Tour Leopold, Ardenne 6,
Houyet, Ardennes 5560
Office
+32 (0)82 666 228Pro shop
+32 (0)82 666 228Fax
+32 (0)82 667 453Website
Visit websiteGolf pro
Pierre DelmasThe Course:
18 holes. Tree-lined parkland. Undulating terrain - several slopes to climb (more so on the back-nine).
Surroundings:
Woodland.
Designer:
Seymour Dunn
50.198324
5.014449
38 km S of Namur
From the A4 - E411 motorway (Namur - Luxembourg) take exit 22 (Houyet / Rochefort) and follow the N94 direction Dinant. After 4.7 km (and just 300 metres after the Hotel Marquisette on the right) turn left into Golf (between small royal-emblemmed posts). Follow small road for 1.4 km into golf.
Royal Golf Club du Chateau Royal d'Ardenne: Occupying its splendid look-out position over the forested hills of the Ardennes, this is another in the impressive line of Belgium's historic Royal golf courses.
This woodland layout lacks some of the golfing majesty of several of its royal cousins (such as Antwerp, Limburg, Ostend, Sart-Tilman, Spa, or Zoute) but "Royal Ardenne" is full of good golfing challenges, plenty of tightish and tricky par-4s, usually good green-keeping and small, immaculate greens.
Trees of many varieties line the often tightish fairways, nowhere more so than at the par-4 2nd, where towering pine trees form an impenetrable wall on the leftside of a tight corridor, along which your straightest of tee shots must fly. Elsewhere there is a tad more breathing room, but never too much it must be said.
The back-to-back par-5 5th and 6th holes, played hard on the heels of back-to-back par-3s, bring you round past the wonderful Leopold III Tower (in which the clubhouse is located). Next up is the extravagantly doglegging par-4 7th, as U-shaped a hole as ever there was.
The par-4 10th sets you off on the back-nine loop, which in days of old was played as the front-nine. Here you'll find remnants of the old estate and hints of its "glory days", when the estate was home to one of Belgium's most opulent Stay&Play venues (see our Did You Know? section below).
Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.
Must book in advance. Maximum handicap: 36.
Players generally walk this course.
Good
In years gone by Chateau Royal d'Ardenne was the site of one of the most luxurious hotels in Belgium ... the Gleneagles of the Ardenne region. The rich and famous used to come here not just to play on the 12-hole golf course, but also for other sports activities such as tennis, hunting (la chasse), shooting and fishing (la peche).
A fire in the hotel started the resort's decline, which eventually culminated in the complete demolition of the grandiose hotel building. All that is left nowadays are some intriguing constructions alongside the opening holes on the course - a chapel, esplanade, fountain and statues - and the wonderful Tour (tower) de Leopold III, home to the golf clubhouse. In the clubhouse bar you'll find many pictures of the original resort hotel and the fire that caused its demise.
King Albert II conferred the Royal prefix on Chateau d'Ardenne GC in 2000. In Belgium 13 golf clubs are permitted by royal prerogative to use the "Royal" prefix. They are: Antwerp, Anderlecht, Bercuit, Chateau d'Ardenne, des Fagnes (Spa), Hainaut, Latem, Limburg, Ostend, GC de Belgique (Ravenstein), Sart Tilman, Waterloo and Zoute.
Sanzinnes 1, 5560 Houyet, nr. Dinant
+32 (0)82 666 429
Visit websiteLa Marquisette, formerly a Gendarmerie, is a family hotel situated between Dinant and Rochefort at the entrance of the Ardennes, and next to the entrance to Royal Chateau d'Ardennes golf.
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Royal Chateau d'Ardennes (1 km)
No
rempart d'Albeau 16, 5500 Dinant
+32 (0)82 211 500
Visit websiteSituated on the banks of the River Meuse in the centre of Dinant.
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No
Royal Chateau d'Ardenne
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Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available
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