Burnham and Berrow Championship course, Burnham-on-sea, Somerset, England

https://www.burnhamandberrowgolfclub.co.uk/

Burnham and Berrow Golf Club lies between the town of Burnham-On-Sea and the south bank of the Bristol Channel, with views to Wales on the opposite bank. It was founded in 1891 as a nine hole course designed by Charles Gibson, the professional at Royal North Devon.  At that time the design of a true links course demanded that if there was a sand dune you played over it and if there was a deep hollow a green was built in it.  Five years later the club's name was changed to Burnham and Berrow when the course was extended to Berrow church.  In 1910 the course was extended to eighteen holes by William Fowler and subsequently redesigned by Harry Colt with advice from Alistair Mackenzie between 1913 and 1923.  The delay was caused by the intervention of the Great War. The first professional at the club was John Taylor who won the Open Championship on five occasions and captained the winning Ryder Cup team in 1933. From its early years Burnham and Berrow has hosted many high level amateur golf and Open qualifying tournaments 

Julie our starter with the
Saltire flying behind her

We encountered a very friendly welcome and Julie, the starter, assured us that the Scottish flag was flying in our honour - a lovely touch.  The day was sunny with a brisk wind into us on the way out and with us on the way back.  With a traditional out-and-back layout this is a proper links course winding through impressive dunes.  The first hole is appropriately named 'The Gap' with a drive and approach to the green through narrow gaps between the dunes.  You are well advised to keep to the left of the fairway as the approach is blind from the right.  There is a long carry from the 2nd tee and a long narrow green sloping steeply from back to front, with runoffs on both sides and a false front ready to trap a slightly short approach.  The drive from the 3rd is to an angled fairway, a common feature on this course.  It is named 'Punch Bowl' for its green.  The first par 3 is the 5th which has bunkers front, left and right and swales all round making an up and down tricky if you miss the green.  At the par 5 8th the drive is over a diagonal ditch to angled fairway with bunkers lying in wait for a pulled tee shot.  The fairway runs left to right so a short approach shot will run off to the right of the green.  A plateau green awaits on the par 3 9th with a steep slope up to a green surrounded by bunkers.  

The punch bowl 3rd green 

The 1st green is tucked behind sand dunes

The 5th green is typical of the par 3s

We thought that the 10th was the weakest hole with blind drive over a dune to a dogleg left to right, a rather nondescript hole.  Nondescript does not describe the 12th hole, named 'Church' because of the Berrow church on the left.  It is situated at what was the high water mark in the late 18th century.  It is a tough par 4 up to a green with a steep runoff at the front and surrounded by swales.  The 13th is another tricky par 5, uphill to a narrow landing area for the second shot, and to a green guarded by bunkers and a steep slope to its left.  There are great views from the par 3 14th green which is two-tiered with a very steep approach.  The only place to miss is short right if you want a chance of getting up and down. very steep to two tiered green, no bunkers.  The final par 3 is the 17th which is true to form - an elevated green with a steep runoff at the front. The 18th is a dogleg from right to left preventing a view of the green from the tee.  The second shot is through a narrow gap and an accurate shot has to take into account the softer ground in front of green which is easy to go through as it slopes from front to back.

The 18th with the clubhouse and Burnham lighthouse behind

Worth playing? Definitely.  A challenging true links course.