Golf
Royal Golf Club of Belgium
Château de Ravenstein, 3080 Tervuren
Organising a round does not book a tee time: book directly with the golf club.
2 courses
Ravenstein Course
- 18 holes
- Par 73
- Length 6,150 m
- Opened 1906
Royal Golf Club of Belgium : Arboretum Course is royal golf within an arboretum, an eighteen-hole course opened in 1906 and associated with Seymour Dunn; Tom Simpson; modernisation Martin Hawtree. At par 73 and environ 6 033 m, its identity comes from the direct relationship between design, ground and landscape. The property reads as a continuous composition rather than a collection of signature holes: transitions, views and the maturity of the site matter as much as its grandest moments.
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Architecture
The course retains the cadence of an old major parkland: framed tees, subtle elevation changes and greens whose angle is revealed late. Trees have botanical as well as architectural value; recent work seeks to restore light, lines and bunkering. Architectural coherence comes from the dialogue between width, orientation and vegetation.
Green entrances do not all answer to the same axis, and bunkers provide depth cues. That variety creates a descriptive design in which the shape of the land remains visible before difficulty asserts itself.
The course in detail
The ground is moderately but continually rolling, with fairways framed by mature trees and relatively compact greens. Side slopes and botanical corridors create more precision than the par 73’s length alone. Woodland edges create corridors of changing width rather than a sequence of green walls.
Bunkers, any water features and green complexes remain legible within that frame, while low branches or isolated trunks express maturity without making the setting oppressive.
Editorial source: The Round public Atlas
Parc Course
- 9 holes
- Par 35
- Length 2,600 m
Within Royal Golf Club of Belgium, Parc Course is presented as a 9-hole circuit at Tervuren in Flemish Brabant.
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Architecture
Across Parc Course, the composition arranges 9 holes at par 35.
The course in detail
The playing profile of Parc Course brings together 9 holes at par 35 on parkland ground.
Editorial source: The Round public Atlas
The club
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History
The Royal Golf Club of Belgium was founded by Leopold II in 1906 and was Royal from inception. Seymour Dunn claimed the original design; Tom Simpson influenced its 1928 evolution. Martin Hawtree led modernisation from 1990, followed by a Russell Talley bunker programme in 2023-25.
Contemporary work has sought to recover the clarity of historic lines while meeting modern maintenance needs. That continuity explains why the older identity remains perceptible despite change.
Club experience
Visitors may be accepted on weekdays, never without prior confirmation, with handicap certificate and stricter limits on the Arboretum. Historic clubhouse, traditional dress and etiquette form part of the experience. The club remains private but opens selected weekday times to visitors by arrangement and under conditions.
Availability, handicap, dress and accompaniment must be confirmed directly before any journey.
Geography and setting
At Tervuren outside Brussels, the Arboretum Course crosses the historic Ravenstein estate beside the geographical arboretum created under Leopold II. Beeches, oaks, rare conifers and park vistas define the setting. Clearings make changes of scale immediately perceptible, while the subsoil determines firmness and the speed at which surfaces recover after rain.
The seasons are clearly marked: bright spring, occasionally hot summer, coloured autumn and winter that may restrict opening.
Where to play
Golf
Club affiliation
Declaring an affiliation gives you no management rights.