Fairhaven: One of England Golf Coast's real hidden gems

Fairhaven is recognised as one of the best tracks in the north west of England and features an unusual but impressive blend of links and parkland.

It is home to many risk and reward holes and several punishing bunkers that can ruin your scorecard. The course is maintained and presented to the highest standards, featuring a sandy sub-soil to make play possible all year round.

History

Originally founded in 1895, the course was situated on what is now Fairhaven Boating Lake.

The club moved to its present site in the early 1920s and James Albert (Jack) Steer, the professional at Blackpool South Shore club from 1908 until its closure in 1940, designed the new course with advice and guidance from the great James Braid.

“The new course at Fairhaven Club, an inland course in a pretty park with something attractively secret about it”, wrote Bernard Darwin in The Golf Courses of Great Britain.

“We walk through a wood and suddenly and surprisingly find ourselves in a big tract of country, very peaceful and remote, which gives the impression of being a hidden valley. The soil is good too, and the holes are interesting”.

What makes it special

There are so many fines course on Lancashire’s “Golf Coast” and Fairhaven might not be a natural choice for those seeking out the big names. But you really will be missing something, something really special if you overlook Fairhaven.

It’s a delightful course and one of the area’s real hidden gems.