The 2008 Open Championship at RoyalBirkdale saw more than 200,000 golfingenthusiasts descend on the famous linksand its surrounding seaside town ofSouthport to witness Ireland’s PadraigHarrington defeat a world-class field and

claim back-to-back Open titles. Royal Birkdale is one England’s most illustrious

courses, having staged the Open on no less than eightoccasions, in 1954, 1961, 1965, 1971, 1983, 1991, 1998and 2008. However, golfers have many other gloriouscourses to choose from when they head to the NorthWest, for Southport lies at the heart of arguably thefinest stretch of golfing coastline in the world, an areaknown as England’s Golf Coast.

England’s Golf Coast stretches from Cumbria and theLake District in the north down to the Wirral andChester in the south and offers golfers the chanceto play on more than 200 courses, including twoother Open venues.

Together, the links courses of Royal Birkdale,Royal Liverpool and Royal Lytham & St Annes have

hosted the Open 29 times since 1897. The area also fea-tures six regular Open qualifying venues and severalcourses that have staged men’s and women’s tour events.

The combination of sea, sand and the forces ofnature offer a simply irresistible challenge for playersventuring out on the renowned and beautiful coursesin the area.

These are some of the region’s golfing highlights:

southportThis delightful seaside resort is the capital of England’sGolf Coast and offers some of the best golf courses inthe country, all within a 15-minute drive.

Royal Birkdale is renowned for its towering sandhills and features an outstanding set of par 3s that rankamong the best in world golf. Besides its eight Opens, ithas hosted the Amateur Championship in 1946 and1989, the Walker Cup in 1951 and the Ryder Cup in1965 and 1969.

Formby Golf Club, situated among sandhills andpine woods is a classic links which has hosted threeAmateur Championships, the Home Internationals, theEnglish Amateur, and the Curtis Cup. Hillside GolfClub is widely regarded as the finest links not to havestaged an Open. Since the 1960s, it has hosted severalmajor amateur events, including the AmateurChampionship and the Ladies’ British Amateur, and willstage the Amateur Championship again in 2011.

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pack your clubs � england’s golf coast

With well over 200 courses including three venerable institutions boasting 29 OpenChampionships between them, the North West of England is a golfer’s dream. Colin Callander gives a guided tour of what is simply known as England’s Golf Coast

Coast ofplenty

� The 18th atRoyal Birkdale

that run through dunes and wild grasses. It has been usedas an Open Championship qualifying venue and has alsostaged the English Ladies’ Amateur Championship.

other coursesEngland’s Golf Coast takes in three of the top 20 andseven of the top 36 courses in UK and Ireland, whilethree of its links courses are among the world’s top 75.Three other gems not to be missed in this wonderfulpart of the country are De Vere Carden Park,Windermere and Silloth-on-Solway.

De Vere Carden Park Golf Resort & Spa is set on astunning 750-acre estate in gently-undulating Cheshirecountryside. With two championship courses and achallenging 9-hole course, there is plenty for golfersof all levels. Windermere Golf Club is a classic andvery pretty parkland course in the middle of aNational Park and in the heart of the beautifulCumbria countryside.

Silloth-on-Solway is regularly ranked amongBritain’s finest golf courses, and deservedly so. Situatedon the northwest coast of Cumbria, you can enjoy strik-ing views of the Galloway Hills to the north, and southto the Lakeland fells and the Isle of Man.

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pack your clubs � england’s golf coast

Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club was the first courseto stage two Ryder Cups and co-hosted the 2005Amateur Championship with Royal Birkdale. WestLancashire, founded in 1873, is one of the 10 oldestclubs in England and is one of the most natural andunderrated links in the British Isles.

Six miles south of Southport, Formby Hall GolfResort & Spa is one of the newest courses on England’sGolf Coast. The course was hewn from marshland andhas already hosted several Challenge Tour EuropeanSeniors’ Tour events. The resort recently completed a£10 million investment, resulting in it becoming theUK’s first PGA National Residential Golf Academy.

Hesketh Golf Club, set amidst the towering Victorianvillas of one of Southport’s premier residential areas, isa course of contrasts, with half of its holes meanderingthrough sand dunes and the rest overlooking the glori-ous Ribble Estuary.

wirralA selection of parkland and links layouts grace theWirral, presenting some tough challenges and offeringa stunning and diverse range of scenery in naturallybeautiful surroundings. Among them is RoyalLiverpool, host of the 2006 Open – memorable forTiger’s relentless march to victory and his third claretjug. The Hoylake course played a pivotal role in thedevelopment of English golf, being responsible for

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pack your clubs � england’s golf coast

off-course attractionsEngland’s North West is full of striking landscapesand vibrant cityscapes. From the elegant and ancientcity of Chester to the inspirational vistas of the LakeDistrict, and from the award-winning industrialheritage of Manchester to the outstanding culturalattractions of Liverpool, Europe’s 2008 Capital ofCulture, there is so much to see and do you willwant to spend time away from the fairways toexplore some of it. Add to these a spectacular coastline and Britain’s

favourite seaside resorts and the delightfully-undiscovered countryside of Lancashire, and it’s easyto see why this region is so popular with visitors.

england’s golf coast facts

starting the Amateur Championship. It also staged theinaugural English Amateur, the inaugural internationalgolf match between England and Scotland and the firstmatch between Britain and America.

Wallasey Golf Club, described as “the Diamond inthe Dunes”, has a notable claim to fame. It was wherethe stableford scoring system was developed, by clubmember Dr Frank Stableford, with the first stablefordcompetition being held in 1932. It has also hostednumerous Open qualifiers, with the legendary BobbyJones qualifying there in 1930.

Caldy Golf Club is a striking course with a characterall of its own, down to an unusual combination of cliff-top, links style holes that are complemented by a stretchof parkland-style ones that wind their way inland by theRiver Dee.

lancashire and fylde areaSituated near the seaside town of Blackpool andfounded in 1886, Royal Lytham St Annes has hosted10 Open Championships and two Ryder Cups.Within five miles there are also two other superbcourses that are ideally suited for golf enthusiasts ofall abilities. Fairhaven Golf Club opened in 1932 andis a championship venue that has hosted many presti-gious tournaments including Open qualifying.

Founded in 1901, St Annes Old Links is a classic sea-side links course with windswept undulating fairways

“Southportlies at theheart ofarguably thefinest stretchof golfingcoastline inthe world”

where is it?England’s Golf Coast takes in the North West coastline from Cumbriain the north down to the Cheshire in the south. Pack your rain gear –the Lake District is England’s wettest region and rain from Atlanticdepressions can sweep in off the Irish Sea at any time.

getting thereThe area’s courses are all easily accessible by road and are within easy reachof the rail network and Liverpool, Blackpool and Manchester airports.

accommodation and tee timesEngland’s Golf Coast has awide range of accommodationto suit all tastes and budgets– from B&Bs to luxury hotelssuch as the Wirral’s Grade II-listed Hillbark Hotel.Accommodation and teetimes can be booked using the online England’s Golf Coast bookingsystem, on www.englandsgolfcoast.com.

green feesGreen fee prices are good value for the quality of golf on offer. Summerweekday rounds at Formby Hall cost £45 per round and weekends cost£55, while playing Royal Birkdale in summer will set you back £165 and£195 respectively.

packagesGolfbreaks.com (www.golfbreaks.com) offers stay and play packagesin the region in partnership with England’s Golf Coast. Other operatorswith packages include Your Golf Travel (www.yourgolftravel.com),Golf Planet Holidays (www.golfplanetholidays.com), Driveline Golf(www.drivelinegolf.com) and Leisure Link Golf Holidays(www.leisurelinkgolf.com).

tourist informationEngland’s Golf Coast: www.englandsgolfcoast.com; Liverpool:www.visitliverpool.com; Manchester: www.visitmanchester.com;Southport: www.visitsouthport.com; Lancashire & Blackpool:www.visitlancashire.com; Cumbria/Lake District:www.golakes.com; Chester & Cheshire: www.visitchester.com

coursesRoyal Birkdalewww.royalbirkdale.com

Royal Liverpoolwww.royal-liverpool-golf.com

Royal Lytham St Anneswww.royallytham.org

Southport & Ainsdalewww.sandagolfclub.co.uk

Formby Hallwww.formbyhallgolfresort.co.uk

Wallaseywww.wallaseygolfclub.com

Silloth-on-Solwaywww.sillothgolfclub.co.uk

Heskethwww.heskethgolfclub.co.uk

� The Lake District � Southport & Ainsdale wasthe first course to host twoRyder Cups

� Hillbark Hotel

� Formby

Formerly editor of Golf Monthly, Colin Callander has beeninvolved in the golf business for almost 30 years and is asingle-figure handicapper.