Played by NCG: Royal Liverpool
Reason for a Royal Liverpool Golf Club review
A friend and I played the course in 2016 and enjoyed it so much we thought we would revisit.
Where Royal Liverpool Golf Club?
Royal Liverpool, which has hosted the Open on 12 occasions, is located on the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, around 12 miles from the city centre.
What to expect
A flat but tricky links course that demands precision off the tee box as most holes are bunkered effectively.
The first is the only hole on the course that doesn’t have a bunker. However, it does have out of bounds gripping the right hand side of the fairway and green.
You’ll find breathtaking views as you play the back nine particularly from the raised tee boxes at the 10th and 11th.
Favourite hole
The par 3 11th hole. It offers fantastic views of the River Dee estuary with the Welsh coastline in the background.
On top of the exceptional views is a demanding par 3. The hole measures at 194 yards and requires a precise tee shot with a long iron or hybrid club.
The green is relatively long so if the pin is at the back you have plenty of room to work with. However, miss the green short and left and you’ll be lucky to even find your ball.
My best bit
Playing off the green tees measuring at just under 7,000 yards and with winds blowing at 25mph I had a pretty uninspiring round without a single birdie on the card.
My best bit didn’t come until the 17th hole, which is 1st hole for the Open.
After leaving my second shot short and then fatting my third I rolled in a 30 foot down hill putt breaking from right to left from the front of the green to the middle for par.
What to look for
Either before or after your round make sure you explore the clubhouse at as you will stumble across some great golfing history.
In the hallway opposite the clubs’ honours board they have historic memorabilia including Tiger Woods’ 2-iron from his victory there in 2006.
When I go back
I’d love to play the course in the height of summer when the pace of the course is at its highest having played it at the end of September and start of November the two times I’ve played it.
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Matthew Beedle
Matthew has been playing golf since he was around 13 and took up the game at a local nine-hole municipal course with his friends before joining Pontefract & District Golf Club just over the hedge.
Still a member of Pontefract with a handicap of 3, he currently sits on the board of directors to help with digital and marketing initiatives in order to improve membership and visitor income.
Matthew graduated university with a First Class in Sports Journalism from Leeds Trinity University and has been working in the golf industry since graduating.
NCG’s social media & marketing manager, Matthew’s main job role is to increase website traffic to the National Club Golfer website via our email and social media channels as well as driving entries to grow our NCG Top 100s Tour events amongst other tasks.
Not one to change his equipment too often, Matthew currently plays the TaylorMade M2 driver which has lasted the test of time in his bag. Elsewhere, you’ll find him using the TaylorMade Stealth 2 three-wood with a Ping G425 Crossover 2-iron to aid his long game.
Through his 4-iron to Gap Wedge, Matthew uses the Ping i500 irons accompanied by Ping’s Glide 3.0 56-degree and 60-degree wedges.
Another club that has stood the test of time in his bag is a Nike Method Core MC-3i putter which has had to have the SuperStroke grip changed at least three times. Ball of choice is the Titleist ProV1.
