Colt in Europe cont'd: - Koninklijke Haagsche GC (Royal The Hague)***pics!

[Cristian]

Cristian

I keep going back over these pix.  The course looks awesome!  Though, it does look severely narrow on a lot of holes.  How does it play in a decent wind?

Ciao

Although the holes are not wide, the course is still very much playable in high winds (which it should, as these are very common in these parts). I think the contours make the holes look narrower than they are, and also there is usually a safe side to miss, where the rough does not mean reload but offers a chance for recovery. Also some holes will offer broader landing areas at 3-wood length offering the golfer the option to not go flat out and choose to play a longer second thus lowering the risk of a reload. Electing which club to play from the tee is a very important part of the strategies of the holes on this course. There are many short cuts and bite-offs, but if you play for all of them most players will ruin their scorecard; if you play the percentages and strategies fitting your skill, the course is playable even in high winds, something that goes for most links, but perhaps even more so for Haagsche.

[Scott Warren]

I bags Cristian as my fourball partner for Buda 2010!

[Tom_Doak]

Very OT, but as it happens, I've been to Haagsche twice.  The first time it was with my dad and a business associate of his, who had lived next to the course for most of his life.  During the war, he and his family had a garden out on the golf course, where the Germans would not see that they were breaking the rules of occupation.

[Cristian]

Very OT, but as it happens, I've been to Haagsche twice.  The first time it was with my dad and a business associate of his, who had lived next to the course for most of his life.  During the war, he and his family had a garden out on the golf course, where the Germans would not see that they were breaking the rules of occupation.

Now I wonder about the second time! (especially since I remember reading somewhere that you mentioned not having walked or played the course).

[Tom_Doak]

Christian:

I've walked the course but not played it.  [It's reviewed in The Confidential Guide.]  My other visit was in the summer of 1983, just before I headed back home from my year in the UK. 

[Frank Pont]

Tom: did you notice areas where Frank Pennink had been working on the course at that time (greens 1,2 and 13)? Out of curiosity; what was the name of the business associate, and did he play a role in the club?