A Royal Week - St George's, Birkdale and Liverpool

[Philip Gawith]

I had a blessed week playing Royal St George's in sublime conditions on Tuesday, Birkdale yesterday and Hoylake today. The latter two were dry, but with the weather a touch gloomy.

Birkdale was particularly interesting since I had not played it before - while the week overall provided good grounds for comparison between these famous courses.

Birkdale I know provokes contrasting opinions. I am in the camp of the traditionalists. While it was good to look at it with its dunes and framed greens - and in excellent condition, both greens and fairways - I felt it lacked soul and character, at least compared to the two other Royals. I am sure a brighter, sunnier day would have improved things, but i don't think it can overcome the deficit. Hoylake is by no means the most handsome of golf courses, but it still oozes character, and the holes through the dunes (8-13) leave a stronger memory than anything at Birkdale. At the latter I found myself starved of some links character. It was only when I came to the rumpled 10th fairway that I realised fully how intrinsic the tumbling fairways you get at courses like St George's. Rye and Deal are to links golf. And i could not stop myself noticing the mounding on the greens which somehow lacked links character - and I say this as someone who does not consider himself a GCA ayatollah!

I had not been back to Hoylake for three years and was very pleasantly surprised. The course lacks the majesty of St George's, and some of the beauty, but there is no doubting that it represents a very authentic and powerful links challenge - and it is this character (aided, no doubt, by the weight of history the club enjoys) that trumps what Birkdale has to offer. The club continues to tweak the course and has over the past year or so filled in a few bunkers and reshaped others (generally made smaller and more pot-like). Whether to further reshape the new greens (3,17 and 18 on the old layout - which is how members play the course) remains a live issue. In passing, Hoylake certainly has the most challenging bunkering of these three courses. I lost count of the number of bunkers that were 6-10 feet deep, and they have a beautiful consistency of appearance.

My main takeaway from the week's golf is to confirm in my mind that while aesthetics are a very important part of the golfing experience, ultimately it is soul and character that separates the truly great courses. Maybe this is something only the oldest courses - and maybe only links - can enjoy. And probably it extends beyond the vocabulary of something as analytic as "shot values". But I know that my favourite golf moments are when the course speaks to my "golf soul" as it surely did this week in Sandwich and today again.

[Brent Hutto]

Philip,

Thanks for those comments from the ideal perspective afforded by your week. You were a fortunate golfer to enjoy such a bounty over just a few days.

I've only played Royal Birkdale of the three you mentioned although I've walked Royal St. George's several times while others were playing and feel I have some sense of the course. Never had the pleasure of visiting Hoylake. So I can't really follow up on your comparisons.

That said...you must admit that the links turf at Birkdale is just about as good as it gets, no?

My grounds for comparison [pun intended] are rounds at Deal, Littlestone, Formby, Royal Dornoch and Brora as well as the partly links-like ground at Golspie, the chalky clifftop at Walmer & Kingsdown and a few holes at Ganton. Any of those courses provide a wonderful playing surface but none seem to produce as thrilling a shot with a 5-iron off the tight fairway lies as Birkdale. Even the couple of back-nine holes that were played in a substantial downpour.

But I do fall into the same camp with you concerning the overall routing, use of terrain, green contours and so forth. Just the tiniest bit overworked and tamed by the hand of man for a top links course. I enjoyed my round there immensely, though.

[Philip Gawith]

Brent, I agree with you re the turf - it was excellent, as good as it gets. And I do feel a bit churlish making these comments in relation to a course which by most standards is very good and will give most golfers (including me) a lot of pleasure - I suppose it is just a case of observing why it falls a bit short of the greats. As you can tell, soul/character are much to the fore in my thinking, though no doubt they would leave many others unmoved and uncomprehending, though hopefully not the cognoscenti of GCA! Hope we will see you at the Buda next year!

[Brent Hutto]

Maybe it's fair to place Royal Birkdale among those courses we could say are of great quality without being "special" in a way that makes us love certain of the great courses more than others. I will also add that in addition to the well managed turf it has ball-gathering bunkers that are remarkably effective. And I mean no sarcasm by that, it adds an extra dimension to the game especially when coupled with the firm, tight turf.

For my part I'll settle for any trip to England next summer although to coordinate it with the Buda dates and places is my greatest hope, of course.

[John Mayhugh]

My main takeaway from the week's golf is to confirm in my mind that while aesthetics are a very important part of the golfing experience, ultimately it is soul and character that separates the truly great courses. Maybe this is something only the oldest courses - and maybe only links - can enjoy. And probably it extends beyond the vocabulary of something as analytic as "shot values". But I know that my favourite golf moments are when the course speaks to my "golf soul" as it surely did this week in Sandwich and today again.

Well stated. 
I really enjoyed Sandwich.  Hope to see Hoylake next time I'm in England. 

[Bill_McBride]

My main takeaway from the week's golf is to confirm in my mind that while aesthetics are a very important part of the golfing experience, ultimately it is soul and character that separates the truly great courses. Maybe this is something only the oldest courses - and maybe only links - can enjoy. And probably it extends beyond the vocabulary of something as analytic as "shot values". But I know that my favourite golf moments are when the course speaks to my "golf soul" as it surely did this week in Sandwich and today again.

Well stated. 
I really enjoyed Sandwich.  Hope to see Hoylake next time I'm in England. 

I've played Sandwich (finally!) and Hoylake, not Birkdale.  Sandwich has perhaps the best ground for golf of any place I've ever been fortunate enough to see.  There seems to be great movement of the ground everywhere on the course.  Some is OTT - #2!, #4!!, #5!!, #9, #10!!, #12.  Philip's photo tour shows off most of this very well.

By contrast, 12 of the holes at Hoylake are quite flat around the old racecourse, but the bunkering and deadly threat of the cops and ever-present internal OOB gives it a zest that makes it almost there with Sandwich.

Only Dornoch in my experience has ground as intrinsically exciting as Sandwich.

[Philip Gawith]

Bill I have played a lot of golf at Dornoch, more than any other links, and am a huge fan. Certainly it has a majesty about it and passes all my tests outlined above! It is interesting how different ingredients at these different courses can combine to elevate them to offer the best experiences. In Dornoch's case I think the remoteness of the location adds to the intensity of expectation/experience, and the aesthetics are also a big factor and, of course, there is no disputing it is a great course with some memorable and varied holes.