Burnham & Barrow, UK

Burnham & Barrow, UK

By Richard Warren

Richard is Liz's nephew (although the same age)—and an avid golfer. So we couldn't resist asking him to write a golf review of this amazing course which he was excited to get to play via a work event recently!

After having played golf for many years, I realised that, although playing in the UK, I had not played a proper sea side links course. I was invited to play Burnham and Berrow links, in Somerset, through work, and decided that this was the time for me to put that right. The game was arranged for mid April, so weather was going to play a part. The forecast for the day was some light showers, but, most importantly, a very strong wind coming in off the Bristol channel, gusting up to 40mph (64 kmph), so I was in for a baptism of fire.

Burnham and Berrow was first opened in 1891 and designed, mostly, by Charles Gibson. The course is located in the far west of Somerset, 200 yards from the Bristol channel. It is very much a traditional links course, with the front 9 working away from the club house, along the coast and the back 9 working back again. There are two courses here, and we played the championship course (used for the Open qualifying) which has a slope rating of 124. The quality of the course was impeccable, which is no surprise for the 27th best course in the UK and Ireland (Golf Monthly). The fairways were firm, allowing the ball to run, the greens were perfect and the rough was incredibly punishing, as were the bunkers (which all seemed to placed exactly where I wanted to hit the ball).

The welcome we received on arrival was open and friendly, the club house was warm and welcoming (important on such a windy day) and the food and drink were all we could ask for. There was ample parking, close to the club house, a driving/practice range to allow us to warm up before our round.

The first tee box is located directly outside the clubhouse, and right next to the practice green, so getting a good first shot away was vital. It starts with an inviting par 4 at 384 yards but with quite a narrow fairway, so a good drive was needed. This was the only hole directly into the wind, and with the gusty conditions, my ball was still a long iron away from the green after my first shot.
Once you get to the 2nd tee box, the prevailing wind is now coming strongly from the left, and with my natural fade, this meant aiming uncomfortably far left to ensure the ball ended up on the fairway. Also, maintaining a low ball flight was required to minimise the wind effect and to give you a chance of a decent lie for the second shot. This continued throughout the front 9 as you work your way along the coast.

The views on the whole course are incredible, with just a few dunes and grassy mounds between you and the open water. The course has so many blind shots, that I lost count, although some of those blind shots were probably the result of poor placement from my tee shot. The 9th hole finally plays away from the coast, with the wind at your back, although as a par 3, you can’t really take advantage of the helping wind. But once that has been played, you then work your way back along the coast to the clubhouse, meaning the prevailing wind was now straightening out my drive.

My favourite hole had to be the 10th. This has a large dune directly in front of the tee box, with two stakes on the crest of the dune. The idea being to hit the ball between the posts, to make it onto the fairway. It was really exciting to walk around the dune to see where you had ended up (in the fairway for me).

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the course and cannot recommend it strongly enough. It might be nice to play with less wind, but, to be honest, a gusty day gives you the full links experience. I now feel ready for St Andrews and Royal Birkdale.

OUR RATING: 5/5

FOR GOLF ENQUIRIES
+44(0) 1278 785760
enquiries@burnhamgolf.co.uk
www.burnhamandberrowgolfclub.co.uk

 

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