Hulencourt Golf Club

Hulencourt Golf Club strikes a balance between its best traditions and new energy We’re not trying to be a royal club with all their traditions, nor a very modern commercial club,” explains James Beckman, chief operations officer of Hulencourt Golf Club. “We are a mix, taking the best traditions of golf – the honesty of its players, its esprit du corps – and providing them to clients in ways that change with the times and our members’ needs.”

For two years, Beckman has turned his passion for the game into a career, working closely with owner Patrick Solvay to renew a club known as much for its international membership as for its discreet, intimate atmosphere. Together they have breathed new life into the 25-year-old golf club, investing heavily in the course and maintenance, bringing in Belgian professional golfer and coach Jérôme Theunis (coach to Nicolas Colsaerts), redeveloping the clubhouse and placing a renewed focus on high-quality service. The result is exactly what drew Beckman to the game in the first place: elegance, honesty and conviviality.

The right size

Better does not mean bigger at Hulencourt. The club purposefully caps membership at 550. A smaller size also means more green time for members. “We always want the course to be easily accessible to the members. We don’t want to be a club where you have to book a week in advance. Here you can often turn up and just walk on to the course. That is a great luxury in the times we live in,” says Beckman. Lying only 30 minutes from the centre of Brussels, Hulencourtis a natural respite of peace and tranquillity away from the city.

At the same time, a meal in the clubhouse or a round on the short-course has a lively, comfortable, family-like atmosphere that makes it easy to fit in, relax and make new friends. “Above all, it’s a welcoming club, it’s a family club. Because it’s small, you don’t get lost here.”

A course for all seasons

The 60-hectare Hulencourt course is open seven days a week. Because of an early investment in a good drainage system, the course is playable all year round – a particular advantage in the muddy, often wet landscape surrounding Brussels. On average, the club is closed only seven days each year. That’s 51 weeks of playing on lush, beautifully maintained summer greens. In addition to a new covred practice roof, to protect golfers from inclement weather or too much sun, Hulencourt is also one of the only clubs in Belgium to offer indoor practice facilities.

Your first swings

For those who have never picked up a club, Hulencourt offers the Jérôme Theunis Golf Academy. With lessons in English, French and Dutch, the one-year academy programme is led by Theunis. At the end of the academy, you receive your certificate and handicap that allow you to play on the regular course.

Beyond the green

At Hulencourt, life off the fairway is just as important as that on. This is why the club has recently redeveloped its restaurant and bar, bringing in a new chef, Alain Neckebroeck, Maitre Cuisinier de Belgique, and a barman trained at the Hilton Park Lane in London. It’s also perhaps the only golf club in Belgium to boast its very own international chamber orchestra – a passion of Solvay’s – which practises and performs on the club grounds.

Celebrating difference

From its beginnings, Solvay envisioned a club where expatriates feel at home. Today, 30% of members are expatriates, of 32 different nationalities, and English and French are spoken widely throughout the club. With diversity come different styles of playing and different styles of being. At Hulencourt, all are welcome. “Our diverse membership lends an open, more relaxed attitude. Yes, we like to stick to our ways, we like people to be well turned out, well dressed, but more than anything we like them to be themselves,” says Beckman.

This text was provided by Hulencourt Golf Club