Ravenstein (Old)

This club feels a little like Swinley Forest would... if it was a good deal more exclusive and even less worried about what the outside world thought of it.

Its full name is Royal Golf Club of Belgium – portraits of the Royal family adorn the clubhouse walls – and it in no respect lives down to that grand title.

Gaining entry is naturally a challenge – it requires an introductory letter well in advance, and a slice of luck – but if you are fortunate enough to do so, in the same way as is the case at Muirfield, you are made extremely welcome by members and staff.

It is like the home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers in many ways; the insouciant cordurouy-clad members with their dogs walking at their heel, a car park full of expensive but unobtrusive vehicles and smells from the kitchen that are more school dinners than fine dining.

Even so, the Swinley analogy is arguably better because it is a small club with a 'small' course, initially designed by Seymour Dunn with a revision by Tom Simpson.

The 6th has a look of Wentworth to it from the tee but as you walk its 204 yards, its Huntercombe-esque humps in the green surrounds become apparent.

The Old course is no more than 6,600 yards off the tips and a very friendly 5,900 off the blue tees, while the playing corridors between the mature trees are wide and the greens receptive and flawless.

This playability is evident on the par 5 that gets things underway in what is a reachable and pleasant start to the round.

It begins on an elevated tee right next to the attentive starter and unless you direct your drive into the mature trees, you will have a good chance to find the relatively small green with your uphill approach.

Founded in 1906 by King Leopold II, tree species from all over the world were brought to Belgium when the nearby arboretum was created in the early 1900s and the King requested these seeds and plants were also used in the construction of the golf course.

That means you play between American silver maples, laurel from Portugal, Canadian poplars, pine species from the Himalayas and China.

Other highlights on the front nine include the two short holes – the uphill, well-bunkered 3rd and then the more exacting 6th.

There is a trio of sporty par 4s, with the second barely 350 yards albeit turning right as it plays uphill towards purple bushes in another echo of Swinley.

The latter has a look of Wentworth to it from the tee but as you walk its 204 yards, its Huntercombe-esque humps in the green surrounds become apparent.

The nine closes with a series of the kind of holes you'd expect from a club that doesn't want to beat up its members playing its course.

There is a trio of sporty par 4s, with the second barely 350 yards albeit turning right as it plays uphill towards purple bushes in another echo of Swinley.

There is pleasing variety though, even if kindly holes are the norm and the terrain of undulating, tree-lined parkland is consistent throughout.

For example, after a classic short par 4 in the middle of the second half – a downhill hole travelling along a more narrow fairway to a well-bunkered small green – Ravenstein shows its teeth with a more unforgiving two-shotter back up the hill.

It is a fleeting moment of taxing golf at what is otherwise a glorious window into another world.  Chris Bertram