Jan van de Minkeles just asked his golf companion to order beer. The 25-year-old from the village of Andel in the Netherlands never imagined himself as a golfer, but he was in class here. “I think it’s a bit like the yuppie movement, but it’s not,” he said with a smile.

Van de Minkeles is part of the Dutch golfer, and in a country once associated with member-only clubs and button-only dress codes, spider webs in the sport blow up the sport.

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According to the Royal Dutch Golf Federation (NGF) figures, there are already as many as 430,000 golfers. But the sport in the face of aging population is driving to recruit more new blood. Two years ago, it launched a national “Welcome to the Club” campaign to encourage more women aged 25 to 50 and young golfers.

"We have a beautiful green secret in the golf range, but we don't have enough information about it," said NGF spokesman Niki Wijnen. "The image of golf is that a lot of people think it's for (old) men in red trousers with matching accents, you need to be very rich, but it's not true in the Netherlands. To keep the sport young, you want more young people, more talent."

It was a clear goal for Dutch golf club Almkreek, owner Hans Schaap and operations director Joris Slooten, where the two were "on their golden day" and the task was to throw the sport because of the principles of the thing, and also because of its commercial significance.

Slooten explained that the Dutch clubs are developed by an association structure run by its members, but now means that some people pay for unlimited games without using it, and games are occasionally expensive for those interested in amateurs. "We have no dress code, people walk around in normal clothes, and the atmosphere is informal," he said. "Our motto is Just comfortable - very good. ”

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Schaap purchased the club in 2018 and managed 23 clubs with a fleet of 380 lawn mowers to make the grass prune well. He called on Slooten to identify the "fairy" factor that prevents young people from replacing dead members - now they have a credit-based payment model, affordable free club rental courses and a restaurant that welcomes everyone. "Everyone who gets the same, someone who gives a lot of money thinks it's great," he said. "There is a group that has to pay more or leave, but that's 5% or 10%.

More importantly, he believes, the atmosphere has changed even as Donald Trump’s elite club continues to cause damage. “Thirty years ago, when I said I kept the golf course, people would give me a weird look and say it was all checking pants and snobs,” he said. “But it’s easier to get… Trump is exactly the opposite we want to express.”

Dr Andrew Murray, a sports and sports researcher at the University of Edinburgh, said the game can also gain health benefits in addition to the danger of golf in your mind. “It can attract fitness at all and at all levels,” he said. “The evidence is consistent and growing, showing that golf provides healthy physical exercise, access to green spaces and social connections that provide longer lifespans and are reduced in many physical and mental health conditions.”

John Ott, a friend of the owner of the Bleijenbeek golf course, said that in small countries like the Netherlands, everyone can benefit from nature as well.

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He said: "Pieter van Afferden, a Dutch Latin teacher, wrote a small book in 1545, the male language Latino Latino, which describes the rules of golf played now." Science and Culture. "Of course, the rules have to be observed, so the game may not change. But without doing so, we don't encounter any real resistance."

Back to the sunny golf club Almkreek, a happy teenager is mowing the grass, the mountains and restaurants are already full, with shorts on display replacing the red pants. "I can't see golf, but nature, birds and rabbits," Carin Lankhaar, 65, of Eethen, recently started the competition. "Everyone is welcome - this is not an elite at all."

She is looking forward to another 20 years of golf. “OK HupsookeWoolen cloth” she said-up and 'em!