Berkhamsted Golf Club, a classic English heathland venue, has appointed renowned golf course architects Clayton, DeVries & Pont (CDP) to develop a long-term plan for the course’s preservation and improvement.
Founded in 1890 on Berkhamsted Common, the club’s roots stretch back to a nine-hole layout designed by former Open Champion Willie Park Jnr. In 1909, Harry S. Colt helped expand the course to 18 holes, and in 1926, five-time Open Champion James Braid implemented additional changes. Apart from lengthening, the design has remained largely unchanged and is now ranked among England’s Top 100 golf courses.
CDP will support the club in reviewing and restoring Berkhamsted’s historic architectural features in line with the demands of the modern game. Notably, Berkhamsted is famed for having no bunkers—greenside mounding instead provides a rigorous short game test that sets it apart from many other courses.
Situated in a vast expanse of natural heathland and woodland, the course has seen environmental shifts over time. One of CDP’s key roles will be working alongside Head Greenkeeper Scott Gardner and his team to regenerate areas of heather, much of which was lost due to the site’s military use during World War II.
General Manager Dan Blesovsky said, “CDP is world-renowned for its work at some of golf’s most venerated old masters, and we are thrilled that we will now be able to draw upon their experience as we make our plans to safeguard this much-loved golf course for the decades ahead, with our stewardship of the beautiful ecology up here on Berkhamsted Common uppermost in our minds.
“In 2026 we will celebrate 100 years since our golf course was last altered significantly, and over the decades club officials have striven both to maintain the authenticity of the natural aspects of the challenge which our golf course presents, and also to respect the fine designs which our great Triumvirate of golf course architects – Park Jr, Colt and Braid – all implemented here at various points in Berkhamsted’s lifetime.
“We are particularly excited at the prospect of working with CDP on restoring Harry Colt’s original vision for the golf course,” said Blesovsky. “The changes at Berkhamsted have been driven by nature over the years, particularly as regards our famous mounds, rather than by man’s hand, and of course each year the UK’s top amateur golfers, mostly nowadays in their late teens or early 20s, test our golf course in the Berkhamsted Trophy, which is their traditional season-opening 72-hole event. This is a vital – and extremely enjoyable – annual benchmark for everybody at the golf club.”
He added, “Working with CDP we feel that a well-managed Berkhamsted Golf Club will be able to maintain the highest level of competitive challenge for the decades ahead of us through a programme of restorative change, rather than merely resorting to lengthening the golf course significantly, which we don’t feel will be needed.”
CDP partner Frank Pont will lead the project at Berkhamsted. He commented, “My colleagues and I are delighted to be advising Berkhamsted Golf Club. We will start by authoring a course plan which will investigate the course’s key facets as well as its heritage. It will lay the foundation for future renovations.
“Having first been designed by Willie Park Jnr, and then amended by Harry Colt followed by James Braid, the quality of Berkhamsted’s architecture is something to savour as is its setting on beautiful heathland.”
Pont added, “We will draw upon our proven experience of improving classic heathland courses in the UK and Continental Europe with the intention of delivering the best, most natural version of Berkhamsted’s course possible.”
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