Formby pics

[Ed Tilley]

Absolutely top class golf from start to finish. A links heathland hybrid - which is no mean combination! Measurements from the white tees. The championship course is 300 odd yards longer.

1st - 415 yards par 4, railway line right, plenty of heather


2nd - 381 yards par 4, raised sloping green


Raised green from the side


3rd - 518 yards, par 5 swinging to the left


3rd green


4th - 312 yards, par 4. Drivable but well defended


5th - 162 yards par 3 - steeply uphill big drop off left. Start of a great stretch of golf


6th - 402 yards par 4, blind approach to a green in a dell


approach


6th green - obviously I knocked the putt in from the left edge!


7th - most pictured hole on the course - tight tree lined drive (377 yards par 4)


followed by an uphill approach



8th - 493 yards par 5. Great hole. Tight drive.



followed by another steeply uphill approach



9th - 450 yards par 4. Lovely jubbly. Could be in Surrey not Lancashire.


I'll post the back nine later.

[Tony_Muldoon]

A links heathland hybrid - which is no mean combination!

It can't be true,  Heaven right here on earth?

Great pics Ed.

[Ed Tilley]

Back nine here we come!

10th - 188 yards par 3



11th - 384 yards par 3 - true linksland now!



12th - 405 yards par 4



12th approach



13th - 380 yards par 4


14th - 417 yards par 4 rollercoaster fairway swinging to the left. I liked this fairway so much I found it from both the 14th and 15th tees.


14th approach


15th - 403 yards par 4



very attractive approach to the 15th




16th - 127 yards par 3



16th green


17th - 494 yards par 5 dog leg left



18th - 390 yards par 4 - green in a bit of a dell with some very deep bunkers



No truly spectacular holes on the course unlike some better known links but the quality of golf throughout was of the highest class.

[Gene Greco]

 Ed:

      Every person whom I have met who has played Formby has spoke of it with great reverance. The pictures give a taste of why this is so.

Some of these pictures remind one of that "other" great heathland links hybrid, Shinnecock Hills.

[RJ_Daley]

I was looking at this...


and thinking I'd seen it before today, albeit in a more duneslike setting, but still a 10th hole...



And, thank you Ed for the new golf course architecture term... "lovely jubbly".  

[John Chilver-Stainer]

Ed

Magnificent Photos – magnificent course.

Thanks for posting – pictures speak a thousand « threads ».

I notice the fairways are quite green compared to the rest of the course.
Are they irrigated and if so are they overwatered ?
Are the fairways  Poa or Fescues?
Does it play like a links (running) ?

Thanks again for the great photos.
 

[Ed Tilley]

Ed

Magnificent Photos – magnificent course.

Thanks for posting – pictures speak a thousand « threads ».

I notice the fairways are quite green compared to the rest of the course.
Are they irrigated and if so are they overwatered ?
Are the fairways  Poa or Fescues?
Does it play like a links (running) ?

Thanks again for the great photos.
 

John,

The fairways were definitely watered but not overly so. The course was playing nice and firm and it was often quite difficult to stop the ball on the greens - which were excellent. The rough was quite sparse in places, which meant the course wasn't overly difficult / punishing. All in all a really enjoyable experience.

Ed

[Pete Lavallee]

Ed,

Thanks for taking the time to show us those fantastisc
photos!

My original impression from the front 9 photos was that Formby had the perfect maintenance meld. A little water on the fairways and greens is not a bad thing. Their juidicious use of H2O is reflected in the lovely brown and somewhat sparce roughs; just excellent in my opinion. Anyone who has played a links starved for water, in order to keep out the poa anna, would love conditions like these.

[JMorgan]

Absolutely beautiful, Ed.  Thanks for sharing!  

[Andrew Mitchell]

Looks great! Thanks for those Ed.

That's whetted the appetite for October.

Do the links and heathland sections play differently or were they both equally fast & firm?

[Ed Tilley]

Andrew,

The course was fast and firm all over. The heathland holes (first 4 and last 3 in particular) were generally very flat with the links holes very bumpy. There's a wonderful variety to the course.

Ed