The Berkshire Golf Club

For your England golf vacation, a stop at The Berkshire is a must. Founded in 1928, The Berkshire Golf Club (pronounced Bark-shire), has two superb Herbert Fowler-designed classics, the Red and the Blue. These courses join the unique fraternity of London golf clubs with the distinct honor of being listed in the Top 100 English golf courses, as well as the Top 100 in the world lists.

While Sunningdale, Walton Heath, and Wentworth may garner more press, the courses at The Berkshire are among the favorites of time’s most prestigious amateurs.

For those interested in a London golf tour with a little history, The Berkshire Golf Club is a great place to play. It has hosted several prestigious men’s and women’s amateur tournaments, including the St Andrews Trophy, The Amateur, Women’s Home Internationals, English Men’s and Women’s Amateur, the Senior Men’s Amateur, and the most coveted trophy in Berkshire golf, the annual Berkshire Trophy.

A testament to the quality of the courses are the winners of The Amateur here, including Sir Michael Bonallack, Peter Oosterhuis, Sandy Lyle, and Sir Nick Faldo.

Red Course

The Red Course is praised for its variety and balance. Not just for its symmetrical “triple 6” holes and other such features, but also in the use of terrain elevation that forces players to think carefully about each shot. Careful selection of clubs and using the natural vantage points available throughout the course will provide any golf enthusiast with an unforgettable lesson in strategy and confidence. 

Red combines the symmetry in its design, clever use of the natural terrain, alongside a variety of hole lengths to keep players engaged. 

Blue Course

The Blue Course is less meditative than its sibling, rewarding power and precision, especially towards the end of the course (don’t forget about that long stretch of par-4s you’ll be finishing on). The Blue course offers length for those who want to push themselves, and often leads to an exciting close for your scorecard. 

Blue does not sacrifice any charm for this more competitive experience. The course merges with the contours of the land and makes full use of the natural terrain and all its features. It offers players a test of placing shots under pressure and stamina towards the finish.

Built on Crown Estate lands that were formerly the hunting grounds of Queen Anne, the course might be better known to American visitors had it retained its Royal charter and been known today as Royal Birkdale.

Proving it pays to be kind to everyone, King George VIII (the Duke of Windsor) turned up to play one day with a non-aristocratic friend, Archie Compston.

The then-secretary chose to not allow Compston in the clubhouse. For his efforts to keep perceived riff-raff from associating with the members, he received a letter the next week revoking the royal designation, never to be bestowed again.

However, today all visitors are very warmly welcomed at The Berkshire, in fact, the Club is known for its hospitality.

Set in woodlands outside Ascott, Berkshire, is a perfect example of some of the best heathland golf available in London (possibly the entire country). The scenery provides both charming views and acts as the guiding hand for the layout of the Red and Blue courses. 

Herbert Fowler’s design philosophy shines loud and clear throughout the courses, making players think they’re playing golf on a layout that has grown out of the ground rather than being artificially designed. Changes and alterations to the course have been slight over the decades, giving the club a charm and depth that is hard to find anywhere else.