New photos show upgraded Berkhamsted course

By Alistair August 12, 2019 10:40 Updated

The classic English heathland golf course at Berkhamsted, famous for being bunker-free, has had a complete irrigation upgrade – and the results are already showing in a series of new photographs.

With over 600 sprinklers now refreshing the turf on the club’s championship-quality 6,701 yard par 71 golf course, the greens’ team at Berkhamsted now have seven times the power they had previously to produce beautiful playing surfaces.

Photographer Andy Hiseman shows that the club’s James Braid-designed golf course is already benefitting from the improvements, which saw 11 miles of new underground water pipes installed.

“Our beloved golf course up here on Berkhamsted Common may be entirely natural, but underneath the soil there is now some extremely powerful 21st century technology!” said club manager Howard Craft.

“Golfers will find that our tees, approaches and greens in particular will be more conducive to better golf as the effects of the improved irrigation really take hold over the next couple of seasons.”

Andy Hiseman commented: “If you have never been, Berkhamsted is more or less the dictionary definition of a hidden gem. Its hazards are all-natural, and you don’t need your sand iron, but as it’s large areas of gorse and heather as well as being heavily-wooded, it is not a golf course you can take lightly.

“From tee to green Berkhamsted is famous for its humps and hollows, which look especially beautiful at dawn or in the evening sun. It is a feast for the eyes, a joy to photograph, and a great test for the golfer.”

The club, which is currently engaged in a major heather-regeneration project, is laid out on common land in Hertfordshire’s largest expanse of natural gorse and heather.