Schaerweijde Golf (Zeist)

Golf that welcomes you in

Hello, I am Marina Romanik, a PGA golf teacher near Utrecht. My favourite moment in teaching is small: a nervous beginner hits one clean, quiet shot, the ball rises, and suddenly they are grinning. That feeling is why I love this game. Some courses feel like an exam. This one feels like an open door.

A friendly course in the trees

Schaerweijde Golf sits in the calm woods of Zeist, only eight minutes from Utrecht. It is a nine-hole parkland course — par 28, about 1,424 metres — laid out by Alan Rijks and framed on every side by tall trees. Short, green, and peaceful. You walk it in an easy afternoon, and the birds are often louder than the traffic.

What I like most is how open it is to everyone. This is a pay-and-play course, so you do not need a handicap (GVB) to play here. You simply book a tee time online and pay the green fee on arrival — €27.50 for nine holes, or €40 for the full round, where you play the loop twice for a proper 18. No membership, no card, no pressure. For a first course, this is exactly what a beginner wants.

The nine holes are gentle and honest, which makes them a joy for new players and juniors. A par of 28 means mostly short holes, so you get to the green quickly and you make real scores fast — and nothing builds confidence like a real score. The club runs a dedicated junior programme, so children have a warm place to fall in love with golf at their own pace. There is a floodlit driving range too, which I truly appreciate in our dark Dutch winters: you can keep your swing sharp at six o’clock in January when the sun has long gone home.

Around the course you have everything you need to feel comfortable — a golf academy, a pro shop, a restaurant with a terrace for coffee or something warm after your round, and lockers and showers. It is open all year, so this course is ready whenever you are.

Many new golfers tell me the same thing: they were scared everyone would watch them and judge every swing. On a quiet, short course like this one, tucked among the trees, that fear melts away in the first ten minutes. You relax, you breathe, you swing — and golf becomes fun instead of frightening.

Play it well, with a little help

A course this welcoming is even better when your swing feels reliable. That is where I come in. I teach at Chi Chi Golf in Utrecht and at Golfschool Hoenderdaal in Driebergen — both an easy drive from Zeist — and I would love to help you get ready to enjoy Schaerweijde and every course after it.

We start simple. Grip, stance, balance, and one calm swing you can trust. I teach all ages and levels, from complete beginners to players who want to lower their handicap, and I give lessons in English, Dutch, Ukrainian and Russian, so we always understand each other. Small steps, real progress, and a lot of encouragement along the way.

If you are new, this is a perfect moment to begin. Book a lesson with me online, send me a WhatsApp, or just call — and let’s get you out on the grass, smiling after that first clean shot. I will help you feel ready.