Berkhamsted Golf Club has opened a new short game practice area that boasts a variety of bunkers – a feature of golf course design that its famously absent from the golf course that it sits next to.
Located in secluded woodlands beside the Hertfordshire club’s 18th hole, the new short game area, which was designed by golf architect James Edwards of Edwards Design International, includes a large, curved double-green surrounded by fescue-topped mounds and a variety of chipping and pitching areas. There are also two new bunkers – the first at Berkhamsted for over 100 years.
Club manager Howard Craft said: “We asked our members what they most wanted, and overwhelmingly they requested an upgrade to our practice facilities. We are very happy with the result! We did wrestle with the bunkers decision, given that we are known as one of the UK’s few great bunker-free golf courses, but our members aren’t hermits – they travel all over the world to play golf, so the new bunkers give them a very welcome chance to work on their sand play.”
Unusually, there are no cups on the double-green, as they are not designed for putting on, so the pins are on spikes which can be moved to offer a variety of challenges.
Craft added: “We have three pins, and golfers can easily move them to create virtually limitless practice options. Whether you’re playing bunker shots, hitting chip-and-runs, or playing from the swales and hollows, out here you’ll find more or less every short game challenge from the main course – apart from the bunkers.“
Ladies European Tour star Alice Hewson, a former junior member at Berkhamsted, formally opened the area in a ceremony at the start of the season, and the club’s members are now enjoying immaculate playing conditions.
Work began in late 2021, with designer James Edwards working closely with acclaimed shaper Conor Walsh to produce a modern take on Berkhamsted’s world-famous mounds which create formidable defences for the greens on the main golf course. The short game area’s greens are seeded with pure bent grass, with dwarf rye fescue on the outfields to replicate the tight lies on Berkhamsted’s green approaches. Heather was taken from non-golfing areas of the main golf course, and replanted in between the bunkers: the results are a visual feast for golfers.
Edwards said: “Three iconic golf architects – Willie Park Jnr, Harry Colt and James Braid – each contributed to the design of the main golf course here, so with our first heathland academy we wanted to recreate some of the natural atmosphere and unique shots which make Berkhamsted so memorable. Gerald Bruce and his greenkeeping team have taken the setup to another level with their excellent vision for its aesthetics and playability, and the end result has surpassed our expectations.”
Berkhamsted’s Head Professional Joe Biggs said: “It’s a phenomenal addition to the golf club, and an amazing place not only to enjoy practice but also as a place to teach the short game. There are so many shots to hit there. We want to be the very best we can be here at Berkhamsted, and I believe that the new short game area has elevated the club’s reputation still further. With its arrival, Berkhamsted now has everything that serious golfers need as regards authentic, traditional grass practice.”