I had a day off and the sun decided to shine, it was a glorious Winter day in England. I swallowed a quick
breakfast and began a two hour drive from Poole on the South coast. I arrived in plenty of time to smack some practice balls, enjoy this sign,
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| A good omen for practice before any round on the links! |
slap some putts, and have a
brew (coffee, although I have seen many a pint consumed in English clubhouses
before noon on any day of the week!). Is
it time to tee off yet?! I get paired
with three young lads who tell me they are posting scores today and I propose
we played a match as well. Stabelford it
is, how delightfully English and confusing for me!
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| 1st Tee Notice the large dunes on the horizon. |
My broad impressions for the day included:
Blustery and Sunny, "out and in" routing, marching into the wind back nine, a difficult test. I obviously want to play the opposite wind, it will
be like unwrapping the gift of great links golf all over again.
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| #1 Notice my playing partners climbing the massive dunes on the right of the photo. |
The opening holes are a tough and captivating start to get the juices flowing. The golf leads you through large and irregular dunes, leaving uncertainty about what shot will be required around the corner. The following holes 4-8 scale down a bit, but not in strategy, while
skirting around the wild dunes in the heart of the golf course. The middle part of the round 9,10,11 exhibit a brilliant use of subtle and
“flatter” terrain as a link back to the commotion within…
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| Blind Tee Shot #10 |
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| #11 Flat but not without golfing interest. |
Holes 12-18 continue to build the crescendo as you move back
through the dunes. Getting to the 18th
green is a relief, with a chance to make a flat putt.
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| #18 The Home Green |
Burnham and Berrow reminded me in many ways of North Berwick in Edinburgh. Both have a funky start in irregular
terrain and exhibit a brilliant use of the subtle ground to link up with the more dramatic
holes later in the round. Both golf courses also use this dramatic terrain late in the round to build to
a terrific climax.
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| #16 Green A wonderful spot to end a golf hole. |
B&B has many unique green sites and approaches to the par 4’s and
5’s. Two punch bowls (3&15), a couple
of “turtle backs”, a few shoulders on the side of dunes and others on dune tops. The 16th green is possibly the
best greens I have ever seen. It’s a
miniature and twisted version of the crazy green at Sitwell Park or any other
such inspiration. Its in a league of its
own.
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| #16 Green Surface |
A pint of bitter helped me soak in the experience of the
day. I’m glad I played with the locals
as well or I surely would have scored even worse.
I can't wait to go back already!
