West Lancashire Golf Club: Raw Links, No Pretension

There is a type of links golf course that exists before tourism and hospitality discovered that golf clubs could be businesses. West Lancashire Golf Club feels like that. The clubhouse is functional rather than grand. The welcome is warm but not effusive. The course asks nothing of you except to play golf, and when you don't, the wind and the rough and the firm greens make you pay for it with a clarity that more accommodating courses don't.

The course

West Lancashire is the most exposed course on the Sefton Coast. It sits right on the shoreline north of Formby: when the prevailing westerly comes in off the Irish Sea, there is nothing to stop it. The course runs along the coast rather than into the dunes, which means fewer dramatic changes in elevation but more consistent wind exposure on nearly every hole.

The opening holes lull you into thinking it might be manageable. A couple of medium-length par 4s running slightly downwind. Then you turn, and the wind is in your face, and the holes suddenly play 30 yards longer than the card says. The back nine at West Lancs, into the prevailing wind, is one of the genuine tests on the Sefton Coast.

The rough

I want to say something specific about the rough at West Lancashire. It is real rough: not the slightly-longer-grass-you-can-hack-a-7-iron-through rough of many championship courses. It is long, heavy, seaside rough that closes around a golf ball and makes full swings difficult. Off the fairway at West Lancs, your realistic outcome is a punched recovery shot back to the short grass. Plan for it before the first tee, not after the fourth hole.

My score on the day I played: 93 in 18mph wind. I'd like to say that's above my expected score, but at West Lancs in those conditions, it's about right for a 24-handicapper who thought he was playing better than he was.

The practical details

• →Green fees: £80–£130. One of the better-value serious tests on the Sefton Coast.
• →Visitor access: good. Weekdays most accessible. Weekend visitors welcome with advance booking.
• →Handicap certificate: not always required but bring one: it's the kind of club that takes it seriously.
• →Dress code: smart/casual as you'd expect. Traditional club atmosphere.
• →Location: Hall Road East, Blundellsands, Liverpool. L23 8SZ. North of Formby, south of Southport.

Who should play West Lancashire

Golfers who have played links before and want a genuine test. Golfers who've done Birkdale and Hillside and want to understand what the less-celebrated end of the Sefton Coast offers. Golfers who read "exposed" and "raw" as compliments rather than warnings.

If you want a polished experience with a full hospitality package, this isn't your course. If you want to find out what you're actually made of on a links, come to West Lancashire and leave the scorecard in your bag for the first few holes.