Colt's KENNEMER G&CC: Benelux Tour 2024

[Sean_A]

Probably better known as the recent home of the Dutch Grand Prix, the Zandvoort track has hosted the race on 34 occasions. The 2024 winner was the young English/Belgian driver for McLaren, Llando Norris.  Just to the southeast of the track, another well-known attraction is nestled in the dunes set back from the beach and town, Kennemer G&CC. The course and town were badly damaged during World War II in the German effort to build and fortify the Atlantic Wall against the inevitable allied continental invasion. Well over a 100 bunkers and battlements were built throughout the course in addition to an anti-tank wall. Many remnants were buried under dunes, but a few bunkers remain to this day.  One such example is just off the 3rd tee.


The original 1910 Kennemer G&CC course was abandoned for a new 1928 HS Colt design which covered a fraction of the original dune system in the area. Colt’s first design in the Netherlands included 27 holes, but only 18 were originally built (B&C nines). The A nine wasn’t built until 1985 by Frank Pennink, a well-respected architect of Netherland lineage. Pennink made only one change to the original routing, the 6^th. Over the years changes were made by D Steel & Martin Hawtree. In recent years Frank Pont has been the consulting architect.

Host to 23 Dutch Opens, Kennemer is a proud club and regained its place in major international golf in 2006 by hosting the Dutch Open after a long break. The most famous winner of the Kennemer events was none other than Seve Ballesteros. After storming onto the golfing stage with a magnificent showing at the 1976 Birkdale Open, Seve would grab his cardinal professional win at the Dutch Open three weeks later and win the European Tour Order of Merit. Sadly, this would be Seve’s only Dutch Open triumph, but he eventually won 50 European Tour events and the Order of Merit five more times. Its heartening to see Ken Brown's name on the board.


A Colt map of the Kennmer prior to the construction of the A 9.


The current map.


Kennemer scorecard. We played the B&C routing, the orginal Colt course.


Dead straight and downhill, the opener is a stern hole mitigated somewhat by a gathering green....if the approach is accurate.


The approach was blind for me; below is a closer look at the green.


Looking back to the tee.


A nasty hole short hole, the 2nd is of modest length, but the false front/firm green combo is plenty of challenge.


The hole below and in the background is the 16th on the C 9. I must say the concept of three nines is not one I have much time for. I much prefer an 18 hole course and a relief 9 holer.


More to follow.

Ciao

[Tommy Williamsen]

Thanks for doing this, Sean. Kennemer is well known to GCA, but unknown to the average traveler, who concentrates their links golf to GB&I. The course was both charming and challenging. I loved it and it should be a contender for top 100 in the world.


I've told this story previously. On a trip to England for a speaking engagement, I purposely arranged an eight-hour layover at Schipol. I took a train to Zandvoort and a cab to the course. I played the Colt and Pennick nines and was so glad I took the time and effort to get there. The biggest problem was the return trip. I got on the wrong train and got to the airport too close for comfort.

[Sean_A]

You are welcome Tommy.

Kennemer tour cont

The par five 3rd continues the march away from the house. The impressive view of the surrounding dunes is impressive from the tee.


Its not uncommon to see interesting terrain marooned in the rough.


It can pay dividends to remain on high ground for the approach.


The course flows down to flatter terrain adjacent to the railroad tracks for holes 4-6. A lovely short two-shotter, the 4th moves left. The fairway seems to plunge donw toward the green which is raised.


I like the hollow shy of the green.


Kennemer is replete with interetsing degrees of doglegs. Another short par 4, the fifth moves right toward the property line. The green tilts away from the bunkers.


The 6th gives us another stimulating green site. My impression of Kennemer is that it didn't look or feel like an old links.


More to follow.

Ciao

[Sean_A]

Kennemer tour cont

The final hole along the tracks, the 7th is a bit different because of the blind tee shot and large bunker fronting the large green.




A solid par 3, the 8th is about 170 yards uphill.


A look at the green from the 9th tee. The plateau nature of the green is more evident from this angle.


The 9th is probably the best hole on the front 9. The hole runs up a funnel of dunes and more reminiscent of some UK&I links.


The club could probably do with clearing away the rogue bushes and trees to present a crisper aesthetic.


More to follow.

Ciao

[Sean_A]

Kennemer Tour Cont



The back nine begins with a cracking downhill hole. The 10th more than reminds of Purbeck's 5th. From on high we drive blindly downhill.


If the corner of the dogleg is not reached the approach is uncomortbale over broken ground to an unreceptive green.




A tough par 4 playing downhill, the 11th is not only long, but the green is a nasty target.






Continuing play in a north-easterly direction, the 12th is a rumbling par 5.   


Another challenging green in keen conditions.


We now traverse straight back up the hill in three stages; two par 4s and a par 3. Luckily the par 4s aren't yardage taxing, the 13th is about 320 yards.




A look at the green from near 14 tee. The fairway cut lines are a bit screwy.


More to follow.

Ciao

[Sean_A]

Kennemer tour cont

The 14th is perhaps too similar to the previous hole. Its longer, but the uphill nature is the same. The green is good though!


Given the 2nd hole, I have a tough time getting behind the short 15th. To top it off the bunkering is wholly unsuited to the landform.


As the hole looked in 1930. Not only is the bunkering different, but the green now looks as though its front was lifted to create more a shelf green. I wonder too if the green isn't smaller today.


The green from near the 15th tee.


More to follow.

Ciao

[Adam Lawrence]

The bunkering on Kennemer's fifteenth is shocking. I know there have been attempts to persuade the club to restore the hole; so far without success. Eventually I hope it happens. Along with the eighth at St George's Hill it is possibly the Colt hole most obviously in need of restoration.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

I wonder if there is a massive bunker buried under the 15th green complex just like the 2nd.  The 2nd is raised 3+ feet because the bunker was too well constructed to blow up. These bunkers survived, literally, tons of bombs, and to remove them would be a very difficult process.

[Ally Mcintosh]

The bunkering on Kennemer's fifteenth is shocking. I know there have been attempts to persuade the club to restore the hole; so far without success. Eventually I hope it happens. Along with the eighth at St George's Hill it is possibly the Colt hole most obviously in need of restoration.

A very misguided attempt to “restore” what was there. I much preferred the single and stark bunker that these three had been combined into when I last visited 15 years ago.

[Simon Barrington]

The bunkering on Kennemer's fifteenth is shocking. I know there have been attempts to persuade the club to restore the hole; so far without success. Eventually I hope it happens. Along with the eighth at St George's Hill it is possibly the Colt hole most obviously in need of restoration.

A very misguided attempt to “restore” what was there. I much preferred the single and stark bunker that these three had been combined into when I last visited 15 years ago.

That must have looked quite Gleneagles-esque?


You can see what was being attempted but perhaps not bold enough, when one looks at the scale and edges in the B&W.


BTW - The image from Sean could also very easily be used interchangeably on the "Your thoughts on uphill approaches to angled and sloped greens" Thread that is running concurrently?


Cheers

[Sean_A]

The bunkering on Kennemer's fifteenth is shocking. I know there have been attempts to persuade the club to restore the hole; so far without success. Eventually I hope it happens. Along with the eighth at St George's Hill it is possibly the Colt hole most obviously in need of restoration.

A very misguided attempt to “restore” what was there. I much preferred the single and stark bunker that these three had been combined into when I last visited 15 years ago.

Ally

I guess my reply is obvious. There is absolutely no need for sand on this hole. The older version looks better, but the distance between the sand and the green looks weird to me. My guess is that the sand is meant to help distinguish this hole from the 2nd. The real issue is there shouldn’t be two short holes this similar on the course. If feels like this hole is complete filler.

Ciao

[Ally Mcintosh]

The bunkering on Kennemer's fifteenth is shocking. I know there have been attempts to persuade the club to restore the hole; so far without success. Eventually I hope it happens. Along with the eighth at St George's Hill it is possibly the Colt hole most obviously in need of restoration.

A very misguided attempt to “restore” what was there. I much preferred the single and stark bunker that these three had been combined into when I last visited 15 years ago.

Ally

I guess my reply is obvious. There is absolutely no need for sand on this hole. The older version looks better, but the distance between the sand and the green looks weird to me. My guess is that the sand is meant to help distinguish this hole from the 2nd. The real issue is there shouldn’t be two short holes this similar on the course. If feels like this hole is complete filler.

Ciao

The interim version - one large flat bottomed bunker - was preferable to both the original and “restored” versions. It was more geometric and suited the hole. It would have likely developed from practical reasons because of what I suspect was a divot filled foot of the slope. It was quite MacRaynoresque….


The new bunkers are at the wrong scale. They are not right.

[Sean_A]

The bunkering on Kennemer's fifteenth is shocking. I know there have been attempts to persuade the club to restore the hole; so far without success. Eventually I hope it happens. Along with the eighth at St George's Hill it is possibly the Colt hole most obviously in need of restoration.

A very misguided attempt to “restore” what was there. I much preferred the single and stark bunker that these three had been combined into when I last visited 15 years ago.

Ally

I guess my reply is obvious. There is absolutely no need for sand on this hole. The older version looks better, but the distance between the sand and the green looks weird to me. My guess is that the sand is meant to help distinguish this hole from the 2nd. The real issue is there shouldn’t be two short holes this similar on the course. If feels like this hole is complete filler.

Ciao

The interim version - one large flat bottomed bunker - was preferable to both the original and “restored” versions. It was more geometric and suited the hole. It would have likely developed from practical reasons because of what I suspect was a divot filled foot of the slope. It was quite MacRaynoresque….


The new bunkers are at the wrong scale. They are not right.

What you are saying reminds me of the 17th at North Berwick. Although there was a path at the base of the green which became a trench bunker. As you will know, there was a push by the administration to create pot bunkers in the face which was rightfully shouted down by members.

I wonder if the bunkers would look better if they appeared to be dropping from the putting surface ala Dr Mac style rather than reaching toward the putting surface. It would probably cost a bomb to maintain.

Ciao

[Sean_A]

Kennemer tour Cont

A testing hole, the 16th plays to low rumpled ground.




The high green causes some visual deception regarding the green.


The sloping green is excellent. This is certainly one of Kennemer's finest holes.


Predictably, we must now start reclimbing the hill which the house is on. The 17th caps off the short holes. I am not certain the par 3s do much more than serve as good, serviceable linking holes. I expect more from Colt. 


A back breaker finishing hole, the 18th is over 400 uphill yards and is well defended with sand. The bunkers well short of the green will sort out golfers who are greedy beyond their powers. 


A look at the green from near the 16th tee.


Behind the green.


Well, Kennemer is impressive! It was lovely to step out into the open after three games in the trees. Of course the outstanding property is the core of its quality...as it should be. I do have some quibbles such as the short holes and the routing constantly heading up and down the hill. I can only surmise that Colt purposely decided not include sidehill holes. However, there is a good deal of variety and I like how the greens flow with the terrain. I can't point to a hole which is as good as some at Utrecht, but Kennemer doesn't have the weaker holes either. Kennemer is a steady diet of well designed, quality holes...in this way it reminds me of Burnham & Berrow in far off Somerset. And yet the course strikes me as better than this. I think my favourite holes are 2 & 10 and the stretch of 9-12 is superb. I understand those who would be happy to organize a trip based around a game at Kennmer.  2*  2024



The Netherlands impressed me greatly. All the courses were excellent and the houses were handsome as well. We stayed several nights in Haarlem as our base. I recalled it being a brilliant town during my days working in nearby Hillegom. For those interested in the highlights of the big city, Amsterdam is a short train ride away. We never bother going to Amsterdam because Haarlem had everything we needed. We stayed in a city central hotel whose best attribute was the location across the street from Grote Kerk. Underground parking is nearby, but fairly expensive. Restaurants and bars are a plenty, but we didn't come across any which stood out. Although I enjoyed a few Japenese meals at Tatsu.

The next day we headed south for a game at Royal Ostend on the way to Calais to catch the evening train. The original plan was to play Royal Antwerp, but that was foiled for a reason I can't recall.

Previous stops on the 2024 Benelux Tour.

Eindhoven
https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,73230.0.html

Domburg
https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,73225.0.html

Utrecht
https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,73296.0.html

Hilversum
https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,73323.0.html

Future stops on the Tour.

Royal Ostend

Ciao