martin Ebert to improve. Green renovations, bunker work, and changes to the routing are all on the table in the quest to achieve excellence. What becomes immediately noticeable, however, is that this is not just a long-term plan. This is a conservation effort, an ecology project and a course re-imagination all rolled into one. Maarten’s Fridays (when not spent waiting for us to arrive late at the Club for an afternoon game) are often spent with the local environmental agencies, consulting with them on the ramifications of clearing away Buckthorn, or how best to maintain the habitats of the local wildlife during the course’s transition phase.
Name us a much better landscape for golf… we’ll wait
No doubt the coming years at Noordwijkse will be significant, as both the investment in these works and the standing of the Club continues to grow.
The course today is dramatic. Potent and provocative holes, one after another. The first is a typically-Dutch simple opener (provided you don’t venture too far into the driving range or the enormous bank of dunes on the left). The long par 5 second takes you up the runway of fairway over an enormous dune ridge, where a wonderfully wide and undulating green waits for you beyond. This is the first taste of how the course uses its land. These enormous dunes are integral to the holes themselves: you rarely play between them (as you might at most other links courses), and instead you go around and over them, which produces a constant cocktail of blind shots, surprise, and great elevation change. When coupled with the severe runoffs which guard most of the greens, you quickly realise that this is a course which demands strong ball striking, and it’s no surprise that Messrs Langer, Montgomerie and Ballesteros have all lifted the coveted Dutch Open trophy here at Noordwijkse.
Crashing dunes through the holes at Noordwijkse
Noordwijkse was our only course of the Tour where a halfway house was available. A few Heinekens basking in the sunshine and meeting the Club’s Course Manager, Richard Wing, gave us a chance to understand more about how the team maintains the course despite the strict ecological laws that govern this nature reserve.
As for our golf, Bruce & Sam were taking on the pairing of Maarten & Tom, with local knowledge proving to be the deciding factor. Maarten and Tom took the spoils on the 17th green after a desperate lag putt from Sam who was clearly more concerned about the 30 ft runoff into the abyss which lurked beyond the truly outrageous pin position on the right edge of the green.
In marked contrast to the mad rush in which we began our round, we finished our day at Noordwijkse by soaking in the atmosphere of the clubhouse and enjoying some drinks and fine Dutch snacks – including bitterballen – with Ingeborg, the Club Manager. Ingeborg is well-known in Dutch golfing circles, not just for her tireless work at Noordwijkse, but also as an accomplished referee. The release of this film and blog post coincides with her retirement from her formal role at the Club, leaving her more time to play the links, but we’ve no doubt her legacy will continue to shape the course as it goes from strength to strength in the years ahead.
Another elite Dutch amateur and Chairman of Green: Maarten Delfortrie
Looking back on that Friday, we were lucky to see two clubs where the membership and management seemed united as one. Both Kennemer and Noordwijkse are home to incredibly passionate souls who view the continued improvement of their respective clubs as a serious task which deserves their (almost) full time and attention. They’re not just passionate, but well read, knowledgeable, and always open to hearing another’s point of view in aspiring to be the best version of themselves. Driving away from that remarkable piece of land, the game seemed to be in rude health…
After making the relatively short trip into Den Haag, we quickly (or not so quickly, in Bruce’s case) got ready to head out for dinner with our fifth and final host, Willem from Royal Hague… The final day of Tour was nearly here…
