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Heritage

Follow in the footsteps of the true golfing greats . . .

Southport's reputation as England's Golfing capital on England's Golf Coast is well deserved. The most famous courses on England's Golf Coast are undoubtedly its three Open Championship venues. Visited by golfers the world over, the resort is home to Royal Birkdale, which for many, is the finest of all the greatest golf courses to stage The Open Championship. Nearby are Royal Lytham St Annes and Royal Liverpool and together these world-renowned venues have hosted the Open Championship no fewer than 29 times since 1897.

Southport is home to a number of premier links and parkland courses - in addition to Royal Birkdale there's Formby, Formby Ladies, Hesketh, Hillside, Southport & Ainsdale, West Lancashire. All are of Championship standard, many having hosted top tournaments such as the Ryder Cup, the Curtis Cup as well as The Open. Royal Birkdale has hosted The Open eight times with Royal Liverpool having hosted it ten times. In 2006 the greatest golf event in the world returned to Royal Liverpool in Hoylake and this year comes to Royal Birkdale in Southport. Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa, opened in 1996, is one of the newest courses on England's Golf Coast, but has already built an enviable reputation, both for its welcome and the test of golf it provides.

Great deeds have been performed on Southport's courses by legends such as Harry Vardon, James Braid (the first golfer to win the Open five times) and J H Taylor to the modern greats such as Tiger Woods. To play the Southport courses is to follow in the footsteps of the world's true greats. The region's courses have such enduring appeal to golfers because they have such great heritage.

Royal Birkdale, 1950
Royal Birkdale Golf Club was formed back in 1889 and has subsequently staged eight Open Championships, two Ryder Cups and a host of other major international events. The club was conferred its first Open in 1954 and in 1971 had the distinction of hosting the 100th Open Championship won by Lee Trevino. The course is also synonymous with the name of Peter Thomson because it was there he won his first Open in 1954 and there some eleven years later he equalled the feats of JH Taylor and James Braid by winning for a fifth time.

Royal Liverpool Golf Club is amongst the oldest of the English seaside courses having been founded in 1869 and has been the scene of many of the most significant events in British golf history.

West Lancashire Golf Club was opened in 1873, is one of the ten oldest clubs in England and boasts one of the most natural and under-rated links found anywhere in the British Isles.

Formby Golf Club was established in 1884 is aptly regarded as a classic British links. The current clubhouse was opened in 1901, replacing its predecessor that was destroyed by fire.

Hesketh is the home of Southport's Oldest Golf Club, which opened in 1885 and is perhaps best-known for its role in the formation of the English Golf Union.

Great architects such as Braid, Vardon and Taylor helped fashion the great links courses, Braid creating Southport & Ainsdale which proved to be the prime setting for first-class golf competition in the years leading up to World War II.