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ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB 7110 YARDS PAR 72 DESIGNERS: R CHAMBERS, G MORRIS AND JAMES BRAID Royal Liverpool (Hoylake) was founded in 1869, retains its original course and is, after Royal Devon (Westward Ho!), the second oldest English club and course. Indeed, many are those who find Royal Liverpool to be the preeminent English golf club. The noted golfer and writer, Bernard Darwin, opined of Hoylake, "It belongs to the whole world of golf, for it has played a great part in the history of the game." The club was responsible in 1885 for initiating the British Amateur championship, which is the oldest event of its kind in the world and which the club has hosted 15 times. A Hoylake member, John Ball, became in 1890 the first amateur to win the British Open. Another member, Harold Hilton, won the Amateur four times, the Open twice and the American Amateur once- a record surpassed only by Mr. Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. In 1902, Hoylake hosted the world's first international match, a contest between the professionals of England and Scotland. Its 1921 inaugural match between amateur men from Great Britain and the United States inspired George Herbert Walker, great-grandfather of George Walker Bush, to donate the Walker Cup the following year. Bobby Jones won the Open here in 1930 in the second leg of his Grand Slam. Roberto de Vicenzo out dueled Jack Nicklaus to win the 1967 Open. Other winners of Hoylake Opens include Arnaud Massy (the lone Frenchman to win the Open [1907]), Harry Vardon (1914) and Peter Thomson (1956). Although the course is some 1000 yards longer than it once was, the racetrack which formerly shared the grounds is no more and there were alterations for the 1967 Open, much remains substantially the same as when the first feathery was lifted from earth here in 1869. Oddly, there is out-of-bounds interior to the course that comes into play most prominently on the 1st and 16th holes. The length of the course is made ever more difficult by the frequency a stern winds and the narrowness of the fairways. Bunkers are in play on most drives. And, the finishing holes are absolutely intriguing in that they reward bold play while severely punishing errant shots. We find judicious bunkering to be one of the course’s most laudable assets. Whilst Lytham believes the more bunkers the better, Hoylake seems to take enormous pride in positioning precious few bunkers in precisely the right places. Moreover, how can one fail to admire a course where the most difficult hole (the Fifth) results not from length (less than 400 yards) but from design. This is a course for the thinking golfer! Sadly, Royal Liverpool's contributions to the game and the fact that it has hosted 10 Opens had precious little impact on the Lilliputians who once determined the Open rota. They decreed that Hoylake should never see another Open until luxurious hotel accommodations were constructed nearby to house officials during the championship. How contemptible that those who pretended to be the guardians of the game should place housing over history. Bully, then, for the contemporary R&A competition committee who in 2000 restored Hoylake to its rightful place on the Rota and promised a championship within the decade. Haversham Independent travellers: The course is southwest of Hoylake toward Kirby on the A 540 (Meols Drive). Look for the sign in the roundabout, then the entrance sign about one half block on the right. Enter the changing rooms by walking round the clubhouse to the back. Note that the ladies club is on the left as you face the clubhouse from the car park. The Spike Bar on the ground floor adjacent to the men's changing room serves soup and sandwiches. The main bar and dining room upstairs require coat and tie. For golf, report to the golf professionals shop, were tokens are available for range balls. |