If not for hosting 26 Dutch Opens Hilversum could well be a course few would know. A near neighbour to Utrecht de Pan, Hilversum is very much in its ranking shadows. The current course began life in 1917 to a Henry Burrows 9-hole design. An Englishman, Burrows spent much of his career in Benelux working at various clubs in one capacity or another. His career began at the age of 19 as the pro for Doornsche (later called Utrecht de Pan). He remained at the club until 1919. He would soon go on a run of three Dutch Open victories in 1920 (Kennemer), 1921 (Domburg) & 1923 (Hilversum). Burrows didn’t return to England until shortly before the outbreak of WWII in 1939. Interestingly, Burrows experience sowing courses, Hilversum was the first course in Netherlands to be have sown fairways and greens, late in his career Burrows joined Sutton & Sons, a leading golf seed company. Burrows was head of the Grass Advisory Station in Reading.
In 1928 HS Colt added nine holes to the routing. Of course, changes have been made over time. Guy Campbell worked on the course in the 1950s and more recently Kyle Phillips made some serious and visually obvious alterations. The hole numbering was also changed sometime in the 1960s, I believe. So, we have a mishmash of a course which plays very long; not surprising for a course which has hosted a national Open in recent memory.
We can see immediately that Hilversum is seeking a tidier aesthetic than de Pan or Eindhoven. HJowever, the heather is healthy and plentiful. Similar to de Pan, the course opens and closes with par 5s. The second is where things become more interesting. There is a break in the fairway which will encourage many to lay back.
Then course was extremely green from so much rainfall throughout 2024.
We cross the small lane for the third. This section of the course has two holes with the 7th being the other. A fairly tight hole which plays over interesting terrain. I like the approach, but the green looks a bit amiss.
We cross another road for batch of holes that come in two bunches; 4-6 and 13-17. I wasn't taken by the long two-shot 4th. The 200ish yard 5th didn't strike me as special either. Below is a look from well in front of the tee. The green leans right a bit so care must be taken with a long club to conttrol the run-out.
More to follow.
Ciao