HISTORY

As early as 1895, as described in the 100-year memorial book, Frits (F.H.) baron Huyssen van Kattedijke wished to lease pieces of land from the Velpse Geërfden (Velp's heathland estate) behind the Boersallee to be used for the construction of a 9-hole golf course next to and on the grounds of Rosendael Castle. The fact that the terrain bordered on the Beekhuizen estate is evident from the text: 'Ball played (hole 3) in wood of Beekhuizen, on the bank or in the ditch is out of bounds'. In 1908 the Rosendaelsche Golfclub moved to the Delhuijzen estate on the Apeldoornseweg in Arnhem.

An author of the magazine "Golf" described the course in 1939 as follows: "On the beautifully laid out terrain with its tall trees and soft green fairways, the expert hand of Mr. Del Court has gradually created a golf course which, no matter how often one walks around it, never gets boring and which, due to the great variety of natural features, has a special charm in every season and makes the round a great pleasure for the golfer". Originally, the fairway was kept short by a flock of sheep that found shelter in the sheepfold. After the flock was eliminated, the sheepfold was used as storage space. Mowing was done with a horse-drawn mower. The rough along the course was heavy and was described as follows: "Between the tee of the first hole and the fairway was a large field of heather with heather as thick as a little finger and up to knee height. The ball could be found with the help of the caddie, but three out of four times it was unplayable so... back to the tee".

In 1975, a start was made to expanding the course to eighteen holes. The British architect Frank Pennink designed a beautiful course and on 21 May 1977, the new 18-hole course was opened. In 1982 the order of play was changed: the first nine and the second nine were swapped, initially at the request of the organisers of the St. Andrews Trophy at Rosendaelsche: it was "undesirable" to finish on a par 3.

It was not until 2014 that the course took on its present form, designed by the German course architect Christoph Staedler: two new holes, a number of "flattened" fairways, bunker and green adjustments and a spacious practice area. Many things played a part in this renovation, which was carried out in a single golf season: protected badgers and badger setts, the exchange of tree felling with replanting of heathland, and archaeological research.