Mont Garni Golf Club

The 18-hole Mont-Garni golf course, situated a few kilometres from Mons, is laid out in three sections that alternate between woods and plains. Here, the golfer must come to terms with two parameters that are not always reconcilable: power and precision. The reason for this is that the Tom-McAuley-designed course, which first opened in 1990, largely exceeds 6,000 metres in length. Indeed, it is one of the longest courses in Belgium. For instance, on the par-3 holes, distances from the back tees range from 174 to 200 m. Power is thus called for. On the other hand, a good two-thirds of the holes, which have been set down among woods where it is not uncommon to encounter pheasant, leave little margin for error. And all the more so as, in places, certain trees have been voluntarily left standing. True, they are magnificent but they tend to complicate the task, as illustrated by the par-5 13th hole, a long, right-handed, dog-leg hole where, posted like sentinels in front of the green, they afford only a narrow "window of opportunity". Its length alone constitutes a difficulty. 
The architect did not overdo the use of bunkers—occurring mainly on the flat sections, but in front of the greens—which, on the whole, are quite 
shallow. Water hazards, which are not really 
a characteristic feature of this course, include ditches that lie perpendicularly to the line of play in the woods—folds in the terrain 
really—and quite a large pond, which is situated in the middle of the plain and can be 
problematic to negotiate especially on the approach to the 18th-hole green.
The transition from wooded to flat sections
—where there is always the possibility of wind—then back to wooded sections again must also be taken into account and many scorecards have been known to "take a turn for the worse" on the last six holes: in the absence of trees, players tend to "let themselves go", suddenly finding that they have fallen into 
a trap.
Nevertheless, there is always the Anglo-Normand-style clubhouse, which was formerly the residence of the Van der Schueren family which owns the grounds and still runs the course. This would explain the family spirit that reigns here and which is immediately 
palpable on arrival. And the Walloons' reputation for conviviality is not unfounded!