In the beginning 'De Dommel' was just the old nine holes designed by Colt. Later it became twelve holes of which you played six holes twice to come to a full round of 18 holes. All holes were situated in the beautiful woodlands of the domain 'Zegenwerp'.

I started playing a few years ago (twelve hole set-up), as a members guest, and have been invited to play the course on a regular basis since then.

Golf was fun: never overly long, never overly difficult. But always a challenge to card a decent score: some holes require sufficient accuracy & length of the tee, the fairways are not very wide and the greens have subtle contours to master. And the picturesque clubhouse awaits you to cater for your 19th hole needs. De Dommel is a old fashioned little golf enclave for the members (and their guests).

In the ever present desire to become a proper 18 holes golf course, the golf club acquired some farmland across the road of the estate and six additional holes were created and 'De Dommel' became what they have dreamed of: a full-scale 18 holes golf course.

When the six holes opened for play in 2004, it was also the start of a long-lasting debate about the character of the added holes compared with the existing ones. I noticed that a lot of members stick to the original routing: going from hole 1 directly to hole 8, skipping the additional six holes. I assume that over time the new holes will blend in a bit better, although I must admit, it is a rather cramped piece of land for six proper golf holes.

Having said that, being a members guest for a day at De Dommel is a treat I will not turn down light hearted.

But if you are looking for a round of golf as a visitor, I would consider other alternatives.

I have a suspicion that De Dommel made the top 25 of the Netherlands based on their history and the quality of the original 9 holes, rather than their current 18 holes offering.

OCB