West Lancashire Golf Club

You will have seen from an earlier post, that I started my World Top 100 quest in the North West. I had been to Southport the previous year, but still had Formby and West Lancs to tick off. We were playing Royal Lytham on the Sunday and needed to find somewhere to play on Saturday afternoon. It was a Saturday afternoon in March, so we also needed somewhere that would allow two visitors to play at a time early enough to avoid finishing in darkness. We did some research and found a deal at West Lancashire Golf Club.

As it transpired, it was not a particularly good deal – it was a fixed price and it was for a four-ball – but nonetheless, it got us on the course. We started after the morning competition and were immediately glad we were not playing in a medal. The wind was very strong and only got stronger as the round progressed.

The Course

West Lancashire is probably the least well known of the 5 courses that feature in the Top 100 in England along the central part of “The Golf Coast”. I was expecting great things, as I had heard Chris Solomon (of No Laying Up) describe it as the most fun he had had on a recent trip. The course did not disappoint (unlike my golf).

The opening holes are a great introduction to the course. The first is a gentle par 4, with a generous fairway and a large green. There are three bunkers surrounding it, though, so you need to judge the wind carefully. The second is a straight par 5, with central pot-bunkers on the fairway, and three more protecting the approach. The third is a par 3 with an up-turned saucer green. It is only 150 yards, but the cross-wind makes it very difficult. If you miss the green, you face a tricky up and down.

The par 4 fourth hole has a dog-leg to the right and an undulating fairway. There is a tight bottleneck which is in play if you are down-wind, so make sure you don’t take to much club. The green slopes from back to front and has run-offs on both sides.

The 2nd half of the front nine

The fifth is a great hole with some high dunes providing banking on the left side of the fairway. I cut-off a little too much of the corner and ended up in the thick rough on the side of one of the dunes. In what was my highlight of the round, I hit a low 5 iron from right to left that scuttled onto the green from about 170 yards out. My opponent, Blair, was more than surprised!

The sixth is a beautiful par 3, that has dunes around the left and to the back, and bunkers front and right. From the tee, the green looks tiny. This is followed by a par 4 which has another central fairway pot bunker. The hole turns from left to right and, if you avoid the bunkers, is a good chance to score some points.

Both 8 and 9 are long par 4s and if you are into the wind will definitely play as 3-shotters. Today, we had a helping breeze, which was blowing from right to left and Blair took full advantage. Both holes turn gently from right to left and the approach can be blind if you start too far left. The 8th has the longest green on the course, so check the flag position before hitting.

The back 9 begins …

The 10th is extremely wide to the left (as there is not much rough between the fairway and the 18th), but there is out of bounds on the right. The best approach is from the right to avoid the two pot-bunkers on the left centre of the fairway. It is followed by a straight par 5, which again has out of bounds on the right. This time you will end up on the railway if you go too far right. The bunkering is terrific and you really need to be careful if you are playing into the wind. The green is quite generous, but has a run-off to the back right and deep bunkers protecting the front.

This is followed by a par 3. The 12th is a brilliant hole that plays up hill to a green that is surrounded by banks to the back and right. We played it with the wind hard off the left, and I lost two balls that went right and further right. Two strategically placed pot-bunkers will gobble up anything that is short.

The raised tee box on the 13th gives the impression that you can open your shoulders. We were now playing into a strong wind that was coming from the left and was really hurting my wipey-fade. The fairway has lots of undulation and so you are lucky if you have a flat lie. The green is on a raised plateau with a steep run-off to the front and left. The wind was so strong now that I decided to club-up and hit a 7-iron from 110 yards (for my 3rd) … unsurprisingly it was too much club, and I nearly ended up on the sand dunes out the back.

We finally turned back and had some help from the wind. Frustratingly for me, it was now off the right and so I was tee shot was going to hold up into it. Blair out-drove me on this hole by about 100 yards! The approach plays to another raised green. There is plenty of space left, so if you are going to miss it, don’t go right or you will end up in the trees.

The closing stretch

The 15th tee shot is brilliant – there is a wall with what looks like a selection of bullseyes for you to aim at. This separates the course from the railway, and they are there to help you work out where your ball ended up (the equivalent of stakes in the heather). The hole turns from left to right and plays to a green in its own amphitheatre.

The central fairway bunkers return on the par 5 16th albeit to one of the widest landing areas on the course. The green slopes from right to left which funnels the ball into the deep pot-bunker if you are not precise. Due to the steep mounds, the approach is often blind.

The 17th normally plays with a cross wind (as it did today) from left to right. Three bunkers protect the green.

The closing hole has another raised tee box and requires a straight drive. There is a bunker on the left and a pond on the right. The green is large, but undulating and you can easily three-putt if you end up in the wrong portion.

Verdict

Overall, West Lancashire is a great links course. There is plenty of variety in the direction of the holes, elevation changes and excellent bunkering. The par 3s are particularly memorable. There is also something quite evocative about a course enclosed between the sea and a railway line! Blair totally outplayed me on this occasion and I was lucky to break 100. I am very keen to get back there and to have another go. I suspect that I won’t have any difficulty in finding someone to come with me.