Waterloo Rd, Birkdale,
Southport, Merseyside PR8 2LX
Office
+44 (0)1704 552 020Pro shop
+44 (0)1704 552 030Fax
+44 (0)1704 552 021Website
Visit websiteGolf pro
Gregg Pettersen (Head Professional)The Course:
18 holes. Seaside links. Gently undulating terrain - easy to walk.
Surroundings:
Coastal duneland.
Designer:
Original design by George Lowe (1889); major revisions by Fred Hawtree & J.H. Taylor (1931).
53.622316
-3.032226
17 miles N of Liverpool
From the centre of Southport, head south on the A565 direction Liverpool. After 1.8 miles Royal Birkdale entrance is on your right.
Royal Birkdale
Royal Birkdale Golf Club: Located just north of Liverpool, the seaside towns of Southport and Formby are separated by a five-mile stretch of stunning coastal duneland. Lying within these naturally created sand-hills are four of England's top rated links golf courses. Good as Formby, Hillside and Southport & Ainsdale are, the most revered of the quartet is Royal Birkdale, one of the finest links golf courses in the world.
A visit to Royal Birkdale offers the opportunity to dip into golfing history and muse on the many top level championships and matches that have been hosted here. However, it is more likely that your main objective will be to sample the real-time pleasures of playing these revered links.
With few blind shots required from either tee-box or fairway, the hazards are clear enough to see, notably in the form of towering dunes and superb pot bunkering. Admiring Birkdale's wonderful array of revetted bunkers is all well and good, but staying out of them is another matter. Adept course management and good shot-making is required to stay out of the deep fescues, small bushes and other assorted rough that awaits anything hit too far offline.
If you’ve scored well up to the par-3 14th, it's time to take a deep breath and prepare for the closing par 5-4-5-5 stretch. There's an average of ten bunkers per hole on this final "fab four", and out-of-bounds on the rightside of the last two holes.
At Royal Birkdale you can occasionally glimpse the Irish Sea in the distance, but you won't be playing directly alongside it. No matter. Few can resist the undoubted charms of this wonderfully natural collection of sand dunes .... and the thoroughly absorbing golf links laid out within them.
Visitors welcome on weekdays; outside visitor play is very restricted on weekends.
Must book in advance. Proof of handicap required.
Contact club for full details, discounts, packages, etc. [Last updated: 2023].
This is a walking-only course. If genuinely unable to walk the course, players can apply for permission to hire a golf cart.
Good
Royal Birkdale has played host to many major championships and top-level tournaments. Included amongst these are Open Championships and the Women's British Open, as well as some of the biggest team competitions in golf, not least Ryder, Walker and Curtis Cups (see our Tournaments section >by Venue >Royal Birkdale).
George VI conferred the Royal prefix on Birkdale GC in 1951. By royal prerogative, 19 English golf clubs use the "Royal" title, namely: Ascot, Ashdown Forest, Birkdale, Blackheath, Cinque Ports, Cromer, Eastbourne, Epping Forest, Household (Windsor Castle), Liverpool (Hoylake), Lytham & St Annes, Mid-Surrey, North Devon (Westward Ho!), Norwich, St George's, West Norfolk (Brancaster), Wimbledon, Winchester, Worlington & Newmarket.
England's 3rd best course (Golf World, 2023).
Britain & Ireland's 9th best course (Golf World, 2024).
World's 42nd best course (GOLF Magazine, 2023/24) and 17th best public access course (Golf World, 2023).
The Promenade, Southport, Merseyside PR8 1RB
+44 (0)1704 533 771
Visit websiteThe Best Western Royal Clifton Hotel & Spa is noted for its excellent range of facilities and standards of service. Over recent years the hotel has been refurbished to offer guests the comfort expected from one of the best located hotels in Southport.
No
Hesketh; Royal Birkdale; Hillside
Southport & Ainsdale; Formby; West Lancashire
98 Lord Street, Southport PR8 1JR
+44 (0)1704 883 800
Visit websiteLocated on Lord Street, Southport’s main boulevard and opening in 2008, The Vincent Hotel is a contemporary boutique hotel. 60 guest rooms, suites and a penthouse occupy the six floors in this award winning design. The hotel's facilities include a Cafe & Sushi Bar, Spa, gym and Galleria Suites for weddings & corporate events.
No
Hesketh; Royal Birkdale; Hillside
Southport & Ainsdale; Formby; Formby Hall; West Lancashire
124th US Open: the No.2 Course at Pinehurst once again plays host to this most illustrious championship (June 13-16). Wyndham Clark defends his title, having won at Los Angeles CC in 2023.
79th Women’s US Open: the second women’s major championship of the season gets underway at Lancaster CC in Pennsylvania. It’s the second time the championship has been held here.
(May 30-June 2).
Nelly Korda: won the Mizuho Americas Open (May 16-19) at Liberty National GC, continuing her extraordinary form in LPGA events. This was her sixth win in seven starts in 2024.
Xander Schauffele: recorded his first major championship win, and second record-equalling low score of 62 in a major. Only he, Branden Grace, Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry have achieved this feat in a men’s major championship.
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.
Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.
Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.
Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available
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