Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake

The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a leading golf club in Merseyside in North West England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club, and received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of the Duke of Connaught of the day, who was one of Queen Victoria's younger sons. Robert Chambers and George Morris (younger brother of Old Tom Morris) were commissioned to lay out the original Hoylake course, which was extended to 18 holes in 1871. Harry Colt, one of the world's leading golf course architects, redesigned the course early in the 20th century, and it has since been tweaked periodically, mainly as a response to advances in equipment.

Location

Despite the club's name, its clubhouse is located in the small town of Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, with the course itself extending between Hoylake and the neighbouring town of West Kirby, which is separated from the city of Liverpool by the estuary of the River Mersey. Consequently, the course is often referred to as Hoylake, after the town. It has a single 18-hole course, which is a seaside links.

The 2006 Open Championship was held at Royal Liverpool on 20-23 July, for the first time since 1967. The course had its routing changed slightly for the championship, so that the old 16th hole (a huge par 5) became the 18th, thus making the old 17th and 18th the first and second holes, respectively, with the former first hole now becoming the third, and so...
Read More