Royal Golf Club Oudenaarde

Royal Golf Club Oudenaarde, also known as Golf & Country Club Oudenaarde, plays across the historic estate of the Castle of Petegem, an imposing 19th-century château built in 1847 that now serves as the clubhouse and restaurant. The setting is the quiet countryside of the Flemish Ardennes, where the River Scheldt winds through the old castle park, and the club stresses the peace of the place: no busy traffic, industry or farming nearby, just centuries-old trees and water.

Since the summer of 2007 the club has offered two full 18-hole courses, something it describes as unique in Flanders. The Kasteel course is a par 71 parkland layout. It opens with hole 1, ‘Captain’s Drive’, played in front of the castle and over the famous castle pond, and finishes with the par-5 18th, ‘Victory Lane’, which ends beside the summer terrace. Two holes on this loop are entirely new par 4s, the 11th ‘Beaulieu’ and the 12th ‘Fisherman’s Corner’, created with golf architect Dimitri Van Hauwaert. Strategic bunkers and several water features protect the greens.

The Anker course is a par 72. It starts at ‘Chalet Baziel’ with a friendly par 5 and ends with a famous par 3 over the castle pond, looking back towards the clubhouse. It includes seven holes that opened in September 2007 along and across the old Scheldt meander known as Elsegem, and a small stream adds challenge when attacking several greens.

Practice facilities include a practice area, a putting green, a chipping green and the four-hole Klooster course, a short loop of two short par 4s and two par 3s about four minutes’ walk from the clubhouse. On Leadingcourses the club currently ranks 7th of 53 courses in Flanders and 10th of 91 in Belgium.

The estate centres on the Castle of Petegem, dating from 1847. The club grew to two 18-hole courses in the summer of 2007, when seven new holes opened on the Anker course in September of that year. The Kasteel course was reworked with architect Dimitri Van Hauwaert, adding two completely new par-4 holes. Today the club describes itself as one of the largest golf clubs in Flanders and as a family club where members and visitors alike feel at home.