Burhill (New) - Surrey - England

Whilst it doesn’t live up to the Old, there is still enjoyment to be had on the new. Green complexes are tricky and some challenging chips and plenty of undulations. We played it the week after Senior Open qualifying and the rough and pin placements were seriously challenging; where I’d shot under handicap on the Old, I was well over on the New and it felt much tighter. Highlight holes would be short par 4 3rd, 4th is a gorgeous par 3, 10th very strategic par 4 and 14th beautiful par 4, couple of good par 5s in there too. Terrace is great and I’ve had really good hospitality and friendly service on both visits.

The New course at Burhill is the lesser of the two courses. The course which was built in the 1990’s is not overly interesting but does has some good holes such as hole 2 the long par 5 with OOB left which catches your eye from the tee and a well designed undulating green means that the player must find the correct level with their approach. The 10th is a decent dogleg left to right par 4 with a well shaped green protected by a bunker that eats into the front right portion. The best hole is probably the last which is set in front of the back drop of the magnificent clubhouse…this mid length par 3 requires the player to carry the river and avoid the huge pine trees to find the green which has a huge false front which catches the miss hit tee shot. The course itself could really do with some TLC as the tees and fairways were in poor shape due to significant play and the lack of rain we have this year. It would also be an improvement if some of the reed beds could be tidied up…holes such as 15 a very nice short par 4 is blighted as you cannot see the green for the reeds!

Not a very good or interesting course at all. It is basically farmyard golf as it feels like your on a field when playing. I wouldn't say that there were any memorable holes at all and they all felt the same, the only good thing about the course is that its normally in good condition but it really is very boring and uninteresting. I think the only reason why it is placed highly in surrey is because as a club it is nice due to the large clubhouse and the old course being quite a nice track. If you want to play here and have a choice between the old or the new, pick the old.

I have played Burhill's New twice now, once in the winter and now in the summer - for very obvious reasons the summer game is the one I'll base everything on. Clubs that have 36 holes are in a great position for their members and visitors alike and the two courses here do offer a very different offering. To put my cards on the table early, I prefer the Old course by a fair bit as it is the 100+ year old Surrey style of course that is very familiar but the New is worth playing, in-fact the greens on the New, are superior to the Old. The style of this course is modern; USGA greens, bold and decent bunkering, fairly open and similar in style to the London Club courses and maybe a little bit of The Oxfordshire too. The first standout hole is the 330 yard 3rd - position is everything from the tee to leave a short manageable shot to a protected green. The 9th is good too - bunkering on the whole hole is perfect; under 400 yards and if you avoid the sand on both shots to the green, then you are doing well. The only real negative I have about any of the holes comes at the 13th; a monster of a par-5 (589 yards at the back) but it is just long, straight and that's about it - this hole is crying out for some shaping; squeeze the fairway from the left-side at about 250 yards and then from the right-side at 150 yards out, then you can create a snake-like hole that would be so much more fun to play, at present it is just two big hits without much trouble and then a short to mid-iron to a big green - add in that this is SI-1, this is going to be a 3 pointer for most! The 15th is a great hole; no bunkers at all but a lake in-play for the big hitters off of the tee and then for all on the approach, makes this a very strong par-4. Any course that ends on a par-3 will always get my full attention as it is not my choice of closing hole, so if it is there it better be good! Worry over, this is a strong hole - between 114-192 yards over water to a green (very tricky) with a severe run-off at the front and the beautiful clubhouse behind. I have enjoyed my rounds on the New but if I only had time to play 18 holes, then the Old is my choice.