Burnham And Berrow Stay And Play Review

Jeremy Ellwood heads down to the renowned championship links at Burnham and Berrow in Somerset for a stay and play break

Burnham and Berrow Stay And Play Review

Jeremy Ellwood heads down to the renowned championship links at Burnham and Berrow in Somerset for a stay and play break

Burnham And Berrow Stay And Play Review

On course Burnham and Berrow

Championship course: par 70, 6,475 yards (Spoon course - each set of tees has its own name) Channel course: par 70, 5,852 yards (twice round 9 holes) Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside, us golfing Brits. So it’s great that a number of our top links also offer comfortable, cosy accommodation. This means you can get straight out of bed on to the 1st tee… perhaps preferably stopping off for a hearty clubhouse breakfast en route.

Burnham and Berrow Stay And Play Review

The 1st green on the Championship Course

The Championship course at Burnham and Berrow , ranked 30th in our UK & Ireland Top 100, starts with a narrowish uphill par 4 between the dunes. The 2nd is then just a superb rollercoaster links hole.

Burnham and Berrow Stay and Play review

Both courses play over gloriously rumpled links terrain (Credit: James Lovett)

You get great views of the Bristol Channel from the elevated 4th tee before tackling a simply gorgeous short par 3. Then it's on into the late front-nine marsh holes where, unusually for a links, reeds and rushes line the fairways.

Burnham and Berrow Stay And Play Review

The short 5th is a cracking par 3

The 9th, worryingly christened ‘Wreck, is one of a quartet of well-bunkered par 3s at Burnham and Berrow.

Other great links courses with dormy accommodation Formby Royal St David's Royal Porthcawl

On to the back nine

Burnham and Berrow Stay And Play Review

Don't forget to ring the eye-catching bell on the blind 9th

You’ll remember the par-5 13th with its long, slender green, and the short par-4 16th, where the green boasts plenty of interesting movement.

Burnham and Berrow Stay And Play Review

Views across the 13th green to the Bristol Channel beyond

The links finishes strongly with the excellent par-3 17th and a testing par-4 finale doglegging round to the left.

Burnham and Berrow Stay and Play review

The 17th is the last and perhaps toughest of the four par 3s (Credit: James Lovett)

You must also find time for the excellent nine-hole Channel course, which plays very strong second fiddle.

Burnham and Berrow Stay And Play Review

The 9th hole on the Channel course with the 1st fairway to the left

The first four holes hug the watercourse edging the marsh. Coming home you climb up on to the dune ridge from the 6th, with every hole memorable from here to the end.

Off course The dormy house at Burnham and Berrow - the red-brick building on your left as you enter the car park - offers six comfortable, airy twin rooms.

Burnham and Berrow Stay And Play Review

The dormy rooms occupy this red-brick building at Burnham and Berrow

Those needing to keep up to speed with work or who like to take a photograph or two out on the links will be pleased to know that there is a more than adequate number of well-placed electric sockets, including USB options – something that is most definitely not always the case.

Burnham and Berrow Stay and Play review

Rooms are comfortable and airy with a good number of electric sockets for the modern traveller (Credit: James: Lovett)

The dormy house has a garden area too, so you can enjoy your own little bit of private space in fine weather.

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Don't miss out on the excellent chipping and short-game green

Before you head for the links, take advantage of Burnham and Berrow’s fine practice facilities. These include a long driving range and an excellent short-game area by the path leading down to the Channel course.

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response