The Church Hole (circa 1930)
Burnham Golf Club was opened in
1891. It was a nine hole course laid out amongst the
sand dunes of the Berrow Warren close to the Burnham
lighthouse. It had been designed by the golf professional
at Royal North Devon, Charles Gibson, using the design
principles of the day; if there was a large sand dune
you hit the ball over it and if there was a deep hollow
then there would be a green. By 1896 the members wanted
to extend the course to Berrow Church and the Lords
of the Manor agreed only if the name of the club was
changed to Burnham and Berrow Golf Club.
A further extension beyond the church
followed in 1901, and in 1910 the first ‘professional’
course designer, Herbert Fowler, a member of the Club,
extended the course to over 6000 yards. It was in this
phase that Fowler designed the famous Church Hole and
the current 18th hole. In 1913 Harry Colt produced a
blueprint to turn the course into the challenge it is
today. It was the single most significant action in
the development of the course. He removed all the blind
shots and the weaker holes and introduced new 1st, 2nd,
4th, 5th, 9th, 10th, 16th and 17th holes. The war interrupted
the construction of the new holes which were not completed
until 1923. Colt’s close partner Hugh Alison was,
again fortuitously, a member of the Club and so able
to keep a close eye on progress. Colt also invited Dr
Alistair Mackenzie, who was later to design Augusta
National, to give his views on the new 9th and 10th
holes. It was this course that saw Burnham and Berrow
through the Club’s boom years in the 1920s and
1930s when it built the reputation that it still holds
today.
JH Taylor
The first professional was a young
man from Royal North Devon, J H Taylor, who was destined
to become one of the greatest of all golf professionals.
Although he only stayed at Burnham for 16 months, his
impact on the course and the community was huge. He
looked back on his time at Burnham as crucial in his
development as a professional golfer, as it was his
first post and he found he loved the challenge.
The next two professionals were a
father and son, Walter Foord and Ernest Foord. Walter
was more of a groundsman and club repairer whereas his
son was an exceptional player. Ernest became a professional
in 1900 when only 16 years old and among his assistants
was Ernest Whitcombe whose family lived close to the
church in Berrow. He is known to have beaten Taylor
in an exhibition match over 36 holes in 1913 which left
Taylor full of admiration for the young man. During
the First World War Ernest emigrated to America and
although he did not respond to letters sent to him from
the Club, it is believed he had a successful golfing
career. In 1919 the new club professional was Bob Bradbeer,
from another Berrow family, this time of ten boys, seven
of whom became successful professional golfers. In 1938
his brother Fred took over until 1969 when Bob’s
son, Richard took up the post until 1979. Sixty years
of Bradbeers as club professionals! Is this a record?
