Belgian architect Dimitri van Hauwaert has completed a drainage improvement project at the Ternesse club outside Antwerp.

The 27-hole complex was originally established back in 1976 and has, in its par three eighth, one of Belgium’s most acclaimed holes.

Built using heavy clay to retain moisture – as were many courses in the Low Countries, including such famous names as Royal Hague – Ternesse’s greens did not drain properly, so the club hired van Hauwaert to fix the problem, without digging up and rebuilding.

After consulting a local agronomist, the club decided to install a new drainage system called Capidrain. Capidrain is a capillary mat, and, says van Hauwaert, it can drain even the heaviest clay soil without the use of gravel or sand, and thus as only ten per cent of the cost of building new USGA greens.

Van Hauwaert’s project at Golfclub Meerssen in the Netherlands, which GCA reported on during the summer, is now under way. The six hole course was originally opened as a practice facility for golfers who were members elsewhere, but the club has now bought additional land to extend to nine holes. Keen to do the job properly the club is working closely with van Hauwaert’s company Diamond Golf Architects and Dutch contractor Mourik, and the course has closed completely while all nine holes are fully rebuilt. USGA-spec creeping bentgrass greens will be installed. along with synthetic tees from Only Golf. Work began on 3 August and the plan is to open the new-look club in April 2010.