Royal Liverpool Golf Club

Royal Liverpool Golf Club is firmly back in favour with the R&A and a key part of the Open rota – it’s not hard to see why… 

Royal Liverpool – the second-oldest seaside course in England – is now very much in favour with the R&A. The Open returned there in 2014, a short wait from its previous hosting in 2006, which had come after a long absence from the rota.

But it is now a favoured venue and benefits from the lustre big events lend any venue.

‘Hoylake’ has always had great synergy with amateur golf, dating back to the days of John Ball and Harold Hilton, and this Cheshire club hosted its second Walker Cup in 2019 – the year which marks its 150th anniversary.

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The match first went to Hoylake in 1983 when the captains were amateur icons Jay Sigel and Charlie Green.

Recent changes have enhanced the original home of the Amateur Championship. For some it is tough and austere, but for us it is beautifully conditioned, interesting and historic. 

The 1920s revisions by Harry Colt resulted in the very most being made out of a relatively uninspiring piece of linksland, punctuated by astute bunkering and some cerebral green complexes. 

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It begins with subtlety, which might leave the casual golfer underwhelmed but the connoisseur intrigued, however the middle stretch along and through the coastline dunes will satisfy all who play here.

Its return to The Open rota has enhanced its reputation and prestige further and in real terms the gift of a brand-new, Martin Ebert-designed par 3. 

This new short hole will be under 140 yards with a green located on the same site as the current Championship tee on the 15th hole. 

It is to become the Championship’s 17th hole, and is played towards an elevated green looking out to the Dee Estuary. 

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It is the latest piece of work for one of Europe’s most in-demand architects, on another Open Championship host. 

“The project at Royal Liverpool has been an extremely exciting one overall, but the opportunity to create a new hole on a great links such as Hoylake is a rare one,” says Ebert. 

“The hope and expectation is that not only can a very short hole produce significant drama for the penultimate hole of The Open, but also provide the club with a hole which members and visiting golfers from around the world will be hugely excited to play. 

“It is also a real advantage of the new hole project that the Championship 15th and 18th par 5 holes will be strengthened with new back tees.”