Berkleigh Golf Club

My comments are not reflecting any course issue due to recent storms.

If rumors are true that this course is slated to close in the near future, it shows. Bunkers are shot, barely any sand. No water on the course (Not a big deal, just thought I would mention it), rough trimmed to varied levels, garbage cans not emptied, debris around the course. It is sad to see this course fall into such disrepair. Starter was friendly, tee boxes were ok, greens rolled well and were in good condition. Only play it if you get a discounted tee time, otherwise definitely not worth it.

Been told by a number of people I have to try this course, so I decided to give it a go. Pulling into the parking lot, the first thing I notice is most of the bunkers look more like lakes. We have had a lot of rain in this area this summer, so everything is pretty saturated, but I expect some effort to deal with flooded bunkers. Pump them out or something at the very least. Guys in the club house were nice and although I did not walk around the entire building, there was not much in the way of gear in what I will call a check in space. Golf carts were fine/clean. Course itself was in good shape for the most part. Tee boxes, fairways, and greens were well maintained. The bunkers are a disaster, and this course has a lot of them. There is really no sand in them at all. Playing a bunker shot is hitting off a mixture of packed sand and clay. Really touch on the hands. Also, and this is something I really take issue with is no water on the course. This is the first course I have ever run across that had no water. Really poor. Also, we had walkers going out before 3:00, which this time of year on a weekend is a no no IMO, especially because I am a rhythm player and 5 - 7 minute waits on the T Box is not worth it. From a visual perspective and challenge perspective, nothing to write home about. There were no wow holes for me. Hopefully they can spend some money and do some upgrades. I would personally not play this course again. Just not worth it for the 30 minute drive and price when I can play very similar courses 15 minutes away and for a lesser price.

Some really neat holes on this course with some nice elevation changes too. Fairways and greens are in consistently nice shape. During periods of heavy ran this course can get overly saturated and soggy in low areas. My real gripe is the bunkers, some of them need some serious attention. Some were completely absent of any actual sand and were just raked dirt. Other than that, you can find some great deals online. Even their regular prices are fair and you get free lunch with it too.

Overall, Berkleigh was not as impressive as I was led to believe it was. Some holes certainly provided ample challenge, but greens were pretty slow and extremely soft. Most bunkers were flooded as well, but perhaps all of this was due to rain in the previous few days. Fairways and 1st-cut rough played nicely, but few holes were provided bumpy cart paths, meaning large portions of rough heading toward the green were butchered by moving carts. Our pace of play was excellent, and we managed to finish our round in about 4 hours and 15 minutes.

Have played this great course many times, and overall the course is in great shape. Tee boxes=Average, Fairways=Great, Greens=Great. Sand traps= Terrible ! There is no sand at all in every bunker, which is really unfortunate. This may keep me from coming back, which is a shame , because this is an awesome course.

Played here many times, always a good round. Right now the course is in great condition, and the price is good. A great layout if you enjoy the classic type courses.

even though I was rained out after 12. holes.

Berkleigh is always a nice round. It's one of the nicest courses in the area.

Great course with reasonable prices. The layout is perfect with a mix of easy and hard holes. The course is almost always in great condition and the pace of play is pretty fast the multiple times I have played it.

This was my first time playing Berkleigh and took an hour and a half commute south for December weather that was ten degree warmer and for $29 winter rate. I am very happy I took the drive. Berkleigh has a nice layout, not overly long, and well bunkered greens. The fairways are pretty generous and there is not anything that will really trick you, except on 11. It's a blind tee shot, over an elevated hill in the fairway with a creek about 230 yards out. Each hole had distant characteristic and we often stepped to the tee box or looked back at the hole from the green and said that was a nice hole.The condition of the course for playing in December was pretty good and green. The fairways and tee boxes were nice, although a little shaggy and not in summer condition as expected. The greens were slow and tough to read, but large enough to catch an errant shot. Understandable not cutting or rolling them with very few days left in the golf season. One of the only negatives I have about the course is the cart paths, which I see from other reviews, is also one of the main issues. They are pretty beat up and will knock you around a bit, but don't let that stop you from playing this course. Also, the restaurant is not open at this time of year so grabbing food is not an option on the turn. The proshop did have a few snacks for sale but bring your own food and beverages. I will be back during the summer to see the course in it's full, true beauty!!!

The weather was fantastic and the course was in good shape. Being November I understand they cut back staff but the 9th green was completely covered by leaves. The proshop worker and starter disappeared for 15 minutes and we had to look for them to get a key for our carts. The proshop worker acted like he didn't want to be there and gave me a sarcastic answer when I asked about the winter course schedule.

For playing in the middle of November and 62* no complaints, except if the leaves would stay in the trees. Crew kept fairways and most rough clear of them but as for Fall balls tend to get lost any further off track then that. Hats off to the crew for keeping up with fairways and greens

This PUBLIC course NEEDS to be kept open...Forever. Yes, there's talk of it closing but hope it's only talk. Let's rally together to make sense to the owners and the public that this golf courses HERITAGE needs to be PRESERVED. Perhaps an easier and safer access road could be created off Krause Road or Kempsville Road.

This course is so much fun to play. If you like to hit em straight, then this course is for you. No blind hills or 90 degree dog legs in play to try to hit over or around and hope your ball is up there somewhere. A good golfer is a happy golfer. I Highly recommend you try this course. Lets work together and keep this course alive. We have too much wasted land on this planet in strip malls or production of materials for more strip malls. I'm just sayin.... Thank you.

This former Country Club Hime course for Betsy King is a straight forward park type course. It was in very good to excellent shape. Starter made every effort to get me out even though I was over an hour early. Would recommend.

the course was in very nice shape. a little wet. greens were almost as fast as they were when it was private, bunkers need work but were playable. overall the course was very nice and worth a try

This is a nice course, not too challenging for the intermediate golfer. The course conditions were excellent especially considering the recent weather and lack of rain . The greens where in great shape.

I played this course in late August with 2 friends. Great rate and a real bargain for what this course is. That said, the drought has been tough on Berkleigh as it has on other eastern US courses. Tees, fairways and greens overall are in decent shape with some inconsistencies. Maintenance could be more attentive as we had to push aside grass-cutting clumps to locate green-side and fairway-side balls on a couple of ocassions. As others note, cart path terrain is at times spine-adjusting due to roots and cracked surfaces, however on this visit we found traps had lose adequate sand to work with. Really like this course and I hope the Fall brings needed rain and better attention to detail....and maybe even a smile or two from the club staff.

Nice course but they book too many tee times that we had to wait to tee off on every hole

The course was in great condition especially considering the recent lack of rain. The course is challenging because of the hills,.side and down hill lies that you encounter. You got to play it at least once.

I tend to always have a good time a Berkleigh. The course is fun and still holds a challenge. I am glad they haven't fallen by the wayside like some courses and I'm glad they also haven't price gouged like some courses. It was one of the first courses I ever played about 4 years ago now.

This past weekend, I called to play around 4 (twilight) but they said 4 was backed up. Since I was a single, I could come at 3:30 and I'd still get the Twilight rate. They were able to fit me in with another group instead of by myself at 4:40. This ranked very highly on my list as I always want to play and get home as early as possible.

Pace was good once we got past the group in front of us at the turn, it was wide open. Thankfully, they stopped for food and we didn't because there were two beginners (we saw one guy helping another with a back swing). They wouldn't let us through for some reason, either. So the only knock is that I wish there was a ranger around (I realize this costs extra money so I don't hold this against them after 4pm).

I still say their bunkers are a bit rough, to say the least. Almost none have any sand left in them and if you're on a greenside bunker, it's almost impossible to get out because it's hard to get underneath the ball. You're either hitting it thin or you're skying the ball across the green. I'd almost play it like a regular chip shot instead of the typical 1-2 inches behind the ball. Other than that, everything was fine.

Thanks for everything, Berkleigh!