Bamburgh Castle - Northumberland - England

Bamburgh Castle has had lots of varying reviews, and as with many similar courses this indicates that it is a course worth visiting and making your own mind up. Personally I love the course for its scenery, elevation changes and sheer fun. It's a sporting course that would never be made these days. Often we play a traditional course and compare a hole to one at Bamburgh, particularly if it has an elevated tee playing across broken ground to a green nestled amongst rocks - superb fun ! It's a quick, great value, supremely enjoyable game of golf to be included in any itinerary in the area or if heading up to or back from Scotland. Not to be missed.

I've played Bamburgh a handful of times now over the years, and it remains one of my favourite courses in the country. It is the epitome of what golf should be about - natural, fun and transportive. Yes, it is short, but never boring, and I don't have much truck with people who measure the test of a golf course on its length anyway. And if you play here when there's a 4 club wind (which there often is!) you will have played magnificently if you've played to handicap. If there is a course with better views in British golf, I'd like to know about it! Surely worthy of nudging ahead of some of the unremarkable tracks languishing near the bottom of the English Top 100?

Bamburgh Castle most definitely falls into the ‘odd sock drawer’ of golf courses… and that’s a good thing!

Sporty in nature this entertaining course was in fantastic condition towards the end of February 2015. It’s an unusual course and whilst I don’t think I would personally wish to play it ‘week-in and week out’ my first round here was highly enjoyable and I would return to play again without any hesitation.

It is very much what I would class as ‘old fashioned’ golf. The terrain is undulating which requires a lot of shot-making and the course boasts exceptionally fine turf; although not a true links it certainly walks and talks like one on many of the holes. The views along the Northumberland Coast and across the sandy beaches out to the North Sea are simply breathtaking too.

The oddities start from the off as you commence the round with two par three’s followed immediately by two par fives! I only found this out for sure after my round because it was a windy day and the scorecard I picked up from the recently refurbished clubhouse was already drifting out to sea by the time I had reached the first green.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.

Played this course last week. Thought I was going to enjoy it as I love courses with views and undulating land and was delighted to have my expectations surpassed.It is true that this is not a championship course. Too short, too many blind shots and too many cross crossing holes for the professionals. These "downsides" were more than compensated by amazing views, good conditioning, a test of all parts of the game, and a genuinely fun mix of holes. This should rank up there with North Berwick and Lahinch in the fun lists in my view. Both my playing partner (casual golfer) and I (handicap 9) thoroughly enjoyed the round despite not playing at our best and with a three club wind.Back to the location - as good as Pebble Beach, Turnberry, Royal County Down and New Sourh Wales. And Lindisfarne to the north and the castle to the south. If only the same quality could be provided by the weather!Favorite holes - 2nd (a driver into the wind!), the maligned 8th (fair in my opinion), 15th, 16th and 17th. The fact that I can clearly recall all of them is instructive.On the subject of lists, it is outrageous that this is not a top 100 course in the UK (I've played around 60). It is probably in my top ten courses in the world. Fun should clearly be given more weighting by the judges.In short, all expectations were exceeded. Highly recommended.

I play here a couple of times a year and have followed the mixed ratings it gets with interest.. If you believe golf should be fair and that everything should be clearly set out in front of you then this will not be your cup of tea. However, if you regard the layout, the condition and the surroundings on a "good to be alive" scale, this one is off the charts. I will keep going back as often as I can! CF

What a stunning golf course Bamburgh Castle is. Played it recently in a VERY strong wind which then makes this relatively short course extemely difficult. Some delightful holes and superb par 3's (of which there are six). The 15th and 16th were played directly into the wind but the views from the 15th and 17th tees were nothing short of fantastic.With the strong prevailing wind I am sure that the 17th and 18th holes have ruined many a good card!! Lovely clubhouse with very friendly staff. All in all an excellent day out.

Played Bamburgh today on August Bank Holiday Monday with 3 family members (handicaps of 5, 6, 8 & 11). Fully agree with the previous comments that the views from this course really are superb. We played it on a warm sunny day with a 2-3 club wind. We received a nice warm welcome from the clubhouse and were pleased to be able to play it off the white tees given it is pretty short (5,645 yards - par 68) containing no less than 6 par 3s! Indeed the course starts with 2 par-3s and then 2 par-5s. It's a fun cliff top layout (rather than links) and they make good use of the very undulating land. The greens definitely needed a shave as they were very slow and a bit bumpy but otherwise it was in pretty good nick. The only thing that I didn't enjoy so much was the volume of blind tee shots (maybe 5 or 6) but otherwise it is a good mix of some short par 4s with some challenging par 3s. To sum up... a good fun holiday track but not one that will take your breath away, although the views certainly did.

Just got back from this course and have been inspired enough to do a short review. It’s a course that will divide opinion depending on the factors you rate as most important on a visit. In short, scenery yes no words can do the views justice. Layout, very quirky and definitely 400 yards too short overall we had a group of handicaps from 5 to 20 and that was the general consensus. It was a reasonably calm day but no one is going to find this too much of a challenge, not that that is a bad thing as we have also played our share of courses that were too tough to enjoy. Not as many blind shots as some are making out and not an excessive number for a links, can’t say any of my group over 2 rounds lost a ball that didn’t deserve to be lost. Not the easiest walk and some of the steep concreted paths look downright lethal in the wet. Condition, in the height of summer, was good overall, greens a little off colour in a typical links way but putted fine, fairways slightly worn and tees a bit scruffy in places. Clubhouse was small and pleasant, only one member of staff apparently doing everything but she was coping, perfectly adequate changing facilities and good value catering. Small but accessible warm up/practise area.Would I go back? A qualified yes, but being new to the area I would like to see some of the other well regarded links first to compare. The next day we actually played Dunstanburgh, which was considerably cheaper and we actually overall rated higher. The layout was somewhat stronger, the walk considerably easier, and the views 95% as good. Bamburgh ask £50 for a days golf, which is certainly not bad but looks a bit expensive by comparison

Just came back from a holiday in England and played 9 Top 100 courses ranging form Royal Lytham to the Addington. This brings my total to 45 courses. The first reason to come to Bamburgh was its status of most scenic course in Britain but what a suprise. I love rustic original courses that give you the feeling to play in and against nature. This course is one of the best examples I have seen. Rugged, original, thinking mans course. Of course you are challenged with some unusual features but that's whats it all about. When we played in mid July the winds were very strong, we were blown out of our shoes so to speak. But we ( I play off 7) still managed to get a reasonable score. My good mood must have come from driving a green for the first time in my life (the 18th). I three putted (naturally) but left Bamburgh with a warm and unique memory I will cherish for a long time.

I read the reviews on the morning of August 1st, 2010, then played the course in the afternoon. For me the undoubted magic of this place is the way that the course is hewn out of the characterful land-with the maximum of nature & the minimum of nurture. The basalt rock profoundly shapes the course, standing proud above the surrounding scenary that frames it so magnificently. The gorse-speckled contours create intriguing holes, each bringing a smile to the explorer's face. You might well be able to fault it, but this is surely one of the originals, restoring the rightful balance between nature & the golfer.