2026 솔하임컵이 처음으로 네덜란드를 찾았다. 개최지 베르나르더스 골프는 전 세계 선수들의 입에서 입으로 전해지는 도전적이고 극적인 무대로 주목받고 있다. 패어웨이는 좁고 벙커는 많으며, 지형의 변화가 심한 이 코스는 매치플레이의 고수들을 가려낼 준비가 돼 있다.
세계 랭킹 1위 넬리 코다는 코스 컨디션을 표현하기 위해 호주의 골프코스를 언급했다. 유럽 솔하임컵 루키이자 2타이틀 LPGA 투어 우승자 로티 워드는 잉글랜드 헤스랜드 골프코스와의 유사성을 강조했다. 각 선수는 험난한 패어웨이, 물 해저드, 예측 불가능한 런오프를 강조하며 스코어메이킹이 쉽지 않을 것을 암시했다.
01"호주 같은 느낌의 좁은 패어웨이"
굉장히 어려운 코스입니다. 이번 주 특히 수요일 같은 악천후 속에서도 플레이했는데요, 티에서 매우 좁고 정확한 숏이 필요합니다. 제 캐디 제이슨과 저는 이 코스가 호주 골프코스 같다고 말했어요. 페널티가 심한 벙커가 많거든요. 그러면서도 링크스 느낌도 있습니다.넬리 코다
로티 워드는 이 코스를 자신이 사는 지역의 링크스 코스, 특히 헤스랜드 링크스에 비유했다. 그는 세컨드 샷이 중요한 코스라고 평가하며, 런오프가 많고 바람이 큰 역할을 한다고 설명했다.
02매치플레이 무대로 각광받는 코스
미국 솔하임컵 주장 앙젤라 스탠포드는 코스의 전개 양상을 간단명료하게 진단했다. 초반 악천후로 인한 빗물에도 불구하고 이 코스는 단단하고 빠르게 진행될 것이라는 평가였고, 미국 팀 주장 앙젤라 스탠포드는 악천후에도 불구하고 이 코스가 단단하고 빠르게 플레이될 것이라고 진단했다. 그것이 코스의 본질이라는 의견이다.
선수들은 베르나르더스가 매치플레이에 최적화된 무대라는 점을 강조했다. 유럽팀의 3회 출전자 마야 스타크는 다양한 길이의 파5와 티 위치 조정 가능성을 언급했고, 미국팀의 안드레아 리는 16번 홀의 극적 가능성을 주목했다.
유럽팀의 3회 출전자 마야 스타크는 베르나르더스를 매치플레이에 최적화된 코스라고 평가했다. 긴 파5와 짧은 파5가 모두 있어 다양성이 있으며, 티 위치를 여러 방식으로 조정할 수 있다는 점이 장점이라고 설명했다.
16번 홀이 엄청난 드라마를 만들 것 같아요. 물 해저드가 앞에 있는 리치 가능한 파5거든요. 우측에 벙커도 있고요. 이글이나 버디가 나올 수도, 물에 빠질 수도 있는 상황 말입니다.안드레아 리
베르나르더스는 과거 19회 솔하임컵의 코스들보다 다소 짧지만, 선수들은 충분한 버디 기회가 있을 것으로 예상하고 있다. 정확한 샷, 예민한 그린 스피드 판단, 그리고 매치플레이의 심리전이 승패를 결정할 이 무대에서, 미국팀과 유럽팀의 20주년 기념 대결이 펼쳐질 준비가 돼 있다.
03Original (English) — LPGA
A general view of course branding prior to the Solheim Cup 2026 at Bernardus Golf on September 09, 2026 in Cromvoirt, Netherlands.
Sarah Kellam is a Kentucky native and played collegiate golf at Northern Kentucky University. She serves as a Senior Manager of Content and Narrative Strategy for the LPGA, first joining the organization in 2021.
CROMVOIRT, Netherlands — Bernardus Golf has been likened to a lot of different styles of golf course so far this week at the 2026 Solheim Cup.
Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings No.1 Nelly Korda and her caddie, Jason McDede, thought it favored a venue one might find Down Under.
"It is a pretty tough golf course," quipped the American in her pre-tournament press conference. "We've played it in all sorts of weather, especially (on Wednesday). It's very narrow off the tee, so you have to hit it really good off the tee. (Jason) and I said it reminds us of like a golf course in Australia, where there's a lot of penalizing bunkers. But it also has a linksy feel to it."
Two-time LPGA Tour winner and European Solheim Cup rookie Lottie Woad, agreed with Korda's links-golf comparison, having come from a part of the world where links golf is highly favored.
"I would say it's heathland. Kind of links. There's a lot of courses like that around where I live," said Woad. "I compare it to Hankley Common, but I don't think people know that golf course. I would say it's more of a second-shot golf course with a lot of runoffs everywhere, and the wind playing a big factor."
U.S. Solheim Cup Captain Angela Stanford already had a pretty good understanding of the difficulties Bernardus might present, even after bands of inclement weather dumped a couple inches worth of water on the property early in the week.
"I think I get the feeling it's going to play firm and fast," said Stanford. "Even if we get some rain, I still think it's going to play firm and fast. I think that's how it's meant to be played."
Stanford's assessment was spot on, as that's exactly the goal the Bernardus agronomy team has for the course's Solheim Cup debut – a bouncy, heathland test of golf that challenges all 24 athletes competing in the 20th edition of the biennial team competition as it visits the Netherlands for the very first time in 2026.
Bernardus Golf is the brainchild of course designer Kyle Phillips, who also has properties like The Grove in England and Kingbarns Golf Links in Scotland to his credit, both of which this week's venue very much mimic.
The property is gorgeous, tucked in between swaths of farmland and Cape Dutch houses that pepper the landscape in this part of the Netherlands, situated south of the country's capital, Amsterdam. The birdsong ping-ponging through the trees sounds like it was recorded and looped by a Hollywood studio, and if you listen closely, you can even hear the whinnies of the horses that live nearby enough to cut through the stillness that wraps around the place like a blanket.
Bernardus is peaceful, a serenity both the American and European teams are hoping to disrupt as early as possible during competition days, as fans roar for every made birdie and lament every unfortunate misstep. It's a fairly flat patch of land for spectators to walk, and there are plenty of opportunities to see multiple golf holes via any one of the vantage points sprinkled throughout the golf course.
Visually, green and brown are the primary colors that are the focal point around Bernardus, only occasionally broken up by the brackish hue of the various water hazards that threaten the lives of tee balls and approach shots and the soft brown tones of the several many bunkers that require near-perfect precision to entirely avoid.
Like the whole of the Netherlands, Bernardus puts a premium on sustainability, adopting a "brown is the new green" mentality that allows them to use less resources than normal to maintain the golf course. They don't put any chemicals down on the property, instead choosing to monitor the health of the golf course by consistently checking the bacteria and fungi in their soil.
The greens and fairways are framed by short, sandy dunes that are peppered with fescue and gorse; two plants strategically chosen because of their need for little water. And while the course is a straightforward walk where everything is right out there in front of you, many of the fairways have undulation in them that could prove tricky for the 24 athletes competing throughout the week in the Solheim Cup, as do the putting surfaces.
Because Bernardus plays a bit shorter than some of the other venues the biennial team competition has traveled to in the 19 previous playings of this event, many of the 2026 competitors predict the property will give up quite a few birdies, under-par action that always makes for an exciting match-play venue. And it's that fact that has Bernardus primed to be a scintillating stage for the world's best athletes as they battle it out for love of team and love of country.
"It's a really good match play course. I feel like there's a lot of variety," said Maja Stark, who is representing the Euros in her third Solheim Cup in the Netherlands. "Some longer par 5s, some shorter par 5s. It feels like they can move the tees around a lot, so they can kind of play it however they want to."
American Andrea Lee had a similar sentiment, particularly concerning the closing stretch. "Sixteen I think will garner a lot of drama just because it's a reachable par 5 with a water hazard running through in the front, and there's a bunker on right," she said. "So I feel like there could be some drama, maybe potential eagles, potential birdies, or some water balls. But that one stood out to me.
"The rest of the course, it's a really fun match play course. I think it's going to require accuracy off the tee, and the greens are very undulated, so just getting those speeds down. But I think it's going to be a little bit of a shoot-out too. I think we're going to have to make a lot of putts to win."
While they have yet to see a course like Bernardus in the rotation for this iconic team-play event, women's golf fans are incredibly familiar with how things roll at Solheim Cups. No matter the country or the captain, the team or the venue, drama always rears its head during this one week in September.
And this time, that cinema will all play out with Bernardus Golf at its center.
