Schaerweijde Golf (Zeist)

Par 28 in the Zeist woods

Schaerweijde Golf is a nine-hole parkland course set in the woods of Zeist, in the province of Utrecht — about a 10-minute drive from the city. The club lists the layout as nine holes at par 28, running 1,424 metres, designed by Alan Rijks. Parkland means golf among mature trees, the fairways framed by woodland. Golfers on LeadingCourses give it 7.0 out of 10 from 63 ratings, and on Hole19 it scores 3.9 out of 5 across 13 ratings.

It is a pay-and-play course, so you do not need to be a member to play. Visitors are welcome, you book your tee time online on the club’s own website, and the course stays open year-round. A nine-hole round costs €27.50; want a full eighteen? Play the loop twice for €40.

Short and green like this, a par-28 nine suits new golfers and juniors first of all. The club runs a junior programme and offers lessons on site. It is the kind of course where a beginner can walk nine holes without feeling rushed, and where an improving player still gets plenty of short irons and wedges into one round.

Practice that pays off

For a small club the practice side is genuinely strong. There is a floodlit driving range — covered and lit, so you can hit balls in the evening and right through winter — plus a putting green, a short-game area and practice bunkers. A golf academy, a pro shop, a restaurant with a terrace, and lockers with showers round out the day.

Wedges win the day

At par 28 the whole round lives close to the greens, so it rewards clean wedge play and steady putting far more than raw distance. That short-game control is the part I most enjoy teaching — many new golfers tell me the same thing, that their scores drop the moment their chipping settles down. A short parkland nine like this is a lovely place to feel that click.