The Berkshire Golf Club (Blue course)

The Berkshire Golf Club (Blue course): like peas in a pod, many of the traits and characteristics of The Berkshire's two 18-hole courses are shared. Both are excellently crafted Herbert Fowler designs, where heather, rhododendrons and Scots pine provide a fabulous heathland backdrop as you journey round. Some say the slightly shorter Blue layout is a fraction easier. The long par-3 opener on the Blue should help dispel that thought.

The Blue, like the Red, unfolds over a naturally undulating and immensely beautiful landscape of wooded heathland. The expansive routing and well-spaced holes flow out-and-back through this picturesque setting, each hole laying down a thorough test for your golfing skills.

From time to time the Blue and Red layouts rub shoulders, but never too closely, and typically with the Blue occupying the lower terrain. Noise from a neighbouring busy road is noticeable on a few holes on the Blue course, although not to the extent that your enjoyment of this excellent golf course will be spoilt in any way.

With excellent greenkeeping and presentation, The Berkshire's courses keep good company with their near neighbours, Sunningdale and Swinley Forest ... five world-class heathland courses in the space of just a few miles.

Pick of the holes: the opening par-3 1st hole on the Blue course hardly qualifies as an easy-going starter for most players ... but it's a hole few forget. Measuring well over 200 yards from the tips, and played in full view of the clubhouse terrace, you'll need a long-carry over a swathe of heather to reach the safety of the green. There's the option to take a "safe" route up the left side, and hope a chip and a putt will secure your par.