Bill,
Hillside is just over the fence from (and can be said to look down on) Royal Birkdale and separated from Southport and Ainsdale by a railway line. It doesn't get much love on GCA, largely because the vast sand dunes through which most of the back nine runs don't seem to take maximum design advantage from them. This is a conservation area and there may have been limits on what Fred Hawtree was allowed to do in the way of moving earth. This part of the course dates from 1967 when other land was sold for housing development.The club began life on another site on the inland side of the railway, following on from the Grosvenor and Blundell clubs (both now defunct). It moved to its current site in 1923/4.
Hesketh is an interesting club, starting life in 1885 as the Southport Golf Club on land owned by the Hesketh family. The founding members were very well to do and well connected. The first course was in the Marshside Hills to the north of the houses of the wealthy in Hesketh Park. It was a 12-hole course laid out by the second son of Old Tom Morris, Jof. Soon it was extended to 18 holes. But there was an area of poor housing inhabited by drunks and ruffians called Little Ireland immediately south of the course, which was also prone to winter flooding. So the club moved in 1891/2 to a new site on Moss Lane. This was agricultural land, not links, and the course of about 5,400 yards was laid out by George Strath. The club then moved back to the Hesketh Links in about 1901/2 when Little Ireland was demolished. What became of its inhabitants is not recorded. George Lowe laid out the new links which incorporated some of the land previously occupied by Little Ireland. A fine clubhouse was erected. But the club did not own its course. The landlord did not maintain it well and flooding was frequent. The club was not prepared to spend its own money to upgrade the proprietor's course. Members left, many for Birkdale. In 1920 the club was offered a new lease which offered the club the chance to run the entire operation itself. A new limited company was incorporated. In 1936 Southport Corporation bought the course, offering the club a 99-year lease, but the club would have to release part of the course to the north of the clubhouse in exchange low-lying reclaimed estuary land. The drainage, construction of a sea wall, digging of ditches etc involved considerable outlay and Debenture Bonds were issued to raise capital. Finally, in 1974 the club negotiated a 999-year lease from the County Borough of Southport, which was almost immediately absorbed into the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. Today's course is largely that completed in 1938, although many alterations have been made, not least the digging of several large lakes which provided earth for the building up of some of the lowest-lying fairways, greens and tees. The Moss Lane site was eventually taken over by the YMCA and subsequently became the home of Southport Old Links GC as a 9-hole course.