Golfing holidays and golf breaks in England.
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Links Gate, Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, FY8 3LQ
Voted No. 9 in the Golf Monthly/HSBC
Top 120 UK Course Rankings - November 2006
Royal Lytham & St Annes is one of the premier links courses in the world, host to ten Open Championships, two Ryder Cups and numerous other major tournaments including Woman's and Seniors Open Championships.
It is not a conventionally beautiful golf course, surrounded as it is by suburban housing and flanked by a railway line, but it has a charm all of its own. It is a Links course that is a long way from the sea yet close enough for the sea breeze to have an effect on one's game.
It is renowned as a course on which is it hard to scramble a good score, after all, there are 200 bunkers peppering the fairways and surrounding the greens. It may not be the longest of courses but it is one where careful thought and accurate shots are required. As a result, the course itself is extremely tough and the greens are firm, fast and true.There are some great holes too at Royal Lytham & St Annes and three have been selected and feature in the book the 500 World's Greatest Golf Holes - the 1st, 17th (rated in the top 100) and the 18th. The 9th is featured in another book, Classic Golf Holes.
The 1st is unique because this is the only par three starting hole on the Open Championship circuit and it's a long one, measuring 206 yards from the back tees. The tee shot is played through an avenue of trees to a green protected by severe bunkers, with the out-of-bounds railway line flanking the right-hand side. The 9th is another par three and it's the easiest hole on the course, measuring 164 yards, surrounded by houses, the railway line and nine bunkers. The 17th features the plaque in one of the bunkers to the left of the fairway which commemorates the famous second shot of Bobby Jones in the final round of the 1926 Open. The final hole is the classic finishing hole: the landing area flanked by bunkers with the added menace of cross bunkers in the fairway.
As for the clubhouse, the minute you enter the front door, a sense of history is all encompassing, but combined with a warmth and friendliness that is a characteristic of the membership of this great Club.
No. of holes: 18
Length: 6882 yards
Par: 71
Course Type: Links
To take your golf break a stage further, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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