Old

Few clubs carry a name as quietly confident as "The Berkshire," and the Old Course — simply called Old — is the reason the club earned its reputation. Designed by Herbert Fowler and opened in 1928, the course winds through a stunning tract of Surrey heathland on the edge of Swinley Forest, sharing the property with its sibling Red Course. Fowler shaped a layout of remarkable variety across the sandy, pine-framed terrain, and the result is considered one of England's finest heathland examinations — regularly appearing in national top-20 rankings.

The Old plays to a par 70, and what it lacks in length it more than compensates for with subtlety: contoured greens, strategic bunkering, and a routing that demands thought as much as power. The heather is genuine rough, not ornamental, and the fir trees lining the fairways make accuracy a non-negotiable.

Berkshire itself sits in the commuter belt southwest of London, but step through the gates here and the forest absorbs all of that. This is classic English heathland golf — understated, rigorous, and deeply satisfying.