Turning into the driveway to Burhill Golf Club you are treated to a very impressive entrance to the club, your expectations suitably met and then the 18th century clubhouse laid out in front of you makes you feel that you have arrived somewhere special. The pros in the shop were friendly and after a coffee outside on the terrace overlooking the 18th green of the New Course, a short walk down to the driving range and suitably warmed up you head to the 1st tee. Putting green just by the side of the 1st tee is ideal.

The area has been through a very dry Summer and it does not look like Burhill benefitted from on course fairway sprinklers as you could tell they had, until recently, been bare and brown. Recent rain has meant that the fairway grass was growing again, but perhaps in an attempt to let them recover, they clearly had not been cut for a while, so they were very patchy and therefore the lie of your ball was very much left to lady luck! This isn't a criticism as we know how tough conditions have been and the care around the greens and tee boxes were excellent throughout.

Previous reviews have suggested that the 1st few holes don't fit in with the remainder of the course. I sort of agree. Certainly holes 1 and 2 which play up and down on each other are a relatively weak start. You do however get introduced very quickly to the small and undulating/tiered greens on hole 1. I do think the course really starts as you head out on the par 5 hole 3, a long sweeping left to right, with a small brook protecting the green against your approach and a sloping green.

The short par 4 4th is an excellent birdie chance and offers long hitters the chance to go for the green, which is a dog leg right. Get that shot wrong and trees will block that attempt. Or play an iron or hybrid to the corner leaving a short wedge and depending on your accuracy, a birdie can await.

The 5th is played back across the entrance driveway, laid out on flat ground like the previous 4 holes. The green is raised, sloping back to front .

I felt the best of the front 9 was reserved for holes 6 - 9. A short par 3 to a sloping multi levelled green, highlighting the need to find the right part of the green. A 3 putt will be quite common.

Then a lovely par 4, dog leg left. Having played too far back to the corner, my blind approach appeared to find the green. On arrival, i had indeed found the green, but on the right hand side leaving a long downhill putt across a two tier green. Another 3 putt followed.

The front 9 finishes back on the flat ground with 2 par 4s, before a break at the excellent halfway house.

The back 9 i found to be more interesting as the course moved away from the clubhouse and into more wooded and undulating terrain.

The 10th is an excellent uphill long par 3. The green which is not all visible from the tee, again slopes back to front.

And then probably the best looking hole. Played from a high tee the 11th is laid in front of you. Bunkers lay across the fairway although a good drive easily past these. Playing up the right hand side leaves a more favourable approach, although this side is tree lined. Left leaves an approach over a row of bunkers.