Burnham & Berrow Golf Club #21

Burnham and Berrow Golf Club sits firmly in the conversation around UK top 100 golf courses, but our golf course review comes with a rare caveat: we played it in proper links golf misery. We arrive as a 20-person golf society for a Ryder Cup weekend and immediately feel the place’s old-school warmth, from the compact clubhouse to the practice setup where putting green, chipping area and range sit right by the pro shop. That tight footprint makes organising a big group easier and adds a buzz, especially when you can look out and see the first tee and the 18th green from the terrace. Even before a ball is struck, it feels like a “proper” traditional club rather than a glossy resort.

Then the weather forecast proves painfully accurate. The rain starts as drizzle and becomes relentless, with wind and cold layered on top, which changes not just scoring but perception. It is hard to lift your head and take in architecture when you are focused on staying dry, keeping grips usable and simply finding your ball. That raises a bigger point about golf course rankings and ratings: how can any reviewer fairly judge a layout when conditions remove visibility, comfort and even the ability to think clearly? We end up admitting that the back nine dominates our memory, not because the front nine is weak, but because the worst rain smothered those early holes.

Despite that, the core of Burnham and Berrow shows through. The course is a stern test with constant uneven stances, variable lies and the classic humps, hollows and mounds that force shot-making rather than stock swings. The greens are full of slope and subtlety, so even a “safe” approach can leave a testing putt. Condition-wise, we note it is early season, and while it is clearly well kept, it does not quite match the absolute peak surfaces we have seen elsewhere. Still, as a links golf challenge it holds its own, which explains why it hosts serious amateur events and Open qualifying style golf.

The par threes become the headline, with the ninth and the fourteenth standing out as holes that demand commitment and a clear plan. One unexpected takeaway is the value of a pin position sheet, especially on long greens where club selection can swing by two clubs once you know exactly where the flag sits. We also trade favourite holes, from a brutally strong opener, to a blind short par four that tempts indecision, to back-nine tee shots framed by rolling dunes with no obvious landing area. Add in match play pressure, a cameo from Wales number one Toby Hunt, and our own Ryder Cup side bets, and you get a review shaped by competition as much as by design.

In the end, Burnham and Berrow does not land in either of our top fives, and we question whether its published ranking number truly reflects our day. But the most telling verdict is simple: we want to go back. Wanting a second look, in better weather, says more than any scorecard. If you love authentic English links golf, strategic par threes, natural undulation and a club that feels rooted in its community, Burnham and Berrow Golf Club belongs on your list, ideally when the top 100 gods decide to smile on you.