Royal Birkdale Golf Club *****

Waterloo Road, Birkdale, Southport, PR8 2LX

Nearest main town: Southport

 

In 1998 Royal Birkdale was voted the No.1 course in the British Isles by Golf World. For an Open Championship venue, it could be considered a fairly unremarkable achievement. But if you consider that some years before the world's top players were slating Birkdale for the quality of its greens, suddenly it becomes quite a feat.

Birkdale has always been regarded as a pure example of links golf, but now it is even better. Massive improvements were made prior to the 1 998 Open that have given the course some solid foundations for the future.

Seven years ago the club decided to take serious action in the battle against meadow grass, thatching and compaction on the greens that caused uproar at the Open. They removed the surfaces, replaced the subsoil with one that encouraged a deeper root base and then replaced the turf. Greens were overseeded with fescue grass and some of them were recontoured. The result: greens that are regarded as some of the best ever for an Open Championship.

Birkdale is very tough to master. From the 1st it demands the very best of all who play here. Your game must be plotted from tee to green, and as you would expect the wind plays a major part in how you score, particularly as the dunes which follow the fairways protect the player from it - you'll find that distances are very difficult to judge here.

Holes to watch out for are the 6th, a dogleg right to a green protected in the sandhills, the 12th, one of the finest par-3s in the country, and the 17th, a par-5 where the drive must be threaded through a gap in the sandhills.

It's a tough start and tough finish with not too many forgiving holes in between. Cherish the moment when you stand on the 18th tee - this is a wonderful vista after what should be a memorable round. If you get time, take tea in the clubhouse and you can sit down by the massive windows and look out on the 18th green and this wonderful, evocative place to play golf.

 

Secretary: Mr M. Gilyeat

Tel: 01704 567920 Fax: 01704 562327

Professional: Mr R. Bradbeer

Tel: 01704 568857 Fax: 01 704 562615

Playing: Midweek: round £98.00; day £125.00. Weekend: round £125.00; day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: 11 am-11 pm. Food: Breakfast, lunch and dinner from 8am-9pm. Bar snacks. Green fee price includes lunch.

Comments: Excellent, if a little expensive... The best Merseyside course. Best course in England, very hard to beat. . . A cracking course with so much history... Wonderful, the time of my life... A previous No.1 rated course in the Golf World Top 100 - still one of the best courses in the country.

 

Caldy Golf Club **

Links Hay Road, Caldy, Wirral, L48 1NB

Nearest main town: West Kirby

 

Secretary: Ms G. Copple

Tel: 0151 625 5660 Fax: 0151 625 7394

Professional: Mr K. Jones

Tel: 01516251818

Playing: Midweek: round £37.00; day £42.00. Weekend: round n/a; day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: 11 am-11 pm. Food: Lunch and dinner from 11 am-5pm. Bar snacks.

Comments: A marvelous parkland test. . . Very long and not without difficulty... Always worth a game... Never seen it in bad condition... Surprises you when you least expect it ... Very tidy.