British Courses 26

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Formby

I am very fond of Formby.  On the rare occasions I have been lucky enough to play it it has enchanted me.  It looked well hosting the Curtis Cup earlier in the year and it seemed to play well.  The girls were seriously tested and showed much skill and determination in overcoming the problems it poses.  

I know that some of you are going to criticise it severely for its trees.  There are a lot of them and on parts of the course they are very much a part of the playing strategy.  I doubt if anyone would be allowed to chop them down for two reasons:  they are home to some of our rare and very threatened red squirrels; without them the sand would blow away and there would be neither golf course nor town of Formby.  

It's an old club, founded in 1884 and they have an excellent website:

http://www.formbygolfclub.co.uk/FormbyGolfClub.html

It'll tell you all you need to know and more.  6995 yards par 72 from (rarely used) the very back.


1st, 435 yards par 4.  The fairway runs parallel to the railway and the approach is made over these bunkers 75 yards in front of the green to a raised putting surface.  I can't find my Curtis Cup programme so I don't recall how long the hole was for the girls but these bunkers threatened many drives.


2nd, 381 yards par 4.  The view from behind the ladies' tee, showing the abundant heather on this part of the course.  Ther men's tees are to the left of these trees and 50 yards further back.


4th, 312 yards par 4.  There's a good carry over heather to find the narrow fairway which has a slight right to left curve and a number of fairway bunkers in driving range.  This ends the first, most inalnd, part of the course.


5th, 162 yards par 3.  The course now turns towards the sea (although there are no views of it) with this delicious short hole.  The ground slopes from right to left and there are three bunkers low down to the left of the putting green as well as one in front for those who don't take enough club to climb the hill.


5th green.  We are now playing into and through the dunes.


6th, 402 yards par 4.  We are looking back towards the tee.  The drive is made to a curving fairway with bunkers on the right - the side you would like to be to get a sight of the green.  For most of us, though, the approach shot is blind over that hillock in front of the green which extends back for about 85 yards.  The approach shot is often made straight into the wind.

As usual with a lot of photos I'll split the post up so that I don't lose it all by pressing the wrong button at the wrong time.  Have patience!

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Formby part 2


7th 388 yards par 4.  A perplexing hole for the visitor.  There is a wide fairway but it appears to end in a high bank topped with trees.  There is no sight of the green and there is a marker post on the hillside on the left!  You have to have the courage to aim at it (or over it if you are strong and/or Michelle Wie) and let the slopes return the ball to the middle of the fairway.  A couple if the US ladies drove past this to get the advantage of a nice downhill roll beyond and a far simpler approach shot.


7th, view from behind green.  This was a great viewing point during the Curtis Cup.  Few ladies managed to drive over that ridge, leaving them long, complicated approaches over the corner of the hill and trees.  There were some casualties!  They made putting look difficult on here, too.  With the flag towards the front on the right almost everyone left their putts a long way short.


8th, 493 yards par 5.  From an elevated tee you drive over low ground to a narrow fairway curving left from about 200 yards.


8rh.  This is where you might be after a perfect drive.  There is a liitle rise in the fairway and that mound on the right often turns this into a double dog-leg when the pin is cut on the right.


8th.  Looking back from behind the green.  You can see how influential that mound can be and how steeply the fairway rises in front of the green.


9th, 450 yards par 4.  A rather flatter hole with plenty of space but the fairway stops about 275 yards out and there's a 70 yard incursion of bumpy ground.


9th green.  There is a bunker on the right 45 yards short of the green working in tandem with this one on the left of the green opening.


10th, 215 yards par 3.  The medal tee is set at 188 yards and calls for a touch of draw to curl the ball right to left past these bunkers, the putting surface being angled to the left round that little horror on the left.  The championship tee is on a straighter line, but much further away.

Time for another break.  Hold your nreath!

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Formby conclusion

We're now back on the old course.


11th, 422 yards par 4.  A slightly unusual hole with that big bank cutting off a portion of the right hand side of the putting surface and another bank on the left giving a very narrow entrance to the green.


12th, 421 yards par 4.  This hole strikes out as close to the sea as we'll get and brings us into the closing sequence of parallel holes which run more or less into or with the wind.


12th.  The trees backing the green make it look inland, but the sea's only just over there somewhere (and one or two of the lost holes, I think - I went looking for them once but never found them).


17th, 494 yards par 5.  If your match ends on the diminutive 16th it's a long walk back along the greenkeepers' track from which this view looking back up the 17th was taken.


18th, 419 yards par 4.  I'm afraid the photo gives no idea of the siz bunkers guarding this green, but at least you gety to see the clubhouse - C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la gare!


Formby also has a first rate ladies' course, fairly short but tricky.  This is the 15th.


Formby Ladies' 16th.  As you can see they don't skimp on their rough!

[Marc Haring]

Mark

Formby looks stunning, a rare combination of links and wooded heath? Do you think the trees detract or add to the enjoyment of the experience.

Also, as pointed out in a previous thread, I have ambitions of a couple of future golfing trips of which the Southport area would presumably be compulsory. Given we could play four courses before heading back, what ones would you pick?

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Marc,

I agree with you, I think Formby looks stunning.  There are holes such as the 7th and 8th on which the strategy entirely depends on the trees and purists may say that this shouldn't be the case on a true links.  

I'm going to be a bit contentious and suggest that the good courses of the Southport area are fine golfing challenges and several of them are very attractive but, architecturally, they might disappoint.  I enjoy my occasional outings at Birkdale but there are those who say it doesn't take advantage of the full potential of the site because it doesn't use the tops of the dunes much.  (They've forgotten about holes such as the 6th which has a dune-top green site of much malevolence).  Hillside is dramatic, especially the newer back nine, which climbs on and off the dunes a good deal, to great scenic effect.  However, there are those who say these holes are so constrained by the dunes that there are no alternative strategies.....

West Lancs is a good test but it's bleak in the manner of Littlestone or Hayling.  I don't much care for S & A.  It's historically important and there are some famous holes such as Gumbleys but it is girt about with housing and a railway and I've never been made to feel very welcome there.  There is another part links in Southport, Hesketh, which has some very good holes (and some fairly plain ones).  

But you're nor far from Royal Lytham or Royal Liverpool (you don't need to change guest house) and they need no help from me!  Wallasey is a must if you visit Hoylake and you might enjoy St Annes Old Links or Fleetwood to accompany Lytham.  Inland courses in that part are not high on quality and Ormskirk is the pick of the bunch, rather an unbalanced course with a wide-open and long first half set off against a tight, narrow, tree-lined back nine (Harold Hilton's original course).  However it's not far inland to Pleasington and Clitheroe which are amongst the best of the central Lancashire courses.  And of course you can play Beau Desert on the drive north and Sandiway, Delamere Forest or Prestbury on the way south.

Start planning now!

[Tommy Williamsen]

I stumbled on to Formby years ago and felt as though I had discovered a links, heathy, woody gem.  I showed up unannounced because I got lost.  The welcome was grand and the golf superb.  I purchased a book there entitled LINKS ALONG THE LINE and have become fascinated by the club as well as the others along the RR line.

[Paul_Turner]

Formby is the business.  The treasure of the Lancashire coast.

The hybrid nature of the holes is a plus and Pennink's work was excellent.  The 8th is one of the very best.

I've seen a pic or two of the lost links holes by the sea, it was a shame but I think the new holes are as good.  The best hole of the lost holes might have been the par 5 that plays to the current, par 3, 10th green.

Lots of famous architects had a hand at Formby.

Best holes: 5,6,8,12,15,16

PS  The "ladies" course is worth playing too.  Don't worry, you don't have to wear a skirt.

http://www.formbyladiesgolfclub.co.uk/Formby_Ladies_Golf_Club.html


The GREAT 5th