While the Ryder Cup has long since left the classic courses of Britain as its host, the Walker Cup has not once looked beyond them. In 2019, Royal Liverpool is the stage and is a club and a course with tremendous synergy with the amateur game. It is part of a celebrated portfolio of courses on the coastal outskirts of Liverpool, a city with more world-class venues within an easy drive than anywhere in GB&I other than London. Our best golf courses in Liverpool is headlined by England’s No. 1, but its strength is its depth of quality…
Best golf courses in Liverpool: 10. Formby Hall
A modern course of over 7,000 yards off the blue tees and incorporating links-style pot bunkers, woodland and water hazards.
It has hosted the European Seniors, Challenge Tour and EuroPro Tours.
There is also a nine-hole course here and a fine hotel, making it an ideal base for a golf break in Southport.
Best golf courses in Liverpool: 9. Hesketh
An Open qualifying venue as well as a co-host with Hillside for the Amateur, it dates back to 1885 and is the oldest course in Southport.
A proper links at the north end of the Merseyside sand dune system, the short 16th was described by Henry Cotton as the best short hole in Lancashire.
Found on the north side of Southport, the under-rated George Lowe laid out the course that exists today in 1902.
Best golf courses in Liverpool: 8. Formby Ladies
Ignore the name, for Formby Ladies is certainly not just for female players!
Indeed if you come to Southport and don’t play it, you are making a big mistake.
Entertaining, playable and memorable, it was ranked in the top 30 in our inaugural Fun Top 100 Courses in Britain and Ireland.
Best golf courses in Liverpool: 7. Wallasey
Famously the home to the Stableford scoring system – with Dr Frank inspired by the tough start here that frequently ruined his score – it is also a terrific links cut through dunes with fine views of Liverpool Bay.
The first of two courses in our top 10 from the Wirral, it is a traditional links course with fast-running fairways and firm, slick greens.
A contender for GB&I Top 100s.
Best golf courses in Liverpool: 6. Southport & Ainsdale
A two-time Ryder Cup venue having hosted the 1933 and 1937 matches that largely plays over gently rippling linksland.
Arranged in two loops – with the first third the inner circle – by James Braid in 1906, it is all about interesting green complexes, gorgeous turf, heather, gorse and blind shots.
The 16th, ‘Gumbleys’, is the obvious highlight, where even a strong drive leaves a blind approach to a narrow green over tall sleepers. The short par 4 before it and a tough two-shotter that follows, with the railway line to the right and a bunker in the middle of the fairway, are both excellent too.
So who made the top five in our best golf courses in Liverpool rundown? Find out on the next page…
