If you asked most golfers to name a great links course within striking distance of London, the conversation tends to drift towards Kent, East Anglia, or even the southern coast. However, there are hidden gems scattered throughout England that are rarely discussed. Burnham & Berrow, tucked away on the Somerset coast around two and a half hours west of the capital is one of these hidden gems.
For someone who has played Burnham & Berrow, the lack of wider discussion about it is quite surprising. But that is also part of what makes the club so appealing. It has the history, the architecture, and the natural setting of a much more famous links yet somehow remains comfortably beneath the radar.
Burnham & Berrow Golf Club is rich with history and pedigree
(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
The club dates back to 1890, when twelve members met at the Royal Clarence Hotel in Bridgwater and laid out a modest nine holes across the dunes of Berrow Warren. The lighthouse, which still stands beside the course today, was already there and would go on to become one of the most recognisable features of the property. As the club progressed, the great J.H. Taylor became the club's first professional and greenkeeper, establishing an impressive pedigree almost from the beginning. In 1913 Harry Colt arrived and removed many of the weaker and blind holes, creating much of the routing golfers still play today. The First World War delayed the completion of his work, but by 1923 the foundations of the modern Championship Course were firmly in place.
The Championship Course is truly exceptional
(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
That Championship Course is the main event. Regularly featuring among the best courses in England, it has hosted the English Amateur, Open qualifiers, and the Women's Amateur Championship on multiple occasions. Yet what makes it memorable is not one particular hole or dramatic stretch, but the quality of the entire round. Four par threes stand out in particular, each completely different from the last and each requiring a different approach from the tee. The course moves naturally through genuine duneland, with the Bristol Channel visible across much of the back nine, while the Mendip Hills and Cheddar Gorge rise in the distance. It is an old-fashioned links in the best possible sense, shaped by the land rather than imposed upon it.
When Golfshake Ambassador Andy Picken played here, he wrote: "This course is a magnificent construction, managed, maintained and developed for now and the future generations that will follow to use its superb facilities. It feels historic and special and I cannot wait to return to sample its delights again. The experience of playing here will last long in the memory. This was due in part to the welcome we were extended but also the magnificence of the course and its surroundings."
The Channel Course is another appealing prospect
Alongside the Championship Course is the Channel Course, a shorter nine-hole course laid out in 1977, which is often combined with the routing of the Championship Course to create an additional eighteen. For anyone making the trip from London or elsewhere, that matters more than it sounds. There is no need to get back in the car after eighteen holes or find another course elsewhere, as both courses play completely different.
It's more than worth the journey to get here
(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
The drive is undoubtedly the catch if you are travelling from afar. Burnham & Berrow is around two and a half hours from London, which makes it too far for an easy after-work round but comfortably within range for a proper day trip. Leave early, arrive for the Championship Course while the dunes are still quiet, have lunch at the club, and then play the Channel Course before starting the drive home. It is a long day, but standing on the first tee with the lighthouse ahead of you, the coastline around the property, and eighteen holes of proper links golf waiting to be played, the journey quickly becomes an afterthought.
Burnham & Berrow is the perfect stay and play golf break
(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
With that being said, the best way to experience Burnham & Berrow is through one of their stay-and-play packages. This is especially true if you are looking to travel with a group. Sitting in the car park roughly 20 seconds from the clubhouse and first tee is a premium accommodation called The Dormy House.
Dormy House can sleep up to twelve golfers across six twin rooms, with five en-suite rooms and the sixth served by an adjacent bathroom. Guests also have full access to the clubhouse, locker rooms, snooker room, and breakfast during their stay. This is something truly rare in a golf trip, as you can wake up, grab your clubs, and within seconds you are having breakfast in the clubhouse or rolling a few putts on the practice green.
Packages include bed and breakfast alongside two rounds on the Championship Course or one round on the Championship and one on the Channel Course. Prices currently start from £215 per person for the Championship and Channel combination, rising to £335 for two Championship rounds during May to September, with lower rates available outside peak season. If you're booking for a group it is hard to beat the prospect world-class links golf, guaranteed tee times, and breakfast, all while your accommodation sits directly beside the first tee.
What makes Burnham & Berrow such a special venue for golfers?
(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
Alongside the unique experience that the stay-and-play packages offer, Burnham & Berrow proves itself as a special course in an understated and authentic way. It does not try to announce itself. It does not try to be Sunningdale or Rye, and it does not need to be. Instead, it offers something increasingly rare: a historic golf club, a demanding links course shaped by some of the great architects of the game, and a genuinely welcoming atmosphere.
For London-based golfers willing to trade a couple of hours of travel for a day on one of England's most underrated links, Burnham & Berrow is very easy to recommend. The journey may be longer than some of the more obvious options, but once the round begins, it feels less like a detour and more like one of those discoveries that makes golf trips so enjoyable in the first place.
If you would like to know more, please visit https://www.burnhamandberrowgolfclub.co.uk/ or see our travel partners, Golfbreaks, who can help you package together an unforgettable trip to this corner of the nation.
