Royal Zoute Golf Club - Belgium

Golf was first played by a few retired Englishmen in the dunes at Knocke-sur-Mer on the Belgian coast, 30 miles from Os tend, in 1899. Count Maurice Lippens, who was chairman of the Compagnie Immobiliere du Zoute, took the lead in building a regulation course, designed by Scottish architect Seymour Dunn, in 1908. The course received royal designation in 1925, and 13 years later King Leopold III met his future second wife while playing golf at Royal Zoute. The course was destroyed by the Germans in World War II, but at the end of the war the club enlisted the aid of British and Canadian military officers and a new course, designed by English architect Harry Colt, was built. Nowadays, Royal Zoute is one of the finest seaside courses in Europe and has hosted the Belgacom Open on the European PGA Tour.

Royal Golf Club Belgique - Belgium

Golf in Belgium has long enjoyed royal patronage, with royal status conferred on each of Belgium's leading courses, including Royal Antwerp, Royal Zoute, Royal Waterloo, and Royal Golf des Fagnes. Royal Golf de Belgique, known as Ravenstein, is located at Tervuren, six miles from Brussels. Ravenstein was built in 1905 by order of King Leopold II to enable visiting British businessmen to play golf in Belgium. The course was designed by the English architect Tom Simpson, who was also responsible for the revision of Royal Antwerp. Chateau de Ravenstein, which serves as the clubhouse, is a national monument, and was built by the Infanta Isabella of Spain in the 17th century after the 15th-century hunting lodge of Philip of Cleves that originally occupied the site burned down. The Chateau is also the headquarters of the Federation Royale Belge de Golf.