Kennemer

My ball arched towards the flag, and I dreamed of it following Andy Sullivan’s into the hole.

However, while his shot won a trip to space, mine struck the top of a 25-foot bank and slithered down into one of the three most notorious bunkers in European golf.

Sullivan’s career literally went stratospheric after he aced the 15th in the final round of the KLM Open in September 2014. 

XCOR Space Expeditions was one of the event’s sponsors, offering the hole-in-one prize of a flight beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.

Back in the real world, I was faced with a near-vertical bunker shot and completed the hole in four more shots than the man who went on to play in the Ryder Cup.

We had been regular visitors to the Netherlands, but this was our first time golfing there. 

Like many established Dutch courses, Kennemer has a tumultuous history.

Founded in 1910, the club moved to its present location among the dunes of Zandvoort in 1928. 

They commissioned the celebrated British architect Harry Colt to lay out the original 18-hole championship course, which consists of the current B (Pennink) and C (Colt) nines. 

Colt’s meticulous planning and extensive correspondence with the club proved vital, as the course was virtually destroyed during the Second World War.

Our jovial member host gave us some excellent insights during our round, after coffee in the clubhouse, which was also built in 1928. 

For example, the building was commandeered by the SS, who used it as a brothel! 

The German Army’s occupation remains evident in the bunkers across the course that are now used as shelters; they even built a massive concrete anti-tank barricade across the links. 

After the war, the club painstakingly restored the course, faithfully following Colt’s surviving plans.

 The whole 27-hole complex, including the later A (Van Hengel) nine, was completed in 1985.

Ironically, a loud warning siren sounded over Zandvoort during our game. For the past twenty years or so, they have been tested at noon on the first Monday of every month across the country.

I digress. Kennemer usually selects 18 of its 27 holes for play at the beginning of each day.

Although the A & B routing had been set up, it was agreed we could play the more established B & C nines, which form the original Harry Colt layout.

The B course begins gently with a par-four featuring bunkers on either side of an undulating fairway. 

Approaches must be down the left side to avoid a coffin-style bunker on the right. 

It is followed by a stunning uphill par-three with a green set above a steep incline.

Correct club selection is paramount to prevent the ball from falling down the slope to the front or disappearing down a fall-off over the back.

Our host started the B course impressively; he followed a solid par on the second with a four on the par-five third. 

This demands a drive over a swathe of rough before the fairway turns between bunkers to a green surrounded by dramatic fall-offs. These fall-offs are a hallmark of Kennemer and require approaches to be particularly precise.

When Harry Colt originally designed the par-four seventh, his trademark quartet of bunkers was in front of the green. 

Over the years, they were amalgamated into one, and despite plans to return to the original design, the giant trap remains and snared my ball after a promising drive.

The final hole of the B nine is a handsome and testing par-four with a fairway that narrows in front of a green framed by one of the largest dunes on the property.

In my opinion, the C nine is even more impressive than the B. It begins with a short dogleg par-four with an intimidating tee shot over grassy dunes.

Accuracy off the tee is essential to avoid trouble on both sides of the fairway, and the approach needs to miss a bunker in front of the green.

There are fewer bunkers than one might expect, but they abound on the 12th, a par-five which requires a long drive over bushes. 

More gorse awaits down the right, with bunkers on either side of the fairway and around the green. Our host nailed a long putt for his second birdie.

The par-four 13th is one of Kennemer’s star holes because of its unusual turtleneck green. 

Approaches must avoid bunkers on either side of a long green, which is wide at the front but pinched at its head with challenging slopes on either side.

Historians say the 15th was the first hole Harry Colt laid out on the course and the one that most excited him. 

It is undoubtedly the most memorable, and I would love to try to tackle it again, although I doubt I would have Sullivan’s success.

The par-five 16th might be short for the birdie-chasing pros, but it is plenty challenging enough for mid-handicappers. 

The drive from this elevated tee must avoid thick rough and gorse. More deadly bushes emerge on the left and right as the fairway narrows. Two big bunkers, 30 yards short of the green, also threaten to wreck a score.

After another gorgeous par-three on the 17th comes the 18th, with a few echoes of the ninth on the B course, making them both perfect for completing a round. 

This par-four has a long carry from the tee and two bunkers on the right of the fairway.

The approach is the toughest element, with a big sand trap on the right and three more to the left of a raised green framed by a dune with the clubhouse to its rear.

It was a pity the weather was not kinder on the day we played Kennemer, because better light would have showcased the course at its best. 

Nevertheless, it was still obvious why it is so highly rated and demands quality golf to achieve a decent score. And I loved its history.