Zuid Limburgse

Location: Mechelen, Netherlands
Project: Renovation of 18-hole course

Zuid Limburgse, in the far south-east of the Netherlands, has nine holes that were originally designed by Martin Hawtree’s father Fred in the 1960s, and nine more were added by Belgian architect Paul Rolin in the 1980s.

Just a few kilometres from both the German and Belgian borders, the course occupies an appealing piece of property in an area that is quite hilly and undulating.

One nine occupies mature woodland, while the other is mostly located in pretty open former agricultural land. Part of By Caspar’s work as consultant to the club is to make the two nines feel more compatible.

For example, the downhill second hole, the first in the open field, has been redesigned to make the green site sit more comfortably in its surroundings. And at the long uphill par-three eleventh, almost 200 metres By Caspar has reshaped and extended the fairway on the high side of the green, in the process opening up a route for golfer to hit a long, running approach to the hole.

Hawtree’s routing returns to the clubhouse at both the ninth and eighteenth. There is 50-60 metres of ground between the two, and By Caspar reshaped the greens, and the dead ground between, to create the impression that the two greens back onto each other. From both fairways, this gives the optical illusion of a long double green. It’s only when you get close to either putting surface you see the gap in between.

Read more in a July 2015 article about Zuid Limburgse project in Golf Course Architecture.

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