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**** Waterpark Belterwiede – Wanneperveen, Overijssel, Netherlands
Due to COVID, we cancelled our trip to the mediterranean and decided to book a few short holidays in my home country, the Netherlands. So we looked for a nice house in a good location and and area we have not been before…. Venice.
Venice….? It is so peaceful, so different and has such simple beauty that it hardly seems real – gently gliding along small canals past old but pretty thatched-roof farmhouses. You can turn down a “side street” (another small canal) and drift under a wooden bridge where an elderly resident may be strolling over to see a neighbor. No this is not Venice, or Amsterdam. It is too quiet, too serene and remote. It is so calm that its nickname of the “Dutch Venice” may give a false impression of size and crowds and commercialism.
Here in Holland’s water village of Giethoorn the loudest sound you can normally hear is the quacking of a duck or the noise made by other birds. Giethoorn is in the province of Overijssel in the east of the Netherlands, a green and still area.
The holiday homes of Waterpark Belterwiede have the look of a cosy farmhouse. The park is small (approx. 60 houses, with maybe half available for rent) and the surroundings are delightful. All holiday homes are located on three small peninsulas directly on the water.
From the terrace you can look at the boat you’ve brought with you or which you’ve rented from a local company (we rented at Nijenhuis, located next to the park). Don’t forget your fishing rod (I did catch different white fish as well as a few pikes), and something to drink en route of course! Interesting enough, the water depth is between 1 and 1.5 meter everywhere so very safe.
As a water fan, you’ll be in your element here. There’s plenty to do by bike too. Picturesque Giethoorn is just around the corner, as well as Steenwijk, Meppel and Zwolle, with its charming old town, all within half an hour drive.
The booking site offers the possibility to order a fresh breakfast everyday, you can rent electric bikes and more, direct at the reception or direct with your booking.
*** Golfclub Landgoed Bergvliet, Oosterhout, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
One of my partners at the time of EVault/Seagate was Tarq-PCI (thank you Peter). Together with a colleague of mine I played Bergvliet many times and enjoyed the course.
The course if an open course with here and there some links course effects. It is relative easy to play but challenging at the same time. Now one thing, if you don’t like water, you should skip Bergvliet because there is plenty.
The course is located near Oosterhout in the western part of Brabant.
**** De Herkenbosche, Herkenbosch, Limburg, Netherlands
The former Golf & COuntry Club Herkenbosch, a Burggolf course, changed owners in 2016 and is now called “De Herkenbosche“.
Isn’t it great when you arrive at the 18th hole during a tournament you organized yourself, the man with the video camera there and you make a put over 10 meters. Too good to be trough. Yes that chance was close to zero but it happened to me.
Herkenbosch is a very nice park style championship golf course and has overall a good quality. The price in high season is €70-€80 but they als have nice package deals. They also have a par 3 course, nice for a quick practice round.
The course has some nice variations with dust dunes, water and of course a lot of trees.
When you are in the Limburg region, Herkenbosch is a nice course. In combination with for example Brunssummerheide, you can have a great weekend.
***** Foxhills Country Club & Resort, Ottershaw, United Kingdom
The Foxhills Resort provides many facilities including a wonderful golf course, wellness, an outdoor swimming pool and much, much more.
I stayed many times in the hotel because my office was close by. After I stayed there for the first time, I realized that our distributor, Exertis Hammer (thanks James!), out of Basingstoke had a business club membership. I think you can already guess, a good reason to play there. Located in the Surrey countryside, with ground over 400 acres, you really have everything you need here.
The hotel itself is not that big, only 66 rooms. That make you are a guest instead of a number. Something of course you can only appreciate. I have not stay there since the rooms were refurbished so one more reason to go back soon. Prices vary between €200,- and €300,- per night, depending of course on season and type of room.
Foxhills offers some of the best golf in Surrey. The three quality golf courses combine parkland and heathland to provide challenges to golfers of every level. The Club’s two 18 hole Championship courses – Longcross and Bernard Hunt – are ranked among the best golf courses in England, and are examples of Surrey golf courses at their best.
The Foxhills Foundation has helped launch the careers of golf stars Paul Casey and Anthony Wall, and the Club is home to the prestigious Senior PGA Professional Championship from 2014 to 2020 and PGA Europro host venue in 2018.
Not only the golf itself is very nice at Foxhills but it is also a great location for a corporate golf event like I had with Hammer in the past.
The combination of a very nice hotel and a fantastic golf course are all the reason to give 5 stars!
**** St. Mellion International Resort, Saltash, Cornwall, United Kingdom
St Mellion Resort sprawls over 450 acres set in peaceful Cornish countryside, and offers top-of-the-range hotel accommodation, sporting and meeting & events facilities. Seamless service and high quality amenities making it the perfect venue for a wedding, corporate events, or a relax break near Plymouth on Devon’s south coast bordering with Cornwall.
The hotel is very modern and offer many facilities from a large swimming pool to a sauna, of course the golf courses and much more. We stayed there on our trip to Devon and Cornwall and it is a nice location to combine a your stay and a round of golf.
**** Royal Mougins Golf Resort, Mougins, Southern France
We booked the Royal Mougins Golf Resort to relax for a week. A very nice 5-star hotel, and one of the best golf courses of Southern France. The resort has been selected 3 years in a row as the best golf hotel in France. What more do you want!
The Royal Mougins was initially just a gold course but later transformed by Ratan CHadha, the owner and prior founder of fashion brand MEXX, into a resort. At the Royal Mougins, you have the main building with many facilities like wellness, bar, restaurant and a large terrace overlooking the golf course.
The people at the desk a very helpful. When we asked them about some beaches to go to, they said the had a special arrangement with La Mome, in Cannes. We went there a few times during our stay. A great beach club for a relaxed stay on the beach with great service, nice food and cold drinks.
The course was when we stayed there in the summer of 2018 in very good shape. Take the time for some pictures at the second hole. a par 3 going down all the way. It is a signature hole!
We had dinner the first night and it was ok but I think that given the rest of the quality of the resort, it should have been better. That said, there are many nice restaurants in the surrounding area. Visiting the old village of Mougins on the to of the mountain is an absolute must.
**** La Quinta Golf, Puerto Banus, Spain
The La Quinta Golf course is part of the Westin Hotel & Resort. From the A7, coming from the north, you leave the road after the H10 hotel/casino. From there, you are at the course in approx. 10 minutes.
Although we did not stay in the hotel, the facilities, terras, bar and restaurant are also used by the golfers. When we were there last time, the introduction event for two new BMW M-series took place.
La Quinta is not cheap but worth while your money. A beautiful course with many nice views.
**** Santa Maria Golf & Country Club – Marbella, Spain
There are so many course in this Southern Spain, the Costa del Sol / Andalusia region but you always come back to some. Santa Maria is one of those courses. Located close to Marbella, going up the A7 towards Calahonda, you leave the road just after Nikki Beach. Like many course in Spain, the course is surrounded for most part by holiday and more residential homes.
You tee off over the water with a par 4. From there, it is al the way up toward the mountains. Santa Maria does have some very spectaculair holes. I like hole 4 all the way down, hole 11 where you have to choose to lay up easy in front of the water or hit it toward the left. Of course that costed me a ball because I was out of bounce. Course management is not my biggest thing. Really given the short distance, the hole is only 286 meters, no need to take risk. Hole 13 a dog leg par 5 is another favorite for me. When we played there during our autumn break in 2019, the 18th hole became a good one, ending with a nice par.
The terras is a nice place to stay for a cold beer and a bite.
** Golf Club Haverleij, Den Bosch, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
De Haverleij is a golf course belonging to the Burggolf group. I played many times at the Haverleij but less and less over the last few years because it is to crowded. Where it normally takes four to five hours to play 18 holes, it took us over six hours on many occasions and one time, on a Sunday, we stopped after more than 3 hours playing the first nine.
The first nine holes are straight forward and not very exciting. Even so, some of the wholes are even dangerous in my opinion. Especially when you tee off from the second and third. If you slice, you can easily hit someone on the green of the other whole. The second nine are much nicer. Water, more green and better looking overall.
If you want to play a Burggolf course, think about Purmerend, Nunspeet or one of the other courses and skip the Haverleij.
*** Dolce Chantilly, Vineuil-Saint-Firmin, France
We booked Dolce Chantilly via Pin-high. A very impressive building with good facilities. Dolce Chantilly is located 40 kilometer north of Paris is a panoramic area in the middle of impressive forests and close to beautiful castles. I played golf there with my sun and we enjoyed our stay and the course (although the course itself was ok but nothing special in my opinion).
The hotel has multiple restaurants and the food selection and quality is very nice. The rooms were good with all the facilities you expect.
Dolce Chantilly also offer a fitness center with an indoor swimming pool, sauna, tennis courts, and many more sporting facilities.
Places to Stay, Eat, Drink & Play 