When Johnny from Urban Golf Unit tells me: “The course of Naarderbos (Netherlands) is closed, do you want to play it?”, it intrigued me. How to access the course if it is closed? In what state are we going to find him? All these questions must be answered in video. A first VLOG that plunges you into what becomes a course after its closure.
As usual, I went there by public transport. Passing by the golf, I still see some bags and their golfers. How can this course be closed while golfers land their golf bags on the course?
As I get closer, I notice that there is no sign indicating a clubhouse or the course.
Further away from the car park, I see a driving range on the water. I head this way and I begin to see the first signs of abandonment. The putting green has not been mowed since November and the grass is “thick”. Wooden sticks indicate the position of the holes.
As for the driving range, the facility seems new. I find buckets, sleeveless trolleys, but no golf balls! As I get closer to the water, I see some of them stuck at the end of a pontoon. Johnny begins to flush them out with a flagpole. I find a fishingnet behind a bench that will allow us to fill half a bucket.
Even though golf has filed for bankruptcy last November 2018, the course is not too bad. While the tee marks have disappeared, but the in-ground marks are still there. To tag the holes, golfers have mobilized to unclog the holes and mark them with a stick with a spade. Smart.
We could play 18 holes without much difficulty in regards to the non maintenance of the course. And I must admit that it was a pretty unique experience.
Feel free to leave your comments and tell me what your thoughts are.
