Golfclub Delfland (Schipluiden)

Golf should feel easy to start

I’m Marina Romanik, a PGA golf instructor, and I spend my days helping people fall in love with this game. Some come to me nervous, some come after twenty years away from golf. What I notice is always the same: give a player a friendly course and a little confidence, and the smile arrives by the third hole. Golfclub Delfland is one of those friendly places.

Twenty-seven holes, no card needed

Delfland sits in the green polder country at Abtsrechtseweg 1 in Schipluiden, in Zuid-Holland. It is a parkland course — soft, open land with trees and grass rather than dunes — and it runs to 27 holes with a par of 72. That number matters more than people think. Twenty-seven holes means three loops of nine, so you are not locked into one shape of day. An hour and a half free? Play nine. A whole morning? Play eighteen. Feeling strong? Keep going.

The club is pay-and-play, and this is the part I want every beginner to hear. You do not need a handicap. You do not need a GVB card in your pocket. You book online, you pay your green fee, you walk to the first tee. Nine holes is €37, eighteen is €68.50. For a new golfer, this freedom is a gift — no committee, no proving yourself first, just golf.

The difficulty is moderate, which is exactly the sweet spot for a course you want to enjoy rather than survive. Good players will find enough to think about across 27 holes. Newer players will find room to breathe.

Practise, then play, then eat

What I like about Delfland is that it’s a complete club, not only a course. There is a driving range and a putting green, so you can warm up properly instead of arriving cold at the first tee — honestly, ten minutes on the putting green changes a whole round. There is a golf academy on site and a pro shop for whatever you forgot at home. And when you finish, the restaurant is waiting.

The club is NGF-affiliated, and it runs a junior programme. I always look for this. A club that makes space for children is a club that thinks about the future of golf, and it usually means the atmosphere on the course is relaxed and generous.

Best for

Delfland is a lovely choice if you are still building your game and want a course that welcomes you without asking questions at the door. It suits families with junior golfers. It suits expats living in the Randstad who want somewhere straightforward to book and play in English-speaking company. And it suits anyone who simply wants flexible golf — nine holes on a Tuesday evening, all 27 on a free Saturday.

A few lessons, a better day

Here is my honest opinion after years of teaching. A course like Delfland gives you room — space to swing, a fair test, no one rushing you. What you do with that room is up to your technique. And technique is not complicated. Grip, stance, balance. We build it step by step, and suddenly the ball goes where you look.

Most golfers I meet don’t need a rebuild. They need two or three small things fixed, and then their score drops and their shoulders relax. Short game first, always — that’s where the strokes hide.

Wherever you play in the Netherlands, a few lessons make the whole day better. I teach at Chi Chi Golf in Utrecht and at Golfschool Hoenderdaal in Driebergen, in Dutch, English, Ukrainian and Russian, for every age and every level. Beginners are my favourite, if I’m allowed a favourite.

Come and see me before your next round. Then go enjoy those 27 holes properly — that’s the whole point of this beautiful game.