Yes, you can come to England’s Golf Coast and play 3 Open Championship courses, Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool and Lytham St.Annes, but there are plenty of excellent links courses within 30 miles of Southport.
That’s the point of playing the non-marquee courses in the area, to let you know about other places to play.
First up, Hesketh Golf Club.
I will be honest, when the opportunity to play at Hesketh Golf Club, I didn’t know much about the club or course, just that my friend, Martyn Senior used to be the manager there.
Historical Hesketh is the oldest club in the area, formed in 1885. Who would have known that it also has a link to Adolf Hitler too? Click on the link below to know more and take time to view the historical memorabilia within the Clubhouse.
https://www.nationalclubgolfer.com/news/club-famous-hitler-tree-hesketh/
When we arrived at Hesketh, I was blown away by how brown it looked. Having played at Fulford, Princes and Royal St.Georges in the previous week, all of which were very green, suddenly we were going to be playing proper links golf, hard fairways and firm greens, my idea of heaven!!
Hesketh is a mix of links and parkland holes although all were playing like links due to the recent dry spell. It’s a par 72 with 4 par 3’s and 4 par 5’s with a Wentworth style 2 par 5 finish.
All the par 3’s are challenging with the 2nd and the 16th being worth a special mention. The 2nd hole has a plateau green and must be a nightmare in the wind as you can’t miss it short or long, or left or right, as you will struggle to get up and down for par.
The 16th is a picturesque hole with the Clubhouse and the Hitler tree as a background and which you drive past when you arrive at the Club. Our advice is to wait until the road is clear before hitting your tee shot!
Another picturesque hole is the 14th hole, a par 4 which features the Widows bunkers. The rear of the Clubhouse is on the left and there’s a road on the right but the fairway is generous as long as you don’t hit it too far into those bunkers.
We really enjoyed playing at Hesketh and it was made even more special as we were accompanied by the retired Club Manager and North West region legend, Martyn Senior and his wife, Heather.
Hesketh is a fun course, challenging but not too difficult if you can find the fairway off the tee. If you can find the green at all the par 3’s and play the par 5’s well then you will have a really enjoyable round.
If you are planning a trip to England’s Golf Coast you really should take the time to play some of the many links courses available.
We did just that and its off to Formby next……..
At a glance:
- Located 60 minutes from Manchester Airport and just 22 miles from Liverpool
- A challenging but very playable and easy walking golf course
- a beguiling mix of links and parkland holes
- Practice range facility
- Traditional UK golf club with interesting history.
- Learn at https://www.heskethgolfclub.co.uk
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