Golf
Golf & Country Club De Palingbeek
Eekhofstraat 14, 8902 Hollebeke
Organising a round does not book a tee time: book directly with the golf club.
The course
Palingbeek Course
- 18 holes
- Par 72
- Length 6,165 m
- Opened 1991
A few minutes from Ypres and the French border, Golf & Country Club De Palingbeek presents one championship course in countryside whose calm contrasts sharply with its history. Harold J. Baker designed this par 72, opened in 1991, around a principle he expressed consistently: golf should settle naturally into its surroundings rather than impose an alien geometry.
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Architecture
Baker favours quiet integration. Holes follow the ground, use trees as separation and allow water to establish clear limits without multiplying artificial effects. Fairways provide sufficient space for the course to remain welcoming from several tees, yet their angles materially change how greens are presented.
Bunkers and shorelines frame landing areas, while quick surfaces magnify the most discreet slopes. Variety comes less from spectacular gestures than from the sequence of open spaces, wooded corridors and passages beside water.
The course in detail
The eighteen-hole course plays to par 72 and reaches approximately 6,165 metres from the longest published markers. Fairways cross mature parkland, commonly defined by trees and several water hazards. Putting surfaces are known for quick pace and careful maintenance, increasing the exactness required by approaches.
Some areas provide welcoming width, before a tighter corridor or shoreline immediately places the next target in a more demanding frame. Natural contour was retained and transitions between holes remain gentle.
Address · Eekhofstraat 14, 8902 Hollebeke, Belgique
Editorial source: The Round public Atlas
The club
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History
Club and course were founded in 1991. Baker, a professional for more than thirty years before becoming a respected architect, was asked to place eighteen holes within the existing landscape. That relatively recent origin does not diminish the depth of the setting: the Ypres region still carries the traces, memorials and shaped terrain of the First World War.
The golf course adopts continuity with nature rather than monumental storytelling. Over time the club developed its facilities, visitor welcome and environmental work.
Club experience
The range includes Toptracer, while putting, short-game areas, shop and dining complete the day. The clubhouse has the active but unforced atmosphere of a regional country club. Proximity to Ypres makes it easy to combine a round with a historical or cultural visit, provided the particular sensitivity of the surrounding landscape is respected.
Geography and setting
The club is at Hollebeke, south of Ypres, in the open countryside of West Flanders. The Palingbeek name belongs to a local landscape of streams and woodland, close to ground profoundly marked by the First World War. The golf property itself feels peaceful, with screens of trees, pasture and long views towards farmland.
Contour is moderate, yet there is enough level change to vary both perspective and the movement of water. The French border lies nearby, placing the club at a meeting point for Flemish, Walloon, French and international golfers while retaining a strong identity rooted in the Ypres countryside.
Where to play
Golf
Club affiliation
Declaring an affiliation gives you no management rights.