This club is famous for… being Britain’s most bunkered?
When you fancy a trip to the seaside, an afternoon at Royal Lytham & St Annes probably wouldn’t be your first thought.
If you ever get the chance to tee it up at the legendary Open venue, though, you’d be wise to pack a bucket and spade in your golf bag.
As seaside links go, Royal Lytham isn’t actually that close to the beach. There’s a housing estate between the course and the promenade and you’ll be really struggling if you’re trying to get your ball back in play from the sea front.
But if you can’t do without feeling the sand beneath your feet, don’t despair. They love it at Lytham – the Lancashire track may well be Britain’s most bunkered.
There is a grand total of 206 of the blighters at Royal Lytham – peppering the fairways and protecting the greens.
The par 4 17th has 20 on its own. There are 17 on the last.
Ranging from dastardly little pots to the kind of traps where a player can disappear forever if they are not careful, there are two rules for getting round Lytham in a good score: Avoid the bunkers or take your punishment.
Tony Jacklin, who won the Open at Royal Lytham in 1969, once said: “The bunkers essentially have a red line around them. I mean they’re a one shot penalty.”
Even so, Lytham’s double ton is still small beer compared to some others out there.
Designer Pete Dye’s best estimate at Whistling Straits is that there’s around 1,000 bunkers.
There are so many at the Wisconsin course, you have walk through some of them just to get around.
At least at Royal Lytham, you’ve got a good idea when you’re in one. As Dustin Johnson found out to his cost at the 2008 PGA Championship, a sandy waste area is not always what you think it is.
Unaware he was playing from an area that was deemed to be a bunker, a two shot penalty after he hit his approach to the 18th in the final round ended any hopes he had of picking up his maiden Major title.
So maybe we should count our blessings…
This club is famous for… hosting the Open outside Great Britain
This club is famous for… President Eisenhower and the 14th tee
Click here for the full ‘This Club Is Famous For’ archive
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
