Dutch Diary 2023 - #4 - Kennemer Golf & Country Club - Kennemerweg 78, 2042 XT Zandvoort, Netherlands
Understated elegance is on show at Kennemer, think Royal Birkdale with fairway roll and significantly more elevation change. A true playing delight and one that I look forward to revisiting rapidly...
Prior to departing Royal Hague, bound for Zandvoort and the delights of The Kennemer, I hastily wolfed down a hearty RH burger, accompanied by the ever present fries and zingy Dutch mayonnaise. It is just as well I refueled, for there would be no time for luxuries such as food in my immediate future.
The road from Wassenaar to Zandvoort winds through the agricultural heartland of central Holland, replete with greenhouses, ubiquitous drainage canals and the tulip fields of the Bollenstreek. Thankfully summer vacations had yet to break out in earnest, nonetheless, Zandvoort appears to be a honey pot for day trippers and holiday makers alike, so be aware that traffic on these mainly single carriageway thoroughfares can be heavy at times.
The Beach House Hotel on Zandvoort’s ample seafront promenade was to be my billet for the remaining two nights of the trip. I would recommend it effusively - the hotel is far enough away from the main drag that guests are offered some semblance of quiet seclusion, but close enough to town so that you are not too far away from the action should you wish to partake in same.
Fortune favoured the forgetful post check-in and constitutional reconnoitre - I had left something in the car and decided to nab it immediately as opposed to wait until the morning…. it is just as well that I did :).
Long story short - keyless rental car - 6pm car wouldn’t open - called Avis - 7.15pm emergency response arrives - advised to call Avis again - Avis shut until next day - apparently Avis TRY HARDER (me hole they do!) - playing 36 next day (tee-time at Kennemer @ 8am) - called emergency response number - had to ask for a supervisor, as computer ‘kept saying no’ - 9pm emergency response arrives again - car towed - new car collected - satnav in Dutch! - return to hotel at 11.30pm….. at least I found out before I tried to set off the next morning!
Kennemer Golf & Country Club abuts the Formula 1 racing circuit at Zandvoort, with its’ seemingly ever present crescendoing sounds of mechanical power. For the traditionalists amongst us, the Zandvoort to Amsterdam railway line also reassuringly skirts the northern side of the property.
Upon its’ foundation in 1910, the Kennemer became only the 5th golf club in the Netherlands. Its’ original 9 holes were located upon the pasture land of De Kruidberg and Huis te Velsen in Sandpoort, situated a little ways to the north of its current location.
In 1925 the Committee of the Kennemer resolved that a new site for golf was needed in order to better serve the needs of its members. The nearby Noordwijksche GC was approached with a view to a merger of the two clubs, this idea foundered due to the additional travel burden that would have been demanded of the Kennemer members in travelling to Noordwijk.
In early 1926 the present site at Zandvoortsch Duin was identified and favourable lease terms were offered by the owners, the Quarles van Ufford family. Soon afterwards, in the sand dunes of Zandvoort, the design firm of Colt, Alison and Morrison would lay out the first of their 10 Dutch courses (8 of which survive to this day). The construction project was undertaken by the Dutch landscaping firm Copijn & Zn with supervision from HS Colt and Kennemer Club Secretary Lex Diemer Kool. The new course opened for play on the 19th of May 1928.
As with many Dutch golf courses the shadow of WW2 cast a pall over the Kennemer property. At one point there were more than 120 German bunkers and associated anti-tank walls strewn across the links.
Throughout the 1950’s the course was lovingly restored utilising the clubs extensive archives of Colt letters, hole descriptions and hand drawn diagrams - these documents take pride of place amongst the clubs archives and are still utilised to guide the future direction of the golf course.
Harry Colt would leave an additional gift to the members of the Kennemer in 1937, namely a routing plan and design of an additional 9 holes. These holes would remain unbuilt until Frank Pennink was commissioned by the club in the 1980’s to create an additional nine holes, now known as the van Hengel or A nine.
The traditional 1920’s clubhouse, replete with thatched roof, sits in a sentinel manner on a hill top with the tripartite opening and closing holes of all 3 nines cascading down and back under the watchful gaze of those enjoying a coffee on the generous clubhouse terrace.
I would play 19 holes at Kennemer, thanks to a false start that saw an inadvertent start on the Van Hengel or A nine. As an aside this nine is named after a former prominent member and golf historian Dr. Steven van Hengel who prior to his death in 1985 wrote extensively on the links between the dutch game of colf and the early golf that was played in Scotland. But more of that in other future dispatches.
The original Colt routing is made up of the B & C courses - also known as the Pennink & Colt 9 nines. Be aware that the club rotates the 18 holes available for visitor paly on a daily basis, so remember to ask the caddymaster what course is in play if you have a particular penchant for the original routing.
Unlike Koninklijke Haagsche & UGC de Pan, Kennemer does not currently appear inside Golf Magazine’s most recent Best Courses in the World list…. however, it cannot be far away. Think Royal Birkdale, with fairway roll and elevation change and you will not be a million miles away from the various golfing flavours on offer.
In his recent book, Golf Architecture for Normal People, Geoff Shackleford gives the reader a recommended measure as to some of the component parts of a great design. To paraphrase, Shack boils it down to 3 simple ideas:
Would you enjoy bringing your dog on a walk around the course?
Can you remember most/all of the holes?
Would you play here every day?
Kennemer is certainly a good walk and if I had a dog I would be delighted for them to accompany me for perambulatory purposes. The course makes sense from a directional perspective, utilises the land in a fascinating manner and creates interest where originally there may have been minimal topographical assistance, particularly towards the outer northern boundary of the site. So it certainly ticks this box.
As I write this piece, I am some 5 weeks removed from my round, I can remember most of the holes… in fact I can vividly remember at least 9 of them…tick number 2.
I would have no problem playing here every day, in fact the Kennemer was probably my favourite links course from the trip, vying for overall favourite course with that other Colt masterpiece at UGC de Pan. I simply cannot wait to return to Zandvoort to reacquaint myself with the Kennemer.
Once again the Cookie Jar Podcast guys released a video on Kennemer G&CC in conjunction with their trip to the Netherlands in late 2022. It’s well worth a watch.