West Lancashire Golf Club: The Links Course Most Visitors to The Open Never Play

West Lancashire Golf Club sits at Blundellsands, about six miles south of Royal Birkdale on the Lancashire coast. It is further from Southport than the other Sefton Coast courses, quieter, and genuinely different in character. Most golfers who come to this area for The Open play Hillside, Formby, and Southport and Ainsdale. A lot of them miss West Lancs entirely. That is their loss.

The Course

West Lancashire plays along and across the coastal dune ridges with the sea on one side and Crosby beach on the other. The holes closer to the shore are genuinely exposed: when the wind is coming in off the Irish Sea, club selection becomes very difficult, very quickly. This is links golf with no shelter from the elements.

The turf is firm and fast when conditions are dry. The fairways run, the ball bounces off the greens if you approach on the wrong line, and the rough is thick enough to be punishing without being impossible. It plays like a traditional Lancashire links: honest, demanding, rewarding when you manage it well.

Length from the back tees is significant. Do not be misled by the card yardage into thinking this is manageable. When the wind is against you on the longer holes, you are hitting more club than you expect on almost every approach.

The Standout Holes

• →The short par-3s are deceptively difficult. The green surrounds are contoured in a way that punishes anything short or wide.
• →The holes running parallel to the shore are the most exposed and the most interesting. Wind direction changes how you play each of them.
• →The closing stretch is genuinely exciting with the right score on the line.

How It Compares to the Others

Hillside is the most dramatic. Royal Birkdale is the most complete. Formby is the most traditional. West Lancashire is the most elemental. If you want to feel what links golf is actually about at its most raw, West Lancashire is the one to play.

Southport and Ainsdale has the Ryder Cup pedigree and excellent facilities. West Lancashire does not have that kind of history, but the course is arguably tougher in difficult conditions. They are simply different types of challenge.

Visitor Access and Green Fees

West Lancashire accepts visitors but it is a traditional members club. Book directly with the club. Visitor days are available throughout the week but weekend access is more restricted than at some of the other Sefton courses. Contact the club well in advance, particularly if you are planning a summer visit or a trip around The Open.

Green fees are competitive with the other top Sefton courses. This is not a budget round, but it is better value than Royal Birkdale and comparable with Hillside and Formby.

Getting There

West Lancashire is at Hall Road West, Blundellsands, L23 8SZ. From Southport, take the A565 south through Formby and Crosby. About 20-25 minutes from Birkdale village in normal traffic.

From Liverpool, it is much closer than the Birkdale courses: Blundellsands and Crosby Merseyrail station is nearby. If you are arriving from the south without a car, this is actually the most accessible of the Sefton Coast championship courses.

When to Play It

Summer is the obvious answer for fair-weather visitors. But West Lancashire in autumn, when the rough has gone brown and the wind is up from the north, is a memorable experience in its own right. Not comfortable. But memorable.