Category
Course Reviews
Honest, first-hand accounts of playing every course on the Sefton Coast: written by a 24-handicapper who lives three miles from Royal Birkdale. Green fees, visitor experience, and the holes that will haunt you.
Formby Golf Club Review: Heathland Meets Links on the Sefton Coast
Formby Golf Club is the outlier on the Sefton Coast: pines and heathland alongside links terrain, a very different character to Birkdale and Hillside. Worth playing if you want to understand the full range of what this stretch of coast offers.
Hillside Golf Club Review: Royal Birkdale's Neighbour at a Third of the Price
Hillside sits in the same dune system as Royal Birkdale, shares the same dramatic terrain, and costs £75–£110 a round. It's the most underrated course on the Sefton Coast and I genuinely don't know why more visitors don't play it.
Hillside Golf Club: The Course They Put Next to Royal Birkdale for a Reason
Hillside sits immediately next to Royal Birkdale and gets treated as the supporting act. It isn't. It's a world-class links course in its own right: with better visitor access, lower green fees, and terrain that rivals anything on the coast. Here's the honest review.
Formby Golf Club: The Sefton Coast Course That Plays by Different Rules
Formby Golf Club is not a pure links. It's a heathland-links mix, with maritime pines, silver birch and narrower fairways than anything else on the Sefton Coast. That difference is the whole point. I've played it twice and it rewarded thinking over hitting.
Southport Old Links: Proper Links Golf at a Price That Makes Sense
Southport Old Links is the most accessible and affordable course on the Sefton Coast. Under £50, genuine links terrain, no handicap certificate required. It's not in anyone's top-50 list. It doesn't need to be.
Hillside Golf Club: The Course Next to Birkdale
Hillside sits on the same dune system as Royal Birkdale. Same wind. Same type of golf. Visitor green fees are less than a third of the price and you can get a tee time this week. I've played it twice. Here's the honest account.
Southport & Ainsdale: The Ryder Cup Course Nobody Talks About
Southport & Ainsdale has hosted the Ryder Cup twice. It ranks in the top 50 courses in England. Green fees start at £65 and include a meal. I genuinely don't understand why it's not the first stop on every serious Sefton Coast golf trip.
West Lancashire Golf Club: Raw Links, No Pretension
West Lancashire is not manicured. It is not concerned with your enjoyment. It is a proper links course on an exposed piece of coastline and it will test you in ways that more polished courses won't. I played it in 18mph wind and shot my worst score in two years. I'd go back tomorrow.
I Played Royal Birkdale Off 24. Here's What Happened.
I live three miles from Royal Birkdale. I built a website about it. And until last October, I'd never actually played it. Here's the honest account of what happens when a 24-handicapper takes on one of the world's greatest links courses.