The Berkshire

The Blue Course has a party trick that very few layouts in the world can claim: it opens with a par 3. Not a gentle loosener either, but a full-blooded test of more than 200 yards across a wide valley of heather to a green perched on a mound. Slice it weakly and the trouble short and right will collect you. Hook it and the ground behind left will swallow the ball. It is a statement of intent, and it tells you immediately what kind of afternoon you are in for.

The front nine of the Blue is slightly more forgiving once you have survived the opener. Two par 5s and three shorter par 4s offer genuine birdie chances, and it is worth banking whatever you can here because the course tightens considerably on the way home. There is only one par 5 on the inward half, and the closing stretch features five consecutive par 4s that can dismantle a promising scorecard with alarming efficiency. Patience and course management matter more on the Blue than raw power, and golfers who try to force the issue tend to pay for it.

The 16th is the hole that tends to linger in the memory. A long, left-to-right dog-leg with a bunker cut into the corner, it demands a well-shaped drive to avoid leaving yourself an impossible second. Reach the green and the danger is still not over. The putting surface slopes severely from back to front and left to right, making anything above the hole a genuine test of nerve. It competes with the opening hole for the title of the Blue's finest, and the debate is worth having over a drink afterwards.

Fowler's subtle use of natural contours and hazards means the Blue consistently produces scores that surprise even experienced visitors. Members at The Berkshire will often tell you it is the harder course to score on, despite it sitting slightly below the Red in the rankings. That gap in reputation does not reflect a gap in quality. The Blue is a different kind of test, quieter in its demands but no less exacting when you get it wrong.

What the Blue does particularly well is vary the rhythm of the round. The contrast between the birdie-friendly front nine and the demanding back nine gives the course a genuine narrative arc, and that sense of a round building towards something makes it enormously satisfying to play. Come back a second time and you will find yourself thinking about it differently, which is the mark of a course designed with real intelligence.

The Red Course occupies higher ground than its companion, and you feel that elevation from the first few holes. The terrain is more dramatic here, with meaningful changes in height between tees and greens that add a layer of decision-making most flat parkland courses simply cannot replicate. Club selection becomes a genuine conversation rather than an afterthought, and getting it wrong tends to be expensive.

What makes the Red genuinely unique in British golf is its scorecard: six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s, a perfectly symmetrical arrangement that no other course in the country can match. The short holes carry the most fearsome reputation of the lot. Widely regarded as one of the best sets of par 3s in England, they demand precision from the first swing and offer very little forgiveness. The heather waits on every side, and Fowler's green complexes are angled and contoured to make the correct line of attack a genuine puzzle each time. There is no such thing as a routine par 3 on the Red, and that consistency of challenge across six holes is what sets it apart.

The par 5s offer some breathing room. Most are reachable in two for the longer hitter, and birdie opportunities do exist, provided you keep the ball on the correct side of the fairway. The rough here is not merely decorative. Stray into the pine and heather and you are in recovery mode immediately, often playing sideways rather than forward. The 17th is the most demanding of the par 5s, requiring two substantial strikes to threaten the green, with a pair of ditches threatening the second shot and two deep bunkers guarding the putting surface. The green itself is tiered, making even a well-struck approach feel like unfinished business.

The par 4s are where the Red shows its strategic depth most clearly. Fowler rarely gives you a straightforward target. Fairways are angled to reward a specific shape off the tee, and the greens are positioned to make the wrong side of the fairway a genuine disadvantage. You can play the Red at any handicap and find it exacting but fair, which is precisely what Fowler intended.

The Red Course features more prominently in the top 100 rankings, and rightly so. But play it once and you will understand that the numbers on the card tell only part of the story. It is the kind of course that stays with you long after the scorecard has been signed.

Clubhouse

The Berkshire is a golf club in the truest sense and the clubhouse reflects that entirely. There is no resort lobby, no conference suite and no attempt to be anything other than what it is: a well-run, comfortable base for a serious day of golf. The atmosphere inside is exactly what you would hope for at a club of this age and standing, purposeful, relaxed and entirely focused on the game.

The clubhouse opens at 7am, with breakfast available from 7:15am, making it easy to fuel up properly before an early tee time. Hot food is served through until 4pm, so there is no need to rush the post-round debrief. The bar and lounge give you a natural place to settle in after the round, whether that is a quick drink before the drive home or a longer session replaying every hole in forensic detail.

Facilities

The Pro Shop is well stocked and the staff are knowledgeable, which matters when you are visiting a course for the first time and want a steer on where to miss, which pins to attack and which greens to treat with respect.

The practice facilities are comprehensive and worth arriving early for. A large driving range sits a short walk from the Pro Shop, with eight covered bays alongside a grass tee for those who prefer to hit off natural turf before a round. A short game area and putting green give you the chance to dial in your chipping and get a feel for the pace of the greens before you head to the first tee. Two practice nets and a dedicated putting green positioned close to both first tees round out a set-up that gives you everything you need to prepare properly.

For visiting groups and societies, the clubhouse provides a solid and straightforward base for the day. There is no need to worry about logistics once you are on site. Arrive, warm up, play, eat and drink. The Berkshire keeps it simple, and that simplicity is part of the appeal.