IF you love your links golf and you haven’t been to this part of the world then the first part probably isn’t quite true.

Thousands flock to St Andrews, or Gullane or Troon, but in England, certainly, there is nowhere quite like it. 

Within a short stretch of coastline lie three Royal Open Championship venues, starting with Lytham & St Annes to the north, Birkdale on the outskirts of Southport and Hoylake further south on the Wirral Peninsula.

Better still, the supporting cast is incredible and we are here to play two of them, Hillside and West Lancs, as well as the leading lady, for many, Royal Birkdale.

And this is where we start, home to nine Open Championships, five Women’s British Opens (it will be six in 2014) and two Ryder Cups. Many will recall Jack Nicklaus’ famous concession in 1969. Interestingly, the Ryder Cup was also held here four years before the famous tie.

Any round here, in rain or sunshine, is a rare treat and, even rarer, we are bathed in sunshine. And it is perfect, the wispy rough barely flickering in the breeze and the greens absolutely pure.

Ordinarily wind will play its part and very rarely do consecutive holes run in the same direction.

However, if you hit the fairways, you will most likely stay on them given that they run in the flat-bottomed valleys of the dunes.

For the spectator, this is as impressive as any Open venue because from a number of elevated tees you are afforded sensational views.

The general consensus is that the 12th is the best of an excellent bunch of par 3s, it ranks among Tom Watson’s favourites, and it almost sums up the Birkdale experience. On face value it looks a little overwhelming, with bunkers and scrub surrounding what appears a tiny green, but look a little closer and it becomes more achievable. Terrors may well lurk but this is as fair as any course on the current Open rota.

One or two are not too fussed about the closing holes but it is impossible not to let your mind wander and try to emulate Padraig Harrington on the 17th before firing one down the last against the backdrop of the distinctive art-deco clubhouse. Played as a four it is a stinker, as a five (given the power of the mind) you may well finish with a birdie.

Across the way beckons the home to this year’s Amateur Championship, Hillside, sandwiched between Birkdale and Southport & Ainsdale (both are visible at times). 

Again there is plenty of history here but a lesser known fact is that this is where Nicklaus made his first appearance in Britain. And that Greg Norman has described it as having ‘the best back nine in Britain’. 

But then there’s the front nine which begins with the 1st at Prestwick in reverse, and a railway line hugging the entire left side of the fairway, plus three bunkers guarding the right.

There is a sense that the front nine is all about position and the back nine somewhere you can open your shoulders but they are almost identical in length and share the same par of 36. 

Part of the reason for this may well be that the magnificent par-5 11th and 17th, which run adjacent to one another, will likely live longest in the memory.

From the elevated tee of the former the fells of the Lake District can be made out while the latter, uphill and down dale and a magnificent hole, is a genuine three-shotter, and often more.

Supposedly, once upon a time, Hillside was nothing out of the ordinary but the purchase of some dune land in the 1960s, to go alongside the small belts of fir trees, transformed it into what lies today, a superb course which sits very comfortably alongside its royal neighbour.

To finish, a few miles south of Southport, West Lancs, home to Final Qualifying and the co-host of the 2009 Amateur. It is also the oldest of the Lancashire clubs having been founded in 1873.

Any time spent in this part of the world leaves you wondering a) how soon you could retire here and b) where you would join.

While the first answer remains a long way off, West Lancs provides the answer to the second. 

Rugged and varied, this is a brilliant place to be with Anglesey and the Welsh mountains just across the water. On a calm day this offers a decent (ish) opportunity to prosper though, if the wind blows, it is a very different beast though the challenge retains a little bit of everything. 

Of the 10 par 4s eight are doglegs, five to the right and three to the left, so much of the work is done from the tee, though small swales and immaculate greens lead to their own problems.

The 12th is the pick of some brilliant short holes and one of the toughest Stroke Index 15s anywhere. Should the chance arise, tee off the blue tee at the next for the best view in the area.

The only small downside here used to be that the clubhouse failed to come close to the brilliance of the course but that is now all in the past after recent refurbishments.

West Lancs was originally built to cater for the needs of Scottish businessmen who were working in the area during the shipping boom on the Mersey. The charm here is that you imagine things nowadays were much as they were then.

England’s Golf Coast is home to 20 of the most naturally picturesque and impressive courses in Britain. If you’re planning a visit they can help with packages, tee times and accommodation. 

The Warehouse Kitchen and Bar is a classy but cosy setting. It’s upmarket but wholly unpretentious and the food, a mixture of Eastern and Western classics, is excellent. For a more low-key evening, but equally as tasty, try Tyndall’s, a converted Victorian townhouse. With over 30 years’ experience this is excellent home-prepared and cooked food.

www.warehousekitchenandbar.com    www.tyndalls.co.uk

where to stay

We stayed at the four-star Ramada Plaza on the waterfront development in Southport. With 133 stylish rooms, three swimming pools, steam rooms, saunas and a modern fitness suite it has everything for even the more energetic golfer.

The town centre is a five-minute walk.

www.ramadaplazasouthport.co.uk