West Lancashire Golf Club

The Wast Lancashire is a pioneer of the golf in the Northwest, the oldest golf club surviving in the county of Lancashire and amoung the top ten oldest clubs in England. Founded in 1873, it is twinned with Royal Montreal Golf Club, Canada's oldest golf club, founded in the same year. The renowned golf course architect Donald Steel said of the course, "Only in Britain can one sample the true flavour of seaside golf of which West Lancashire is a perfect example".

West Lancashire has been a final qualifying course for The Open in 1976, 1983, 1991 and most recently in 1998, when Mark o'Meara triuphed at Royal Birkdale. In 1976, four young professionals competed in the final qualifier here - Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, Bernard Langer and Ian Woosnam - all went on to win the coveted green jacket of the US Masters Championship.

The Open championship returns to the Northwest and Royal Liverpool in 2006, when once again West Lancashire will have the honour of hosting a Qualifying round.

The Club's place in history is assured as it has its name on The Amateur Championship trophy, one of the 24 clubs that contributed to the cost of the trophy when the competition was first established in 1885. Indeed the first winner of the trophy was Alan MacFie, a west Lancashire member.

The club also has a notable record for ladies golf too, for in 1891 the West Lancashire Ladies Club was formed, the first of its kind in South West Lancashire.

This great links course measures 6,768 yards, and is set in natural seaside terrain with immaculate greens. Eleven of the holes measure over 400 yards so by any standards it is a true championship course.

It is also a course of contrasts - humps and hollows, shelter and bleakness. On calm summer evenings it is easy to forget how the winds blowing in from the sea can turn a game around and challenge even the most accomplished golfer.

The clubhouse overlooks the ninth and eighteenth greens, giving panoramic views to the north and west over Anglesey and the Welsh Hills. Its long balcony is an ideal place for weary golfers to have a reviving drink or snack, whilst watching the sun go down over West Lancashire.