Meet the general manager: Sabine Riezebos

The general manager of Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands, a spectacular course that opened five years ago, talks about the golf industry in her country, hosting the Solheim Cup in 2026 and how the venue attracts Dutch women to play the game.

Can you tell us about Bernardus Golf?

Bernardus Golf is a challenging 18-hole championship golf course designed by American architect Kyle Phillips, who was also responsible for the design of world-famous courses like Kingsbarns, The Grove and Yas Links.

It was built as a heathland golf course, which makes it accessible to any golfer. It has numerous bunkers laid out beautifully and tricky water hazards that seamlessly blend in with the background of dunes, heath and gorse. Bernardus Golf is a young course, having opened in 2018, but you wouldn’t guess from the surroundings, we take great care in making the course much more mature than it is.

How are the preparations going for the KLM Open [the interview was conducted before the tournament started at the end of May]?

2023 will be our third year hosting the KLM Open, so it now runs like a well-oiled machine. We have recently had the second planning meeting with the DP World Tour tournament director and did a course walk for the last preparations. The final countdown is on!

What is the golf industry like in the Netherlands?

For such a small country, there are a lot of golf courses in the Netherlands: approximately 250, ranging from small nine-hole par three courses to bigger 18-hole courses like Bernardus.

Bernardus is one of the four high-end clubs in the Netherlands, but the only course in this category that is open to all golf enthusiasts through our day memberships.

Bernardus Golf will host the Solheim Cup in 2026. How did you win this bid and what do you think the event will do for both golf generally and women’s golf specifically in the Netherlands?

We won this since we have a female general manager … just kidding! Bernardus Golf has always tried to champion women in golf, we have several female pros playing here and we understand the sport is underutilised by women.

We had several visits from IMG, LET and former players and coaches like Christel Boeljon and Catriona Matthew, and received fantastic feedback about the course layout and quality, as well as our facilities and hospitality.

The event will show that golf is not an individual sport but also a team sport through the competition between Europa and the USA. The setup of the Solheim Cup attracts a lot of sports fans in general, wider than just golf. Women want to be able to identify themselves with a sport so we hope that when they see it on television, they will be inspired to polish off their clubs which have been sitting in the garage for a few years, or be encouraged to start playing. It is low-hanging fruit to get these women enthusiastic again for the sport. We are continuing to promote the ‘slow-down, play golf’ mentality as well as the social aspect which will help us connect with more people.

Does Bernardus Golf try to attract women in particular to golf?

Bernardus has a great mix, from the 350 private members we have 70 women, which is on the higher side for the sport. We do not go out of our way to attract women; we are lucky to have that mix. However, our additional facilities including the possibility to book a massage, a gym with personal trainers, a tennis court, a sauna and hammam, and an outdoor pool, make Bernardus Golf a more attractive proposition for women.

We are working closely with the Netherlands Golf Federation that is also trying to bring more women to the sport, and we hope that the road to the Solheim Cup in 2026 will help open the sport to more women.

What about juniors?

Juniors up to 24 can play free of charge at Bernardus Golf when their parents are a member. For day memberships we do not have special junior rates.

What is your own career path to being the general manager of Bernardus Golf?

My background is in the hotel industry and facility management. I was lucky enough to work for Bernardus Golf’s founder, Robert van der Wallen, at his former loyalty company as manager of hospitality and services and was responsible for all soft services in the company and the hospitality during congresses and events worldwide. Part of my role there was to manage the construction of the new headquarters, then the relocation of the business to the new offices. He approached me in 2016 to ask if I would work for him again by leading the construction and then managing Bernardus Golf.

My first reaction was hesitant as I didn’t play golf at the time. But Robert was insistent that I could learn golf, but the experience I had in facilities management and hospitality couldn’t be taught. It was a great opportunity for me, and I started in 2017 on the building site as employee number one and got the chance to create the team and company it is today, so it’s actually my ‘baby’!

What has life at Bernardus Golf been like in the last three years? Many clubs in the UK feared for their future during the first Covid lockdown but then saw a participation boom. Was that the case for you?

Yes, definitely! During Covid, golf was the only sport that people were still able to continue playing, so in total, we were only closed for six weeks during the three years of Covid. In addition, we were also chosen by the Netherlands Golf Federation to be the sole location where pros could train, they were allowed to train after the first three weeks of the Covid lockdown.

Are there any projects the venue is investing in?

Bernardus Golf is constantly investing in the course to optimise it for our members, we are planting extra trees and heather and of course, buying electric machines for course maintenance to be as sustainable as possible.

The Netherlands, like most of the western world, has seen rising inflation in the last year or two. Is this having an impact on the facility, both in terms of your own costs, as well as financial pressures on members to end their memberships?

Of course, our own costs have gone up, but luckily it hasn’t had an impact on the facilities and our members are also in a position where they have not had to end their membership even though we raised the prices.

We have given our members something extra this year as part of their membership, as everything is becoming more and more expensive. We have included course catering, which means they can choose from fresh sandwiches, wraps, smoothies, candy bars and a glass of Bernardus wine on the course.

How do you market the venue?

Being an open course of such high calibre, our day memberships do a lot of our marketing for us. Plus, events such as the Solheim Cup and KLM Open really raise our profile amongst golf enthusiasts.

What are your predictions for the next few years for the Dutch golf industry?

Hopefully, the Netherlands will be more and more known as a great golf destination. I am confident that the Solheim Cup will help contribute to that, through our work with the Netherlands Golf Federation.