Cheek by jowl with the links of Royal Birkdale and Southport & Ainsdale, Hillside has long been a celebrated Lancashire championship course. Founded in 1911, Hillside originally played over 9 holes. By 1925 ten new holes were developed to complete an 18 design. In the 1960s Fred Hawtree redesigned the back nine through substantial dunes and it is these holes whose praises are sung the loudest. In recent years Martin & Ebert has been tinkering with the course with the creation of sand scrapes, building dunes on the front nine, opening a dune slack for water and replacing some bunkered areas with short grass fall-aways. I don’t know Hillside terribly well, but from memory, the recent changes are mainly for the better.
The 1st is a gentle opener, but the 2nd is a very good par 5. I think the tees may have been moved to the right a bit to create a driving different anagle. There is trouble lurking off the tee; a ditch right and the railway line left. I think that is the Gumbley's over the tracks.
The approach to #2. My memory suggests there was an additional bunker on the right.
I do like offset driving holes; #3.
The ditch is well placed for players who need to bounce the approach to the green.
The short 4th has been radically reshaped. Dunes left and right and sand scrapes have been introduced. Although the green remains the same, the left bunkers have been removed to create a fall-away.
Another long hole, the 5th plays between dunes on the second shot.
Making the turn for the house, the tough two-shotter 6th slides a bit left. An attractive hole, the par 3 seventh's green butts into the 8th tee. Several bunkers protect the front of the green and in keen conditions it can require a good shot to hold the putting surface. Another hole moving left to right, the 8th. New bunkers down the right.
We played the 6800 markers and a handful of holes went to the back tees. The 9th was one such hole with a dramatic tee shot. There is a new dune between the 9th and 1st (to the right) and new bunkers.
The back nine opens with a good uphill short hole. Below is an old photo.
The snaking three-shot 11th seems to be Hillside's most famous hole. It is certainly the most attractive of the back nine holes cutting through dunes.
The 12th plays around a pond. There is a large knuckle as the first part of the green which is engaging. The highly unnatural looking and difficult 13th cuts through the middle of a dune much like a motorway ripping through the South Downs. I am reminded of Wallasey's 17th.
The 14th is another where we played the back tee. There are great views toward Blackpool Tower and the Lake District to the north.
A flat hole turning sharply left, the 15th is one of the better holes on the back nine. There is a scattering of bunkers on the left which bleed toward the middle of the fairway. A hidden fallaway right of the green is a difficult spot from which to get up and down. Unfortunately, these days some club golfers can play over the trees and be left with a wedge.
Hillside's only bunkerless hole, the 16th is a straightforward par 3, but not necessarily easy. Below is a look at the green from the 17th tee.
Similar to the 13th, the 17th is a dead straight, rather dull hole. I can't help thinking so much more could have been done with this back 9. However, I do like the approach.
I like the look of 18. The fairway takes the long player out to the left. One can try to take on the right bunkers, but they are a long carry. Some changes have recently taken place which make the hole more attractive and widens the fairway gap between the bunkers on the left dune. Tee shot before and after. I am surprised the car park wasn't blocked by a fake dune.
It has been about 15 years since I last saw Hillside...I still think the front nine is the better of the two sides. While a handsome course, I don't think Hillside is in the class of a few other non-Open venues such as Formby or West Lancs. The main reason is I can't point to any hole as being great. This uneasiness is especially the case for the back nine. However, Hillside is packed with good golf as evidenced by its hosting the Amateur, Ladies Amateur, Open Final Qualifying and several professional tournaments. I suspect my opinion is an outlier because Hillside is often ranked very highly. 2023
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