Royal Liverpool
The Championship Golfer of the Year. Six words that every player in the world would like to have said before their name is called at the conclusion of the Open Championship every year, and that will be the goal for the world’s best in July 2023 as they descend upon Royal Liverpool to battle it out for the Claret Jug.
The Open Championship has been contested since 1860, with only 14 venues having had the pleasure of hosting this event. Of the 14, half of those locations can be found in England and the great news for all of us is that they are all available to be played by commonfolk (yes, we know you are spectacular).
When it comes to booking a trip “across the pond” as they say, you can try and take on the task and booking all the courses yourself, or as we’d suggest, you should reach out to one of the highly skilled Tour Operators that can assist you with every detail of your trip and knows the ins and outs of the area like the back of their hands. Also, these courses typically offer only a finite number of tee times for the public and these Tour Operators have much more access to these tee times than we can get. If you’re looking for a company that will offer competitive pricing and top-notch service, we suggest you look at LyonsLinks.com as we know you’ll be in great hands with them.
English Open Championship Venues
When you start planning your trip to England, it can feel a bit overwhelming as there are so many incredible venues for you to tee it up. If you’d like to take on your own version of the “Open Rota” during your stay, we’ve taken the liberty of highlighting all the Open Championship venues in England for you here:
Royal Liverpool Golf Club (Hoylake)
Originally designed by Robert Chambers and George Morris, the younger brother of Old Tom Morris, this course was later redesigned by the famous Harry Colt in the early 1900s and has maintained a few tweaks here and there over the years to keep up with the modern game. The course is in the small town of Hoylake, and it is often referred to by the town’s name by many golfers. In addition to being a consistent member of the Open Championship Rota, Royal Liverpool also served as the first home of The Amateur Championship, also referred to as the British Amateur Championship.
2023 will be the 13th time that Royal Liverpool has hosted The Open Championship, and many of us still remember the last event in 2014 when Rory McIlroy posted an incredible 18-under total to win his third of four major championships.
Royal Birkdale
Founded in 1889, Royal Birkdale has served as host of the Open Championship on 10 different occasions and has boasted winners that include Peter Thomson (twice), Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller and Tom Watson. The course has also hosted the Ryder Cup twice in the 1960s and has been home to the AIG Women’s Open Championship six times with winners such as Laura Davies and Mo Martin.
Located on the North West coast of Southport, the course here is a perfect test of English links golf with treacherous pot bunkers and thick rough throughout that when combined with the steady English breezes creates all that you can handle on a beautiful layout. Perhaps no Open Championship embodied this battle better than Jordan Spieth’s 2017 victory where he overcame the challenging back nine to win his third major.
Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club
As the 11-time host of the Open Championship, Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club has been host to some of the most iconic tournaments in the history of the event including Bobby Jones’ 1926 victory and Seve Ballesteros’ 1979 and 1988 titles. Like Royal Birkdale, Royal Lytham & St. Annes has also hosted two Ryder Cups in 1961 and 1977, as well as the AIG Women’s Open five times that included a win by Annika Sorenstam.
Considered by many to be one of the greatest links golf courses in the world, the 174 devilish pot bunkers that are lying in wait here to keep you on your toes on every shot. The course famously has a railway line and suburban housing giving it a unique charm that you won’t soon forget.
Perhaps no championship defines this incredible course better than the 2012 Open Championship. It seemed like Adam Scott was going to waltz his way to victory, but four straight bogeys to finish his round resulted in a one-stroke victory for the Big Easy himself, Ernie Els.
Royal St. George’s
As the host of 15, yes, you read that right, FIFTEEN Open Championships, Royal St. George’s served as the first course outside of Scotland to host this event in 1894. The list of winners here includes some of the finest ball strikers in the game including Collin Morikawa, Bobby Locke, Harry Vardon (twice), Greg Norman and Walter Hagen (twice).
Playing over 7,200 yards as a par-70, this course can be an absolute beast especially if the wind is blowing. The fairways are known for their constant undulations, and you’ll need to work your way around the ample bunkering and usually will have to fend off an uneven lie into the green testing every facet of your game.
One of our favorite Open Championships was Darren Clarke’s 2011 victory where he held off Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson to win by three strokes. We’d be willing to bet that there were more “special beverages” consumed out of the Claret Jug that year than usual!
Prince’s Golf Club
If you’re only going to host one Open Championship, then you might as well make it one that is won by a legend like Gene Sarazen in 1932. We’re happy to report that Prince’s Golf Club has been putting significant investment back into the course since around 2017 to bring this championship venue back to the status that it deserves. With 27 holes of golf and a stay and play component, it’s a great course to consider on your next adventure across the pond.
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club
Like Princes Golf Club, Royal Cinque’s Open Championship pedigree dates back a few years as they hosted the event in 1909 and 1920. The club is open to visiting golfers to play, and the combination of seaside views, golden, thick rough, and undulating greens create a fun yet challenging layout for your consideration of your own English golf vacation rota.
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club
Recommendation
With a rich history of championship golf, England provides vacationing golfers with an incredible amount of top-notch options that you won’t soon forget. When it comes to these Open Championship venues, from a visiting perspective they can be grouped into two destinations:
- Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool, and Royal Lytham & St. Annes located in Northwestern England near Manchester
- Prince’s Golf Club, Royal St. George’s, and Royal Cinque Ports that are located in Southeastern England located roughly two hours East of London
The distance between the two destinations is about 6 hours, so a trip to both sections is doable all depending on your group’s desired itinerary. When it comes to booking golf in the UK and Ireland, we are all about utilizing the help of professional Tour Operators in the area as they have the expertise to help you maximize your time here. There are several great outfits who provide these services, and if you’re looking for a great suggestion be sure to check out the team at Lyons Links as we have yet to send them a group who hasn’t loved their experience with them.
Cheers, and safe travels!