Alan Rijks has returned to Golfbaan de Texelse in the Netherlands to renovate the first nine holes of the Links course.

The course is located on the island of Texel, just off the country’s north coast and five kilometres away from the city of Den Helder on the mainland. Rijks designed nine holes in the early 1990s before completing the layout in 2014. GCA visited the site of the second nine as shaping was nearing completion in July 2013.

“The first nine holes were originally made with a little amount of sand,” said Rijks. “We now have used about 65,000 cubic metres to improve this part of the course. One of the nice changes is that we removed the fences on each side of the driving range and replaced them with natural dunes. Now it has a natural look and players on the range think they are playing a links hole with targets.”

One of the changes completed so far has been elevating the first tee by five metres, providing golfers with a panoramic view of the course.

“Between the holes we introduced new dunes to give the holes more character,” said Rijks. “Elevated tees were built on holes six to nine, and the course is now totally different. From the beginning of August, the renovated nine will open for play along with some new practice holes.”

A new clubhouse will open on 1 April.