Burnham Beeches Golf Club - Est 1891

Info correct at last date played: 7th October 2005

Club Facilities

AGN Review Score 6.4

Course Card

Course Review

This course, one of the oldest in the region, is set in a wonderful location where the beeches of the surrounding wood give the club it's name. The layout is varied and a joy to play, it undulates throughout the course but is by no means a hard walk and many of the holes have some great views to take in. The greens ran true but the fairways were a little way off the standard, perhaps we should give the course the benefit of the doubt being the time of year we played the course.

The climb up to the fairway of the 2nd hole.

The starting hole is quite forgiving, hit the ball a decent distance and you should have a nice downhill approach to the green. The 2nd however has a very tough tee shot up the hill to a fairway that runs diagonally away from the tee, reaching this green in two requires a couple of solid shots. The 3rd is a great par 3 that, depending on tee position, can have half the green hidden from view, definitely not a hole for people who naturally hit the ball with a right to left draw.

View from the tee of the partially obscured 3rd green.

The 4th is reachable in two if your drive is long and left otherwise ensure you miss the bunkers on your lay up. The 5th hole is another tough par 4 where the dip between the approach to the green could cause a wrong club choice. The par 3 that follows can be a very tough tee shot if the pin is behind one of the bunkers, aiming for the middle of the green is the best option. The 7th is a pretty straight forward par 4 with the only trouble being on the left. The 8th hole is a slight dogleg to the left but does not really require you to cut any corners and the same applies to the 9th hole where you just have to judge the uphill approach correctly.

View of the tight drive from the 11th tee.

The second nine starts off with a great par 3, it has a cavernous bunker in front of a raised green so you really do not want to be short. The 11th is a pretty straight forward par 4 then comes the tee shot of the 12th, over a small valley and through the gap in the tree line. The 13th is a par 3 that has all it's trouble at the front so take enough club, then it's on to the 14th a dogleg par 4 to the right. The approach shot to the green is blind here and you will have to walk up and have a look at the green down below.

The cavernous bunker in front of the 10th green.

The 15th hole is the only real short par 4 on the course and should not give you too much trouble but the 16th has a couple of bunkers at driving distance for those trying to get far enough up the fairway to reach it in two. The 17th is a decent length par 3 that needs a solid strike and the last hole is another par 4 over 400 yards, which makes six in total.

We really did enjoy the golf here with some interesting and varied holes, the clubhouse changing facilities were good too but the course was let down by our experience as we walked into the bar area. Ken had changed out of both his golf trousers and top and into a new pair of trousers and a very smart short sleeved shirt, the type of shirt that just reaches the waistline of the trousers all the way round so is not meant to be tucked in. Yes you guessed it the first words we heard when we went to order a couples of drinks after our round were, "Could you tuck your shirt in please sir"'. Ken replied with "It's not really the type of shirt that should be tucked in." but the person behind the bar would not serve us so we just walked out.

So we have a message for Burnham Beeches Golf Club, we know you were founded in 1891 but you do not have to stay in the 19th century, fashion has come a long way since then.

Favourite Hole

Hole 14:
430 yard par 4 dogleg left to right.

View of the 14th fairway from the tee, it looks quite a severe dogleg.

You can get quite close to the valley across the fairway by cutting the corner on this dogleg but be careful cut the corner too much or hit a long straight drive too far and you will have trees blocking your approach to the green below. The approach is down to a blind green so club selection is vital but a single bunker is all the protection the green gets so a missed green is not punished too severely.

Visitor Comments

Submitted by Rob Lewis on 20/05/2006.
Wonderful, well established golf course. No two the same a great test of golf at all levels. Played many times in various golf societies, but as the reviews says, please be aware that this is a very stuffy old fashioned golf club. Dress code is very strict, which to some extent I do understand due to its location. My good friend was well aware of these tight rules, dressed in the most hideous of colours, I have never seen such an awful pair of knee length green socks in my life, but because he dressed within the code he played on, not a pleasant sight but the point was well made. Apart from the stiffness this is a must course to play.

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