Opinions of Royal Lytham?

[Tim Pitner]

What do people in the know think of Royal Lytham, the site of this week's Women's British Open.  I'm generally familiar with the course from watching the Opens won by Lehman and Duval, respectively.  I know it's essentially located in a suburb and not particularly scenic.  Even so, it looks like a wonderful course and I love how 18 finishes right in front of the clubhouse.  Do you prefer Lytham to Hoylake, or vice versa?  Where does Lytham rank among the other links courses in NW England?  Is Lytham warm to visitors, particularly of the American persuasion?

Thank you for your replies.  

[Alex_Wyatt]

Very warm to visitors. You can stay in the Dormy House on the property and play 36 a day.  Its a wonderful experience.

Took a large group around England a couple of years ago. Formby, Lytham, Hoylake, Hillside, Birkdale. Lytham was the consensus favorite. Not the most scenic. Not on the sea. Not so many dunes, but one heck of a golf course. Amazing bunkering.

[ForkaB]

Tim

I'm watching the Ladies play there now on TV, and am thoroughly enjoying it.  I remember Lytham as most similar to Hoylake amongst the Open venues, particulalry the way both of them are playing this year.   Relatively little elevation but lots of humps and hollows and fiendishly gathering bunkers when the course is playing firm and fast.  I still think that the 2001 Open (Duval) was the best I have ever seen a links course play (on TV, at least).

Vis a vis the other top course in the area--Birkdale--Lytham and Hoylake are less majestic, but no less good nor challenging.  All (in my experience) are welcoming, assuming that you deal with them respectfully and politely.

[Philippe Binette]

Lytham is really good...

definitely not the hardest looking (as far as visually impressive hazards) golf course in the world... but it seems like the course can bite you somehow on any shot.

the greens are relatively simple, most of them with a tilt one way or the other à la Garden City...

One thing I noticed is that the course tends to get you asleep... the two consecutive par-5 (short reacheable and downwind) make you play the first five holes really safely...

it seems also that players in the open have a hard time figuring out how aggressive they should be on the short par 4s
on the back nine.

cool rythm on the back nine too... here Duval score

easy 10 and 11   -1
hard 12             +1
easy 13             -1
hard 14 and 15    E (magic fron the rough)
easy 16              E
hard 17              E
easy if gutsy 18   E

probably an easy course to play 71 for tour players, but hard to play 68

[Glenn Spencer]

Lytham is fantastic and it has been great to some of my favorite American players, Jones, Lehman and Duval. I love the par 3 start and the scoring opportunities that the front provides and how the back is just hold on for dear life. It would be great fun to play a course with a 193 bunkers on it. I also think that Royal Lytham & St. Annes is one of the great names in golf. I would love to have a hat from there. If I played it or not.

[James Edwards]

I remember lots about the place, but id like to share this one specifically... i remember playing the English Amateur there a few years ago, Paul Casey's second english Am Title win, and being first off at 7am with a young lad, and he shot 28 front 9! and i was 4 down  

The best display of golf Ive ever seen!  I certainly remember halving the first in two's without even putting, and then him holing a 30 ft putt on 2 and 3, birding 6 and eagling 7, the par 5's and a 2 at 9 from across the green! -7... good on him

quote of the day came on the 9th green when he shrugged his shoulders and said
""sorry, just one of those days"