Solheim Cup 2026: Preview

A first for the Netherlands

The Solheim Cup, the biennial team match between the women of Europe and the United States, reaches a milestone in 2026: its 20th edition, and the first ever staged in the Netherlands. The match runs at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt, in the southern province of North Brabant, the week of 7 to 13 September 2026. It is a landmark for golf in the Low Countries and a rare chance to see the game's best women decide a continental contest on Dutch soil.

Europe is captained by Anna Nordqvist, the major champion and Solheim Cup stalwart, with Angela Stanford, another major winner and former player, leading the United States. The captaincy pairing sets up a contest between two of the most respected figures in the women's game, each shaping a side for a match that always runs hotter than its stroke play cousins.

The venue: Bernardus Golf

Bernardus is the most ambitious course built in the Netherlands this century. Designed by the American architect Kyle Phillips, the man behind Kingsbarns in Scotland, it opened in 2018 and quickly climbed the national and continental rankings. The layout is a modern, minimalist heathland design over gently moving ground, with strategic width, exposed sandy bunkering and a string of genuine risk and reward holes. It has already hosted the Dutch Open on the men's European Tour, so it arrives at the Solheim Cup with a championship pedigree rather than as an untested newcomer.

A par 72 with a hotel and clubhouse to match the golf, Bernardus is exactly the kind of stage modern team golf wants: roomy enough for galleries, dramatic enough for matchplay swings, and good enough that the result will feel earned. The Netherlands has waited a long time for a moment like this, and it has the right course to carry it.

Our take

For the traveling golfer, the Solheim Cup coming to Bernardus is more than a date to watch; it is a reason to look at the Netherlands as a golf destination in its own right. Dutch golf is underrated, with a clutch of excellent heathland and dunes courses near the coast and a flat, easy country to get around. A trip built around a Bernardus round, paired with the best of the national links and heath, makes a genuinely different European long weekend.

The catch is access: availability at Bernardus will tighten sharply in and around September 2026, so anyone hoping to play it in event season should plan far ahead. Our guide to the best golf courses in the Netherlands and the Netherlands destination hub are the places to start, and our team can secure the tee times where access allows.