Royal Golf Club des Fagnes (Spa)

Spa is naturally the spa town of Belgium, home to the famous hot healing mineral springs which are considered healing waters. The town today is more famous for the mineral water producer of the same name and Spa is also home to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, which hosts the annual Formula One Belgian Grand Prix.

There has been a golf course at Spa for at least 100 years but the course we play today at Royal Golf Club des Fagnes was laid out at great expense and it was designed by the flamboyant English architect, Tom Simpson. In 1930 the new course was ready for play with nine holes routed across the sandy heath which was the site of the original Spa course and the other nine was carved through the adjoining pine forest.

The opening of the new course at Spa was marked by a professional tournament which attracted some top names. Many of the competing pros likened the new course at Spa to the wonderful heathland courses to the west of London and so Fagnes became known as “a Belgian Sunningdale”. Henry Cotton won the inaugural event and remarked “I think the golf course at Spa is one of the best I have seen in Europe… it will be the finest on the continent in a year or two.”