Royal Hague (Koninklijke Haagsche Golf en Country Club)

Oh, wow. The history, sense of place, warm welcome, and the most dramatic of golf courses.

Royal Hague, or Koninklijke Haagsche Golf & Country Club, as the Dutch call it, was one of the most memorable visits on my top 100 quest.

Despite its name, the club is actually in the leafy town of Wassenaar, a 20-minute drive from the palace where the Dutch Royal Family works.

Queen Beatrix bestowed the club's royal patronage in 1993, and we were told it's not unusual to see some of her family on the course, taking their place with other members at the starter’s hut. 

The club is the oldest in the Netherlands, and its backstory was enthusiastically shared with us by club manager Marko Sterkenberg during a tour of its glorious clubhouse, rebuilt after a fire 20 years ago. 

The club was formed in 1893, some distance away in The Hague, and photos show women playing in long dresses, a nod to the fact that the Netherlands still leads the way in egalitarian golf.

That course was destroyed during the Second World War. At the end of hostilities, the club bought the current venue, built by Harry Colt's associates, Alison and Morrison, for Jewish industrialist Daniel Wolf, who had been forced to flee to America. 

Apparently, Alison was hesitant about the project until he wandered past what would become the clubhouse and saw the stunning vista across the dunes. I can testify that the "wow factor" is the same today.

The view from the clubhouse creates an expectation of a woodland course because only the 18th hole is in sight.

However, the vista from the first tee reveals the true nature of the landscape—a striking expanse of dunes. 

The panorama takes in several early holes, hinting at the course's startling design.

I was advised to play off the white tees to enjoy the links fully, and I was eager to make the most of the 18 shots I received off my 10.7 world handicap. 

However, I grew wary after a member asked me why I was teeing off “so far back.” 

Nevertheless, I cracked the ball down the middle of the par-five first, which dropped, rose again to a ridge, and then fell toward the green.

The second hole's fairway is at such a dramatic angle that, although I initially struck my drive left, a member shouted that it had landed down the right. It dips before rising to a green with a devious false front.

There are many big carries, especially off the whites, and few are more intimidating than on the third. 

Fortunately, I found the power to reach what looked like a sliver of a fairway, which then turned sharply right toward the green, enabling me to score my first par of the day.

Looking back toward the clubhouse from here, The Hague is visible in the distant background.

The superb holes continue with the fourth, which the course guide describes as “one of the most beautiful holes in the Netherlands.” 

From the white tee, this downhill par-three is 220 yards to a green surrounded by bunkers. 

Reaching the target is only half the job, though; the putting surfaces at Royal Hague are fiendish in terms of pace and borrows. I hit the green but only managed a four.

I confess I played from the yellow tee on the stroke-index one sixth hole because the white tee was hidden 80 meters back. 

Just as well, because there is still a near-200-yard carry over a thistly chasm. The fairway, with its descents and ascents, falls sharply to the right. Overstruck approaches risk going over the fence into a farmer’s field.

I realised the white tees were a mistake when I lined up for the seventh and calculated that my carry needed to be 230 yards. 

Failure to reach the marker post would send my ball into a sandy waste area and prickly bushes. 

Predictably, it found trouble. My second shot was too aggressive and flew over the ridge into more bother on the right. 

This is a par-four, and I was left with another shot out of a bush, over a dune to a hidden green. Unsurprisingly, I recorded no Stableford points.

I had similar doubts as I stared down the downhill par-three eighth, with its expanse of heather, trees, and bunkers. 

However, I redeemed myself by hammering the ball 240 yards to the back of the green and putting smoothly toward the cup for a tap-in par.

“Are you enjoying it?” asked the members playing the 10th as we walked in the opposite direction on the 11th. 

The answer was very much so, until I faded my ball into a bush, never to be seen again. If I had found it, I would have required a clout over a deep gully into a downward-sloping target.

The 12th is an outstanding par-three over another grassy crater with falloffs on either side of a domed green; a four felt like a decent return. 

Royal Hague is rated in the world’s top 100 because of the quality and variety of its holes, which is most evident around this section.

The 13th is another classic—a par-four that requires a long drive over a path and between a tree and a bunker. More trees and sand guard a long, narrow green with the complex borrows synonymous with this course.

One of the most daunting shots was from the 14th white tee. It feels like you are hitting through a forest because the trees are so close and the landing area is so tight. The fairway is cut between dunes and ascends to the partially hidden green. It is a heck of a hole.

My best birdie opportunity came on the 16th, a superb short par-four that bends from right to left around trees and bushes. After a decent drive and approach, I slid my putt narrowly past the cup.

The 18th at Royal Hague is a grand finale—a par-five from an intimidating, elevated tee. A dune on the left is in play from the drive, and an avenue of trees frames the fairway for the remainder of the hole. 

After the intense four-hour walk, we needed all our energy reserves to ensure a tidy finish in front of the photogenic clubhouse's veranda.

And so ended our round at one of Continental Europe’s finest courses. It lived up to its reputation in every way.