Channel at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club

The Channel Course at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club occupies a classic stretch of Somerset duneland along the Bristol Channel, where the club has maintained links golf since 1890. While the club's Championship Course receives most attention, the Channel Course was developed by Fred Hawtree and later refined by his son Martin Hawtree to provide an authentic links experience on slightly more forgiving terrain. The course runs through the same natural dune system that characterizes this coastline, with fairways routed among sandhills and native grasses.

The layout takes advantage of the property's natural undulations and coastal exposure, offering golfers the traditional elements of British seaside golf: firm turf, rumpled ground, and wind that influences play throughout the year. The course serves multiple purposes within the club structure—it accommodates members seeking a quicker round, provides an introduction to links golf for visitors, and hosts various club competitions. The design maintains strategic interest through its use of the existing landforms rather than through length or severe hazards.

Burnham and Berrow's location on the Somerset coast places it within a region rich in links golf history, though somewhat removed from the more celebrated concentrations in Scotland and northwest England. The Channel Course complements the club's Championship layout, which has hosted significant amateur championships, and together they give the club a distinctive dual-course identity. The setting offers views across the Bristol Channel toward Wales, with the coastal landscape providing the essential character that defines the golfing experience here.