XLVII: The Berkshire (Blue)
Few clubs on the planet enjoy two courses, and fewer yet boast a pair of world class layouts. For most, and rightly so, Royal Melbourne, Winged Foot and Sunningdale will jump off the page, but those who have drifted through the pines of Ascot will likely save a spot for The Berkshire’s Red and Blue routings amongst its esteemed dual-looped associates.
The charming Ascot heathland
20 years on from his maiden 36-hole English venture -a starkly contrasting variety of heathland golf across the mild terrain of Walton Heath, Herbert Fowler was granted a second sprawling site on the outskirts of London- one more keenly loaded with the natural features of excellent golf. The Berkshire’s sandy soil, creeping purple heather and lofty pines are wonderfully synonymous with its South London location and combined with patches of dynamic elevation change, its site embodies the finest qualities of English inland golf. What is clear after the golfer experiences both properties is Fowler’s ability to react to the topography he is presented, carving rousing golf from two entirely different pieces of land. More so than anything else, this is a testament to the architect’s brilliance and the flexibility of his golfing acumen.
Berkshire is rife with wonderful golfing properties
Unfortunately, like all of these famous venues, comparisons are inevitable between Berkshire’s two routings and with most favouring the consistently dynamic terrain and quirky 6/6/6 spread of par threes, fours and fives of the Red course, the Blue is often unfairly rendered the forgotten sibling – though questions of why arise from the opening tee.
From the foot of the clubhouse terrace a 200-yard carry across a heather laden ravine paves the way to the hilltop green of the first. The left to right tilt of the land accepts balls bounding up its left half only, with anything right sent cascading down the bank. I know of no more fearsome or thrilling opening par three in the game – there is little room for an early loosener, but great satisfaction in success. Such a stoutly excellent one-shotter would ordinarily be reserved for the heart of a routing and its placement as the opening swing of the day is a move which could be played off as a bold statement, but in truth it beautifully showcases Fowler’s ethos – laying out holes which suit the land in the most ideal manner.
Looking back down the fearsome opener
​Following the thrill of the sweaty palmed opener and the short two shot second, which dives downhill to a beautifully angled green site wedged between a pair of bunkers, the routing lands in the flattest section of Berkshire’s property. From the third tee to the eighth green the Blue navigates mild, low-lying terrain – the flatland run which has most placing the Red above the Blue. Though less dramatic, there are clear flashes of Fowler’s knack of elevating quiet land – The most obvious arriving at the fourth. At just over 150-yards this quintessentially pretty heathland one-shotter’s tiny raised green is smothered by trouble - bunkers, runoffs and heather layering its defence. Short iron in hand, it makes a wonderful offset to the brutality of the first.
A quintessentially South London one-shotter
The ninth hole is the Blue’s gateway to the busy land of the back side. Short and tempting, the ninth is entirely gettable for the long hitter, but its fairway climbs and bottlenecks with heather and a lonely bunker encroaching on a steeply false-fronted surface.
The gentle rise of the 9th fairway
A Mighty Fine Heathland Half-Dozen
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As golfers reach the eleventh tee, they perhaps unknowingly find themselves at the beginning of one of heathland golf’s finest stretches. A sharp shift in terrain ensues as idyllic sandy rolls, hollows and tilt present rambunctious grounds for the game – the accompanying golf leaves little room for disappointment.
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The 11th
Sweeping right quickly from the tee, the quirky presence of a zig-zagging trench dominates the strategy of the second shot into the par five 11th. The back-and-forth hazard challenges various landing areas and shepherds golfers to the right, away from its grips. It’s no accident that the most challenging angle of approach is found away from the ditch.
The zig-zagging ditch raises plenty of questions of the second shot
The 12th
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One of the UK’s great inland two-shotters, the 12th fairway slants and tilts right offering a multitude of lines to be taken from the tee. The star of the show however is the audaciously double-stepped putting surface carved into the side of a dune – a beautifully natural hole with a memorable flourish.
The twelfth green is the Blue's most convoluted
The 13th
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All of the great London Heathland layouts boast a memorable set of one-shot holes and the Berkshire is no exception. Of the bunch, the 13th may just be the pick as it clings onto the hillside clad with rugged heath and jagged bunkers separating tee from green.
Bunkers bleeding into the hillside
The 14th
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Elements of blindness are synonymous with much of the UK’s finest golden age golf and the Berkshire reaches for a marker-post and bell brilliantly at the 14th. Completely blind from the tee, as golfers crest the ridge another bottlenecking fairway slicing through the purple heather is revealed – one of the loops most grand moments.
A most wonderful heathland view beyond the ridge
The 15th
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By the time golfers reach the 15th they understand they are in the heart of a brilliant stretch and eying up the downhill tee ball and fairway curving left, there is little respite. Another down and up hole, its fairway sits in a valley while the approach rises to a plateau green. Special attention must be paid to the gorgeously natural hazard cut into the heather short of the green.
Berkshire's natural hazards blend wonderfully into their surrounds
The 16th
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One of the strongest holes of the day and another sweeping legger, the 16th tee shot is contested by heavy bunkering on the inside corner. The subsequent approach is the busiest visual on the course with a stream cutting across the base of the raised green site and a pair of traps junking up the golfers’ sightlines.
The busy approach into 16
​One of Berkshire Blue’s great appeals is its naturalness, Fowler has done a remarkable job of balancing a light touch across the best of the land and exercising a little more forcefulness amongst the flats. Hazards sit seamlessly on the ground, heather rears its head at the right moments and for the most part the pines allow necessary space to play the game properly. The breadth of diversity in the Blue’s two-shotters is admirable and its memorable set of par threes would stand shoulder to shoulder with the majority of inland collections in the UK. Many will deliberate over the merits of a handful of the flatter holes, but few will argue with the back nine housing some of London’s most grand expressions of the game. The Blue is unquestionably worthy of the travelling golfer’s time.