Burnham & Berrow (Championship)

About the course

Burnham & Berrow lies on the Somerset coast just north of Burnham-on-Sea, on a strip of high sandhills that runs towards the village of Berrow and faces the Bristol Channel. Two landmarks help orientation during the round: the old church at Berrow, close to the 12th, and the lighthouse that stands behind the closing holes.

The club was founded in 1890 by a small group of local men including Walter and Thomas Holt, of a local brewing family, and Charles Gibson, the professional from Royal North Devon, laid out the course. Its nine holes became eighteen in the 1890s. The young J.H. Taylor, later a five-time winner of The Open, was the club’s first professional. Herbert Fowler, Harry Colt, Alister MacKenzie, Hugh Alison and Fred W. Hawtree all refined the layout over the years. The club has staged the English Amateur many times, along with the Brabazon Trophy and the Ladies’ British Amateur.

The original course went straight over the tops of the sandhills, and much of the later work rerouted holes through and around them instead. The result is a classic out and back links in which the fairways run along the dunes and the small, fast greens demand precise approach play. Four holes have no bunkers at all, relying on the contours of the ground for their defence. From the elevated tee at the 4th there are long views across the Bristol Channel to Wales, and the 8th has two tees around 100 yards apart, which changes the direction of its dogleg from day to day.

Why we recommend it

Burnham & Berrow is one of the most underrated links in England, with towering dunes, narrow fairways and a fair number of blind shots that demand trust in your line. Its green sites are among the finest in England, and the course is used for Final Qualifying for The Open. The dormy house stands just yards from the first tee, and the nine-hole Channel course is handy for an extra loop. Close to the M5, it is under an hour from Bristol.

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