Discover The Open Golf Courses In England
July 29, 2008
If you are planning your European golf vacations then you should consider playing some of the golf courses in England. Although, as a Scotsman, I would recommend that you start of by playing the historically famous courses in Scotland first. The courses in England are nearly as famous nowadays because of their exposure as venues of The Open. So, here are the championship courses that have held the event over the years.
Strangely, the top golf courses in England, where The Open Championship has been held, are located in only two regions of England. The first area is the county of Kent on the south-east corner of the country, just south of London. The other area is up in the north-west, between Blackpool and Liverpool.
Golf Courses In England - The NW
Between Scotland in the north and Wales in the south is the coastline of the northwest region of England. The links of three of The Open golf courses are to be found here. You can easily reach this area by flying to either Manchester or Liverpool airports, which are both about an hours drive from the golf courses. Why not make Liverpool a base for playing the three courses as it is a beautiful city - as well as being home to The Beatles.
Royal Liverpool, or Hoylake, has the honor of being the first in the northwest to host The Open and is also the second oldest of the links golf courses in England. It has now held the event 11 times, starting from 1897 and has regularly held the event every decade until 1967. It was not held again until 2006, the year that Tiger Woods won. In 1930, Bobby Jones won here on his historic way to winning the grand slam of golf.
Royal Lytham & St. Annes was founded in 1897 but didn’t hold its first Open until 1926. It is one of the finest and most challenging links courses in Britain with over 200 bunkers to negotiate. It has seen its share of legendary golfers winning the Championship; Bobby Jones in 1926, Englishman Tony Jacklin in 1969, South African Gary Player in 1974, Spaniard Seve Ballesteros in 1979 and 1988, amongst others.
Royal Birkdale is the newest of the courses in England to hold The Open. Since 1954 it has held the event regularly, nearly twice a decade, up to 2008. With its towering sand dunes, it is a popular golf course and, you could say, a lucky golf course for the US golfers. Even though Peter Thompson won here in 1954 and 1965, and Ian Baker-Finch in 1991, Americans have taken top spots in the other 5 events.
Golf Courses In England - The South East
The southeast of the country is home to three Championship courses all located on the south coast of Kent, just to the south of London. This close proximity to London makes the area easy to reach for the visitor. To enjoy playing the three courses here, you would do well to stay in one of the charming villages and make the beautiful countryside of Kent as your base.
Royal St. Georges has held The Open a total of thirteen times and was the first course in England to host the event back in 1894. I would make this course a priority when enjoying your European golf vacations. In the early days, this course witnessed two wins each by legendary golfers Harry Vardon and Walter Hagan. There have been many closely fought Opens here, including the 1993 event which saw Greg Norman shooting a brilliant 64 to beat Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer.
Royal Cinque Ports or Deal as it is sometimes known has only held The Open twice - 1909 and 1920. Through misfortune it hasn’t held further events due to the war in 1915 and high tides in 1938 and 1949 which made the course unplayable. It is worth playing though, as it is a very challenging course that requires very straight shots to stay out of trouble.
Prince’s is a Championship course which you have probably not heard of before because it was only used once in 1932 to hold The Open. Golf legend Gene Sarazen won that year with a faultless display of golf and scored 283, which was a Championship record that was unbeaten for 18 years. Incredibly, the beautiful Prince’s course was used by the Royal Air Force for bombing practice during WW II. Renovation of the course was carried out in the 50’s which managed to include the use of 17 of the original greens which stood undamaged by the bombs.
These are the six Championship golf courses in England that you can play; your only problem might be fitting in the six in one trip as they are at opposite corners of England. Remember that you will have to book tee times in advance and you should visit each course’s website to find out about the dress code for each course and clubhouse.
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