Many keen golfers will be aware of the renowned international golf club at Royal Antwerp, after all it was voted by the Peugeot Guide as the number one course in Belgium in 2007 (along with the Royal Zoute Golf Club)! Despite this glowing accolade, the bunkers at Royal Antwerp had suffered serious damage over the years resulting in loss of shape and form with several even losing position. This deterioration of the bunkers impacted on the overall character of the course and in November 2007 Dimitri Van Hauwaert was called in to oversee a programme of renovation on 65 bunkers. Leading golf architect and long time colleague, Steve Marnoch, acted as consultant architect on this exciting project and Andrew Jeffery from Golf Tech GMBH made their ambitious plans a reality as contractor for the scheme.

Foremost in Dimitri's mind was retaining a classical style in keeping with the overall feel of the course which was originally created by architects Willie Park Jr and Tom Simpson, whilst also allowing for ease of maintenance. This duel objective of aesthetics and functionality created some serious issues for Dimitri which he worked hard to resolve. When the bunkers were marked out consideration was given not only to the style and shape but to the strategy of the hole and the new and exciting pin positions created. Access points for maintenance equipment were included and the heather re-establishment programme in place at Royal Antwerp meant that wonderful native heathers could be used - a fantastic resource for any golf architect!

Work on Royal Antwerp was completed in February 2008 and sees the overall harmony of the course restored!