The Championship Golf Courses In England

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When you are planning your European golf vacations, take a moment to think about playing golf at some world renowned golf courses in England. As Scotland is the home of golf, and me being Scottish, I would advocate that you try the famous and historic courses in Scotland first. Because of the world wide coverage of The Open, the Championship golf courses in England are becoming almost as famous as the like of St. Andrews. Below is a resume of the Championship courses that hold or have held the event.

For some reason, the golf courses in England that have held The Open golf tournament are situated in only two locations of England. First, is the area in the north-west of the country between Liverpool and Blackpool. Second, is the south eastern county of Kent situated below London.

Golf Courses In England - The North West

The north west coastline of England runs from Scotland in the north to Wales in the south. This is were three of the Championship golf courses in England are to be found. You will have no problem reaching this area as it is served by flights into both Manchester and Liverpool airports. As a base for playing these three courses you can’t go wrong with the home of the Beatles - Liverpool.

Royal Liverpool, or Hoylake, is the second oldest links course in England and the first in the north-west to hold The Open and has held 11 in total. Starting from 1897, the event has been held here regularly every decade up to 1967, but wasn’t held again until 2006 when Tiger Woods won the event. Bobby Jones won here in 1930 on his way to winning the unmatched Grand Slam of golf.

Royal Lytham & St. Annes was founded in 1897 but didn’t hold its first Open until 1926. It is one of the finest and most challenging links courses in Britain with over 200 bunkers to negotiate. It has seen its share of legendary golfers winning the Championship; Bobby Jones in 1926, Englishman Tony Jacklin in 1969, South African Gary Player in 1974, Spaniard Seve Ballesteros in 1979 and 1988, amongst others.

Royal Birkdale is the newest of the courses in England to hold The Open. Since 1954 it has held the event regularly, nearly twice a decade, up to 2008. With its towering sand dunes, it is a popular golf course and, you could say, a lucky golf course for the US golfers. Even though Peter Thompson won here in 1954 and 1965, and Ian Baker-Finch in 1991, Americans have taken top spots in the other 5 events.

Golf Courses In England - The South-East

The three Championship courses in the south-east of England are all situated on the south coast in the county of Kent. For visitors, Kent is easily accessible due to its close proximity to London. The countryside of Kent is considered the most beautiful in England and there are several picturesque villages that you can stay in that makes a good base for playing all three courses.

Royal St. Georges is probably the best known of the English courses as it was the first to host the event in 1894 and it has hosted it 13 times in total. If you are on your European golf vacation, make this course one of your priorities. The golfing legends of yesteryear, Harry Vardon and Walter Hagan, both won here twice each. In recent times Royal St. Georges has witnessed many great events including the 1993 Open when Greg Norman fought off Bernhard Langer and Nick Faldo with a near perfect 64 on the final day.

Royal Cinque Ports or Deal as it is sometimes known has only held The Open twice - 1909 and 1920. Through misfortune it hasn’t held further events due to the war in 1915 and high tides in 1938 and 1949 which made the course unplayable. It is worth playing though, as it is a very challenging course that requires very straight shots to stay out of trouble.

Prince’s is a Championship course which you have probably not heard of before because it was only used once in 1932 to hold The Open. Golf legend Gene Sarazen won that year with a faultless display of golf and scored 283, which was a Championship record that was unbeaten for 18 years. Incredibly, the beautiful Prince’s course was used by the Royal Air Force for bombing practice during WW II. Renovation of the course was carried out in the 50’s which managed to include the use of 17 of the original greens which stood undamaged by the bombs.

These are the 6 Championship golf courses that have held The Open in England and that you can play. You maybe should consider playing three in either the northwest or in the southeast as they are quite far apart. Keep in mind that you will have to book your tee times in advance and then check the websites of each club to check on their dress code.