Wellington Golf Oostende

Based in the more than 125-year-old Ostend hippodrome, Wellington Golf offers a 9-hole Championship Course with extensive practice infrastructure.

The site was designed by Baron Paul Rolin and includes much variety, large greens with interesting slopes and plenty of water hazards. The presence of the historic race track, which is still used today, gives the course a very special character.

The obstacles used in the old steeplechases, the water basins for watering the gallop track and the old trotting track have now become golf course obstacles. Add to them nine new ponds, and you will understand that Wellington Golf is a challenge for everyone!

The Castle, built by King Leopold II and in times past used for pigeon shooting competitions, has been restored to its former glory and serves as a clubhouse. In the Pigeon Bistro you can enjoy a delicious menu on the sunny terrace or in the elegant surroundings of the restaurant.

Ostend Hippodrome

This building, as well as the racetrack itself, were built in the late 19th century on the site of the Napoleonic Fort Royal. After Napoleon’s fall it was renamed after the British victor at Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington. Some vestiges of the Fort Royal are retained in the Ostend hippodrome.

For example, the tunnel connecting the castle to the middle already existed, while the remnants of the fort formed the foundations of the stand. These stands were destroyed during World War II and replaced by a modernistic construction.

King Leopold II decided to make Ostend his summer residence, and in addition to the racecourse built the Royal Galleries which connected the royal retreat to the hippodrome. Not for nothing was Ostend henceforth known as the ‘Queen of Seaside Resorts’. Try this piece of history yourself at Wellington Golf Oostende!