Rigenee Golf Course

Overview: Rigenée Golf Course is an 18-hole, par-73 parkland layout in Villers-la-Ville, Walloon Brabant, set on former agricultural land. Paul Rolin's routing uses the broad, relatively smooth terrain to create open playing corridors, while trees, rough and a handful of water hazards give the holes definition. Top100GolfCourses highlights the opening run of four par fours, the 502-metre par-five 5th and the uphill par-three 18th. Water is most apparent near the 7th green and beside the 14th, but the course's character comes from the balance between generous fairways and approach shots that must find the right part of the putting surface.

History: Caroline and Emmanuel Descampe founded the club in 1981 and began transforming 55 hectares of agricultural ground into a golf course. The first three holes were completed in spring 1982, and Rigenée became an 18-hole course in 1983. The club's own timeline records more than 30,000 trees and plants being added in 1984 and 1985, helping define the fairways and soften the edges of the former farmland. Holes 9 and 11 were reconstructed in 2006, followed by a substantial reconstruction of the 13th that began in 2014 and was inaugurated in May 2015.

Did You Know? Rigenée has treated water management as part of the course's development. In 1996, the pond at the 6th hole was enlarged to improve water retention, a practical change that also altered one of the layout's landscape features. The club's environmental record also notes that rough areas have been naturalised as grassland and wildflower meadow, while its tree nursery supports planting suited to the surrounding landscape.