"Monty at The Dutch"
On the 30th of June Colin made his first visit to the site of The Dutch since the start of the construction of the Championship Course. The main purpose of the visit was to catch up on the progress that had been made so far and to see the unique way in which The Dutch is dealing with the various engineering challenges on the site. Not only Colin but also Jeremy Slessor and Ross McMurray from European Golf Design were pleasantly surprised with the progress. Extra special attention was given to the foundation of the greens. A foam concrete foundation will help create "form fast" greens. This will help maintain the wonderful contour and sloping designs of the greens. Phil Helsby, Director of The Dutch together with Hubert Lendering, Project Manager and Arno van Tricht, Site Manager are delighted with the way the Montgomerie Signature Design Course is developing. Phil Helsby stated that the reactions from the Dutch golf world with regards to this project have been overwhelming. Already three quarters of the available Memberships have been sold. The expectations and ambition for this project are high. The Dutch is on track to set what will be an extremely high standard Championship Golf Course built with the purpose of hosting major golf and business events. The Dutch will provide it's Members who are predominantly active Dutch businessmen and women a fantastic network location with many facilities designed specifically to facilitate the business golfer!

The First Business & Golf Conference
At only a drive and a wedge from The Dutch we arrived at the Conference centre for the First Business & Golf Conference to be held in The Netherlands. An initative from the company Made in Scotland set up in 2001 by 4 golf professionals and now seen as the leading golf network company within the benelux. The keynote speaker was Colin Montgomerie who gave a wonderful explanation of his design theory. Colin was preseeded by a number of guest speakers who included Peter Bakker CEO TNT, Bram Graber CEO KLM Holland, Andrea Satori KPMG, and a wonderful presentation from the National Olympic Committee with regard to the "Road to the Olympics". Holland will bid to stage the Olympics in 2028, 100 years after it was held in Amsterdam in 1928.

Meet the Designer
At a beautiful country location The Dutch hosted a special dinner allowing Members and Guests the possibility to meet with Colin. In an informal atmosphere Members and Guests had the opportunity to chat with Colin about The Dutch, golf in general and of course the Ryder Cup. Colin gave a wonderful pitching demonstration in a way that only he can. This was followed by a couple of short stories about his experiences playing with fellow Ryder Cup stars such as Bernard Langer. It was a very successful evening also allowing Members and guests the opportunity to meet with one another.