Golf Ockenburgh

Origins

Golf at Ockenburgh grew out of efforts to make the game more accessible in The Hague. Discussions about introducing golf on the municipal Ockenburgh campsite were already taking place in 1971. On 10 March 1981, the Stichting Openbaar Golf Den Haag en omstreken was formally registered.

For years the foundation was allowed to use part of the campsite after the summer season, and volunteers created a simple temporary course that operated until the camping season resumed. A municipal newspaper appeal attracted hundreds of people interested in playing. A permanent course remained difficult to secure until the restructuring of the campsite created an opportunity.

The municipality agreed to construction of a golf course on the Ockenburgh sports complex in December 1993.

Design Philosophy

Gerard Jol designed the permanent nine-hole course. Construction started in March 1996, and Golfclub Ockenburgh was formed that same year. The original layout consisted entirely of par threes.

Its compact site near the dunes required short, tightly arranged holes rather than long corridors. The course that exists today still reflects those spatial constraints, using narrow fairways, trees, bunkers and water to create difficulty without relying on length. Jol later designed the two par-four holes incorporated during the 2016 expansion.

The revised routing now contains five par fours and four par threes, while remaining a nine-hole course.

Development

The permanent course was formally opened by The Hague mayor Wim Deetman on 18 October 1997. Early facilities were basic: the club used a room in the neighbouring bowling centre, while an adjacent grass field served as its driving range. Development of the International School of The Hague in 2003 required the club's supporting facilities to move, although the nine golf holes survived.

The municipality made a former football field at the end of Wijndaelerweg available for a replacement driving range and new entrance. In 2005 the club obtained its first dedicated clubhouse, a relocated former beach pavilion. Further expansion began in the 2010s.

A heated and floodlit driving range opened in December 2014, and two former football fields were incorporated into the golf property. Jol designed new holes 6 and 7, both par fours, and the revised course opened on 1 April 2016. A permanent new clubhouse followed, entering use on 14 September 2018.

Recognition

Golf Ockenburgh's significance is primarily local and civic rather than based on championship hosting. The project originated as an attempt to provide public access to golf in The Hague and developed from a seasonal volunteer-run course into a permanent NGF-rated facility. The Nederlandse Golf Federatie has used Ockenburgh as an example in discussions of the social and community role of golf facilities, and the course is one of the golf properties participating in the National Park Hollandse Duinen network.

Today

Golf Ockenburgh is now a nine-hole facility open to both club members and green-fee visitors with an appropriate golf handicap. The current course is par 32 for one circuit and par 64 when played twice. Supporting facilities include a year-round illuminated and heated driving range, putting and chipping greens, a practice bunker, golf academy, clubhouse and restaurant.

Practice facilities can also be used by visitors for a daily fee. The site remains closely confined between urban development and the dunes of Kijkduin, with the club continuing to operate from Wijndaelerweg.