20 year old Luke Jenkins is the latest golfer to test himself at one of the UK’s most challenging golf tournaments – and to come out victorious.
But when one of the UK’s hottest young players compares a golf course to Superman’s near-fatal weakness, you know it’s going to be tough.
And when that course is listed in England’s Top 100 yet is less than 6,700 yards long, short by modern elite tournament standards, even Gen Z’s elite amateurs – superheroes all, at their home clubs – can be made to wonder whether their powers are sufficient.
For the Berkhamsted Trophy is no ordinary golf tournament.
108 of the best amateur golfers in the UK gathered at Berkhamsted Golf Club last week, wearing not capes but branded polo shirts, for the 65th edition of the Berkhamsted Trophy; the traditional season-opening 72-hole event in the elite amateur calendar. Typical English springtime weather; cool, warm, showers, sunshine, sometimes all at once, and an ever-present breeze which strengthened as the tournament neared its climax.
With a ballot of +1.9, every golfer who played was capable of shooting mid-60s.
But yet again Berkhamsted’s defences held, and the ultimate winning score was level par.
On Saturday 11th April’s 36-hole final day, Luke Jenkins – one of the lowest handicappers in the field at +5.6 – played with the mindset of a leader, aware of the difficulty of the task before him.
“Berkhamsted is kryptonite to my game” said the talented 20 year old from Rochester & Cobham GC. “I normally thrive at the Tour-style venues – long, wide and soft, enabling us to hit high short irons into the greens. In contrast, Berkhamsted in April plays firm, bouncy and tight, and you must not try to take it apart. Don’t do anything stupid – embrace the challenge, leave the driver in the bag on most tees, and play more with your brain, not your muscles!”
He continued: “I finished 11th last year, in almost identical weather, so I knew I could play well here. Berkhamsted is very well put together. You’re cautious off the tee so you are playing a lot of long approaches to par fours, and it is quite links-like in that the game is played on the ground, not up in the air. Also, we don’t generally play any other bunker-free golf courses in the year, and the numerous greenside mounds which characterise Berkhamsted can be much more penal than the sand. They are close to the putting surfaces, so your chipping game has to be strong.
“Small wonder that the winning score here is never very far under level par” said Jenkins. “However, I didn’t make a single double bogey all week, which was key for the win. Spenser Knight and the guys at Srixon’s Tour team had helped me to set up my clubs perfectly, and I executed my game plan well. This was my first win at national level, and I feel like this sets me up well for the Brabazon and British Amateur later this season, and a shot at Tour School at the year’s end.”
Jenkins went 69-71 (-2) on the Saturday to finish at level par for the 72 holes, grabbing a crucial birdie on 16 in the final round to finish a single shot ahead of Charlie Rusbridge (Colne Valley), a top ten finisher in the Trophy last year, and North Forelands GC’s Jack Swift. “I was out in the last group on Saturday, tied for the lead, but I left a few out there on the greens towards the end” said Swift, aged just 18. “I’m good friends with Luke, and he’s such a solid player. Berkhamsted is a real thinker’s golf course, the greens are well-protected, and they were definitely the firmest we have played so far this year. Really excellent in fact, for this early in the season.”
After an extraordinarily wet winter, where rainfall records were set and the ground was anything but firm, Berkhamsted’s Golf Course Manager Scott Gardner and his team had been set the toughest of challenges to present the course for this year’s tournament. However, a late break in the weather gave them a chance. “2025 was the warmest year on record at Berkhamsted, and with heavy rain from November to February, there were few signs of genuine growth. But thankfully the rain stopped in March so we focused on getting the greens and approaches up to tournament conditions.
“We stimped at around 11, ultimately, and as the wind increased the greens effectively got even faster. We received many compliments about them from the players, which validated the winter’s hard work.”
The 65th Berkhamsted Trophy was the first for 39 years to not be held under the stewardship of Gerald Bruce, the club’s Head Greenkeeper for almost four decades.
Dan Blesovsky, General Manager at Berkhamsted Golf Club, said: “Each year competitors come here after an off-season of soft winter greens and warm-weather training. But they find that we are the opposite of target golf. Gerald set the standard for so many Trophies, and now Scott has stepped into his shoes magnificently.
“At Berkhamsted you can’t just fire at the pin; you must work the ball towards the hole like at a links course. Scott and his team had produced greens which were absolutely spot-on, and we got lucky with the weather. We keep raising the bar here, and yet again Berkhamsted is buzzing as we head into the summer.
“I hear there was another significant golf tournament on last weekend, across the Atlantic, but for us it’s the Berkhamsted Trophy that signifies the start of the golf season!”
Liz Perrottet, Berkhamsted Golf Club President and experienced Chair of the Organising Committee, said: “We often see Trophy competitors go on to have stellar careers on Tour, and it is a special experience for our members – who each year act as volunteers to help the Trophy to run smoothly – to get to see these exceptional golfers play here first.
“Each November we begin the planning process and every year, even after 65 editions, we do manage to make small improvements. Major changes are fairly infrequent: we became a 72-hole tournament in 2016, and in 2022 we had our first gender-neutral tournament. To this day both women and men can play in the Berkhamsted Trophy – we were the global pioneers for that as regards traditional men’s elite amateur golf.
“This year it was particularly good to see one of our own club members, Matt Culley, make the cut! He came through our Junior section many years ago and at 35 was one of the oldest players in the field. The majority of Trophy competitors these days are quite young, but our historic, bunker-free golf course always seems to prevail.”
In 2026 Berkhamsted Golf Club celebrates the Centenary of James Braid’s redesign, when he brought inspiration to Hertfordshire from his earlier work at Gleneagles on the legendary King’s and Queen’s courses. The club’s course layout has subsequently remained relatively untouched for the last century, although comprehensive reconditioning and irrigation work has recently been carried out resulting in Berkhamsted becoming one of the best-conditioned heathland golf courses in England.
Boasting not only James Braid but also Willie Park Jnr. and Harry Colt among its architects, Berkhamsted’s golf course is laid out on common land within Hertfordshire’s largest expanse of gorse and heather. Over five miles of bridleways and pathways run throughout the landscape under the club’s stewardship, and its vast estate is full of natural beauty.
Situated north west of London, close to the western boundary of Hertfordshire, Berkhamsted Golf Club is easily accessible from the A41, five miles west of Hemel Hempstead and just 15 minutes from M1 Junction 8 (St Albans).
See www.berkhamstedgolfclub.co.uk for all golf club details.
