Golf in Belgium

• Alan Hedley
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The 16th green at La Tournette in Belgium

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Belgium may not spring to mind as an immediate choice for a golfing holiday, but it should because it has everything going for it. With great golf courses at good prices, great food and drink and easy to get to from the UK and Europe with good transport links and no real language barrier, it's not surprising more and more golfers flock there.

As you'd expect Brussels and especially the Brabant Wallon area is a base for many golfers as there are many fine courses which are accessible and that's due in no small measure to the very effective and efficient Martin's Golf Pass. Because of the location of its hotels in Brabant Wallon, Martin's Hotels created its Golf Pass in 1998 and up to now 35,000 golfers have used it.

So what is the Martin's Golf Pass? It's a partnership between the four Martin's hotels and 11 of the region's golf clubs comprising 14 courses - all within a 15 kilometre radius - and the pass takes care of the green fees and accommodation which is just what most golfers want.

The Martin's Golf Pass offers two green fees and two nights in a double room with breakfast, leaving the golfer free of any organisational concerns because Martin's look after the green fees, confirms the start time and creates a personalised voucher. This is presented to the golfer on arrival with confirmation of the club's location, tee-off times and route map.

The pass offers special rates plus extras such as traditional 19th hole drink at the bar of your Martin's Hotel before dinner and free access to the gyms and spas of your Martin's hotel. Extra days/rounds can be added to the pass at competitive rates.

We were fortunate enough to stay at the five-star Chateau du Lac with its gourmet restaurant and spa and fitness centre located on the banks of a pleasant lake. It's an exceptionally beautiful area with plenty of nearby bars and restaurants and only 20 minutes from Brussels and its airport Zaventem, while Charleroi is also within reasonable reach.



The five-star Chateau du Lac

We also visited Martin's four-star Grand Hotel in Waterloo, which has a superb converted restaurant which is a former sugar refinery dating from 1836 and the quality of the meal most certainly matched the surroundings and on the same site there is 29-bedroom Martin's Lodge which is ideal for golfing groups.