Formby Golf Club
Historical significance
Formby Golf Club, founded in 1884, sits at the heart of one of the world’s greatest concentrations of golf courses. Located beside Royal Birkdale Golf Club and close to renowned venues such as Hillside Golf Club and Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, Formby is a key part of England’s famous Golf Coast. With Liverpool nearby, the course remains both accessible and deeply rooted in classic links tradition. Formby also played an important role in the development of competitive golf in England.
Playing style
Formby is celebrated for its subtle yet demanding character. Narrow fairways weave through towering dunes and pine woodland, while small, well-defended greens place a premium on precision. The ever-present wind makes club selection and strategy essential. It is a course that rewards thoughtful golf and feels different every time it is played.
Natural beauty
What makes Formby truly distinctive is its rare combination of rugged dunes and sheltered woodland. This contrast creates both visual variety and a unique balance between open and enclosed holes. The tranquillity, natural beauty, and understated atmosphere make a round at Formby both serene and challenging—a perfect complement to the larger championship courses nearby.
West Lancashire Golf Club
Authentic links experience
West Lancashire Golf Club, founded in 1873, is one of England’s oldest and most traditional links courses. Located just north of Liverpool within a natural coastal dune landscape, the course delivers a pure and honest links experience. Wind, firm fairways, and subtle greens demand strategic thinking, creativity, and precision—exactly as links golf was meant to be played.
Historical significance
With its long history and classic character, West Lancashire has welcomed many distinguished golfers over the years. The club has played an important role in British golf and has hosted numerous prestigious championships, including major amateur and team events. Every round here feels like a return to the foundations of the game, where tradition and sporting challenge remain central.
Natural beauty
Its coastal setting and untouched surroundings give the course a rugged, authentic charm. Rolling dunes, wide-open vistas, and the ever-present influence of the sea create a striking backdrop. West Lancashire is golf in its purest form—honest, timeless, and deeply connected to nature.
Wallasey Golf Club
Historical heritage & setting
Wallasey Golf Club, founded in 1882, sits along the coast of Merseyside just minutes from Liverpool. The course overlooks the River Mersey estuary toward the city and forms part of one of England’s strongest golfing regions, alongside neighbours such as Royal Liverpool Golf Club and Formby Golf Club. Despite this prestigious setting, Wallasey remains surprisingly underrated.
Historical significance
Wallasey holds a unique place in golfing history as the birthplace of the Stableford scoring system, now one of the most widely used scoring formats in the world. The club has long been known as a course for thoughtful golfers, where strategy and positioning are central to success.
Playing style, character & renovation
The course is a true links, defined by natural dunes, firm fairways, and constant coastal wind. Recent renovations have enhanced the original strengths of the layout, improving sightlines, refining bunkering, and restoring the greens to full harmony with the course’s classic design. The result is a layout that feels timeless yet plays with modern sharpness.
An authentic golf experience
In a region filled with famous names, Wallasey often escapes the spotlight—but that is precisely part of its appeal.
Wallasey Golf Club is a hidden gem along England’s Golf Coast: historically significant, thoughtfully refined, and ideal for golfers who appreciate substance over reputation.
Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Historical significance
Royal Liverpool Golf Club, founded in 1869, is widely regarded as one of the most historically significant golf courses in England. Located in Hoylake along the Dee Estuary, it played a pivotal role in shaping championship golf and the evolution of strategic links play. The club has long been a cornerstone venue for The Open Championship.
Hoylake has witnessed some of the most memorable moments in Open history. In 1967, Roberto De Vicenzo claimed his only Open title here, just a year before his infamous scorecard incident at Augusta. In 2006, Tiger Woods delivered one of the most controlled performances ever seen—winning without using a driver and shortly after the passing of his father, adding emotional weight to an already historic victory.
Character and playing style
Royal Liverpool is renowned for its internal out of bounds—an unusual and uncompromising design feature that forces strategic discipline and prioritises precision over power. The course may appear flat and open, but it is tactically complex: wind, firm turf, and exact positioning define success. This is a links that punishes mistakes not with spectacle, but with certainty.
An authentic golf experience
There are no dramatic dunes or modern theatrics here—only pure, intellectual links golf. Royal Liverpool is a course for thinkers, historians, and purists alike. Playing Hoylake is not just a round of golf—it’s an immersion into the very foundations of championship golf.
Hillside Golf Club
An authentic links course
Hillside Golf Club sits along England’s famous Golf Coast and offers a pure links experience surrounded by towering dunes. Located within easy reach of Liverpool, the course remains peaceful and unmistakably authentic despite its accessibility.
Historical significance
Founded in 1911, Hillside forms part of one of the world’s greatest concentrations of championship golf. The club lies directly beside Royal Birkdale Golf Club and only a short distance from iconic neighbours such as Formby Golf Club and Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club. This remarkable location places Hillside at the centre of one of golf’s most prestigious regions.
Strategic challenge and character
The course is renowned for its excellent opening stretch and especially for its dramatic back nine, where towering dunes, narrow fairways, and beautifully defended greens dominate the challenge. Wind and natural elevation changes play a major role, making strategic thinking essential. Hillside rewards creativity and precision and is often regarded by knowledgeable golfers as the perfect complement to the larger championship venues nearby.
World-class golf in one region
What makes Hillside truly special is not only the quality of the course itself, but also its position within an unmatched golfing cluster. With Liverpool as the gateway and multiple Open Championship venues within close reach, Hillside offers golfers the chance to experience the very best of traditional English links golf in one region—authentic, demanding, and deeply rooted in history.
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
History, setting & clubhouse
Royal Birkdale Golf Club sits on England’s Golf Coast near Liverpool and is a regular venue on the The Open Championship rota. Opened in 1889, it has grown into one of the most respected links courses in the world.
Its clubhouse offers a striking contrast to the surrounding dunes—a clean, modernist structure with functional lines and understated elegance, rather than traditional Victorian grandeur. This restrained style mirrors the course itself: rational, honest, and focused purely on the game.
Design and playing style
Originally shaped by Frederick Hawtree, Royal Birkdale is defined by towering sand dunes framing relatively flat, fair fairways. This creates clear sightlines and a test built on precision, control, and strong iron play—a style particularly appreciated by elite and international players.
Recent refinement
Recent enhancements by Mackenzie & Ebert have subtly refined the course for the modern game, without compromising its original character. The result is a layout that feels timeless, yet fully equipped for contemporary championship golf.
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Historical significance & setting
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, founded in 1886, holds a unique place in English golf. Located along the Lancashire coast, the course stands out for being almost entirely surrounded by residential housing—an unusual feature for a links. Yet once on the fairways, Lytham feels raw, uncompromising, and unmistakably built for championship golf.
A regular venue for The Open Championship, the course has hosted many iconic moments. In 1926, Bobby Jones claimed his first Open title here, a victory that cemented his legacy as one of the greatest amateurs in the history of the game.
Playing style, character & difficulty
Although officially a links, Royal Lytham lacks the dramatic dune landscape typically associated with coastal courses. Instead, it is defined by its relentless bunkering—over 200 bunkers—narrow fairways, and strategically demanding greens. Wind remains a factor, but even in calm conditions, the course is fiercely challenging.
Here, positioning matters far more than power, and mistakes are rarely forgiven. The internal complexity, visual deception, and constant pressure make Royal Lytham one of the toughest tests on the Open rota.
A pure, uncompromising golf experience
Royal Lytham & St Annes is not about romance or scenery—it is about discipline, precision, and mental resilience. For serious golfers, it is not simply a round to enjoy, but a true examination—and an essential chapter in the story of links golf.
