Hillside Golf Club
Encyclopedia
Hillside Golf Club is located near Southport
, England
. It lies almost side by side with the Royal Birkdale course, amid a stretch of sandhills, and the quality of the individual holes is such that golf
ers may find it difficult to separate the two. Typical of the links courses
on the Northwest coastline, Hillside is open to the wind coming in from the Irish Sea
and laid out in a truly stunning setting, the course is a true test for golfers of all handicaps.
and The Amateur Championship
were held; in the 1980s the Sun Alliance PGA Championship and The Amateur Championship; in the 1990s the English Open Amateur and the International European Amateur. The course is a highly regarded Qualifying venue for The Open
, in fact some would say it is one of the best links courses never to have hosted The Open!
thought the greens the best he had seen all year. The first nine holes on the 6800 yards (6,217.9 m) course were once described by Peter Alliss
as ‘frightening, particularly when the wind blows from right to left’. There are plenty of testing holes to come though, set amongst the dunes and pine trees. Some are sheltered, set in natural amphitheatres, while the elevated tees produce that great golfing combination of a battle against the elements with spectacular scenery. Two holes that deserve a special mention are the eleventh and seventeenth. Both par 5s, they lead the golfer through a wonderful dune-lined valley, and are possibly the best holes of the entire round. The back nine holes were redesigned in the 1960s, making the homeward journey a challenging one for golfers of all standards. Hillside treasures a letter from Greg Norman
, twice a winner of The Open, which describes the back nine holes as the best in Britain
.
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies almost side by side with the Royal Birkdale course, amid a stretch of sandhills, and the quality of the individual holes is such that golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
ers may find it difficult to separate the two. Typical of the links courses
Links (golf)
A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. The word "links" comes from the Scots language and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and sometimes to open parkland. It also retains this more general meaning in the Scottish English dialect...
on the Northwest coastline, Hillside is open to the wind coming in from the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
and laid out in a truly stunning setting, the course is a true test for golfers of all handicaps.
Notable competitions
Since 1967, Hillside has hosted several prestigious championships. In the late 1970s, the British Ladies Amateur Golf ChampionshipBritish Ladies Amateur Golf Championship
The British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union of Great Britain. Until the dawn of the professional era in 1976, it was the most important golf tournament for women in Great Britain and would eventually begin to draw golfers from continental Europe...
and The Amateur Championship
The Amateur Championship
The Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the U.S. Amateur...
were held; in the 1980s the Sun Alliance PGA Championship and The Amateur Championship; in the 1990s the English Open Amateur and the International European Amateur. The course is a highly regarded Qualifying venue for The Open
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
, in fact some would say it is one of the best links courses never to have hosted The Open!
Reputation
Hillside is not short of accolades from the stars. Roger Pampling felt it was the hardest course he had ever played in the Qualifying for the 1998 Open, and Mark CalcavecchiaMark Calcavecchia
Mark John Calcavecchia is an American professional golfer and a former PGA Tour member. During his professional career, he has won thirteen PGA Tour events, including the 1989 Open Championship. Calcavecchia currently plays on the Champions Tour.-Early years:Calcavecchia was born in Laurel,...
thought the greens the best he had seen all year. The first nine holes on the 6800 yards (6,217.9 m) course were once described by Peter Alliss
Peter Alliss
Peter Alliss is an English professional golfer, BBC television presenter and commentator, author and golf course designer. Alliss is known for his charismatic and unique style of commentary, often displaying a witty demeanour...
as ‘frightening, particularly when the wind blows from right to left’. There are plenty of testing holes to come though, set amongst the dunes and pine trees. Some are sheltered, set in natural amphitheatres, while the elevated tees produce that great golfing combination of a battle against the elements with spectacular scenery. Two holes that deserve a special mention are the eleventh and seventeenth. Both par 5s, they lead the golfer through a wonderful dune-lined valley, and are possibly the best holes of the entire round. The back nine holes were redesigned in the 1960s, making the homeward journey a challenging one for golfers of all standards. Hillside treasures a letter from Greg Norman
Greg Norman
Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...
, twice a winner of The Open, which describes the back nine holes as the best in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.