Cleydael Golf & Country Club

Overall, this is a better than average golf course, but as is typical of these Paul Rodin designed courses in Belgium...nothing terrible....nothing great...and a lot of mostly average, unmemorable holes. That being said, the course was in good condition all around and it's an easy walk over flat terrain. The clubhouse is nice to look at (historic chateau), but frankly, I don't think it functions well as a clubhouse...and the fact that you can't have a meal outside on the terrace is a negative for most golfers if its a nice day and you want to enjoy the fresh air. (you can only eat inside). Most memorable holes are the par 5 hole no. 6 and 12 as well as the part no. 9. The doglegs enter into your club selection off the tee, so do not think you need the driver on every par 4. I used my hybrid off the tee on at least 1/2 the holes, and played to a pretty good score.

Aangekomen in of op een leuke oprit in kasseitjes kom je op meerdere parkings terecht , plaats genoeg. het is op zeer korte afstand van het secretariaat en clubhouse. Naar de drivingrange (gratis balletjes) langs de supergrote chipping en bunker green , naar afslag één alwaar nog een grote puttinggreen ligt; Mooie borden aan de teeboxen en genoeg afvalbakken en pijlen steeds naar de volgende afslag.Het terrein lag er van begin tot einde teebox/fairway/green fantastisch mooi bij,er komt regelmatig water in de baan aan te pas,vele bunkers en leuke dogleggs. Het was een super terrein en moie afsluiter op een zeer mooi terras.

A short drive to the south of Antwerp is the stunning Cleydael Golf and Country Club. Set on a castle estate with beautiful old buildings, it is a really pretty sight. As you arrive you drive over the moat surrounding the old castle and make yourself acquainted in the pro shop in the restaurant which are the old outbuildings of the castle itself. Note to visitors, the restaurant is closed on a Monday! Bit of a shame but nevermind, we popped down the road to the local garage to get some snacks for the course. After checking in at the pro shop we headed to the range, a lovely facility with unlimited use of balls and mats to hit off. Cleydael is a parkland course, flat in its nature with plenty of twists, turns and dog-legs to navigate through and around. Playing in October and well into Autumn the trees were a stunning mix of ambers and reds, the photos of which don’t do it justice. I was very impressed with the conditioning of the course, the fairways were lush, not sodden given a rainy few days before and the greens were firm and receptive, something hard to achieve with many hidden from the sun by the vast number of trees. Playing on a Monday afternoon the course was very quiet, making for a very swift round and at €60 for a weekday round it is pretty good value for money.

Een golfdagje in Belgie. Mooie baan, fantastisch eten en gastvrijheid is boven gemiddeld.

Fairways en greens lagen er fantastisch bij. Bijna tapijtjes. En dit in een erg droge periode. Mooie omgeving en je merkt niks van de A12 in de buurt. Aan elke hole bankjes en vuilbakjes. Niet erg uitdagend wel, geen niveau- verschillen en redelijk rechtdoor. Restaurant is gezellig maar de bediening is amateuristisch. Het eten is vrij eenvoudig en “lomp”. Achteraf is er een terras maar met een bordje : “dit is zelfbediening”. Golfcarts mooi voorhanden als je die nodig zou hebben en een verzorgde installatie vr het poetsen achteraf. Opvallende : beginnerstee is met een mat !