For the first time in almost 100 years, the classic English inland course at Berkhamsted Golf Club in Hertfordshire will play differently this season.
But golfing purists needn’t worry: the club has simply ‘reversed its nines’ so that players returning after the recent lockdown can enjoy a stronger start and finish to their rounds.
The reversal is the only major change to Berkhamsted’s 6,683 yard, par-71 course since James Braid last redesigned it in 1926, upgrading the course from Willie Park Jnr and Harry Colt’s original designs.
Only Berkhamsted members can experience the re-routed golf course for now, although guest rounds start on April 26, and from July 5 all golfers will be able to book a game on the heathland course.
Berkhamsted’s first hole is now a picturesque 194-yard par-three over water to a well-guarded green – a much stiffer test than the gentle par-four opener the club used to have.
The famously bunker-free Berkhamsted thus joins a short list of other notable English courses with par three starts, including Royal Lytham & St Anne’s, Walton Heath (Old), Southport & Ainsdale, Liphook, North Hants and Hayling Island.
From the 15th there is now a memorable four-hole closing stretch finishing with a dog-leg par four from an elevated tee which affords a view of the clubhouse.
Club Captain Ian Carlile said: “For those of us who have been here for years, playing Berkhamsted ‘the wrong way round’ did initially feel strange, but our old 18th used to end way out of sight of the clubhouse, whereas the new routing now creates the proper amount of drama and atmosphere. Not only can people now enjoy a drink and some food at Berkhamsted while watching others end their rounds, but also our final four holes are now highly distinctive, much more so than the original Braid routing from 1926.”
Following the completion of a recent irrigation project, visitors to Berkhamsted will also enjoy better playing surfaces, including improved greens and approaches. Additional touches of quality such as new growth around the tees, and all-new signage to help newcomers find their way around, also contribute to the new welcome at Berkhamsted Golf Club this summer.
Elite golfers will get their first chance to try the revised layout in competition when the club’s famous Berkhamsted Trophy, the traditional season-opener for men’s elite golf, transitions to a gender-neutral event in 2022, after being postponed for two successive seasons owing to the COVID-19 outbreak.