Burhill Golf Club (Old Course)

Overview: Burhill’s Old Course is the historic 18-hole parkland route on the Surrey estate near Walton-on-Thames. Its character comes from smooth, subtly contoured greens, mature trees, doglegs and hazards that reward a well-positioned tee shot more than indiscriminate length. The club describes strategy as central to the layout, and the course’s individual holes are framed by the wider Burhill estate rather than by a resort-style collection of buildings. The profile is kept separate from the newer Burhill routing, which shares the estate but has a different history and playing character.

History: Burhill Golf Club was established on the Burhill Estate in 1907, and the Old Course was designed by Willie Park Jr. The club’s Georgian clubhouse dates from 1726 and is connected with the Guinness family estate, giving the course a setting with a substantial pre-golf history. During the Second World War the property was requisitioned for food production and aircraft work, and the club records bomb damage to several fairways. Golf returned after the war, with the historic course continuing to evolve while retaining its original parkland identity.

Did You Know? Burhill’s clubhouse was used by a Ministry of Aircraft Production workforce led by Barnes Wallis during the war years. That episode is part of the club’s documented history, not a legend attached to a particular hole. The course therefore sits within a landscape that has served as an estate, a golf club and a wartime workplace, all of which remain part of its sense of place.