Golfclub Edda (Voorthuizen)

Golf should feel like a day off

Some days you want a course that gives you space. No queue on the first tee, no feeling that four groups are watching your backswing. That is my kind of golf, and it is why I like sending players out to the quieter clubs of Gelderland. I’m Marina Romanik, a PGA-certified instructor near Utrecht, and I teach people how to enjoy exactly this — a calm round where your swing has room to breathe.

Parkland with room to breathe

Golfclub Edda lies on the Hunnenweg in Voorthuizen, in the green Gelderse countryside about 37 minutes by car from Utrecht. The club opened in 1989, so the trees have had time to grow into the course. That matters more than people think. Young parkland courses look like fields with sticks in them; a course of this age looks like it belongs there.

Eighteen holes, par 70, laid out in two loops. Par 70 tells you something before you even arrive: this is not a course that gives away shots. It asks for accuracy rather than raw distance, and it rewards the player who thinks about where the ball should finish, not only how far it can go. Golfers rate it 7.2 out of 10 on LeadingCourses across 245 reviews — a solid, steady score from people who came back to write about it.

Edda plays as a proper members’ club. You need a valid handicap, and visitors come on an introduction basis, as the guest of a member. Honestly, I like clubs like this. The pace is gentle, the course stays in good shape, and the round feels like a small event rather than a fast-food lunch.

Green fees sit in the friendly middle: around €42.50 for 18 holes, €32.50 for nine. For a full parkland day out in Gelderland, that’s fair.

Best for the improving player

If you already have your handicap and you want a course that makes you concentrate, this one suits you well. The challenge here is honest — it comes from the design, not from tricks. Players who are building their game will learn a lot in one round.

There is also a driving range, a putting green, a short course and an academy on site, plus a restaurant for afterwards. So you can arrive early, warm up properly, play your holes, and then sit down with a drink and tell the story of the putt that almost dropped. Buggies and clubs are available if you need them, and the club hosts group events — nice if you want to bring colleagues or friends who are new to golf.

A few lessons change the round

Here is what I see all the time. A player books a beautiful course like this, drives an hour, and then spends the first six holes finding their swing. By the time it arrives, half the round is gone.

Preparation fixes that. Not months of it — a few focused sessions. On a par-70 parkland course, your scoring comes from the boring parts: a reliable tee shot you can trust, a wedge you know the distance of, and putting that doesn’t leak two shots per nine. I’ve taught this for years, and the short game is always where confidence comes fastest. Players are surprised how quickly it clicks.

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. Total beginner working toward your GVB? Perfect. Experienced player who wants your ball to stop starting right? Also perfect. Wherever you play afterwards — Edda or anywhere else — a sharper game makes the whole day better.

Book a lesson with me, and let’s get you ready for the round you actually want to play. Bring your questions and your bad habits. I like both.