Another regular GCA poster (he knows who he is, and he can break cover if he wants) has referred to Hillside as Britain's most overrated course, and I know what he means.
The back nine has remarkable terrain, but the golf holes are disconnected from it, I think because they were constructed by driving bulldozers through the dunes. Fred Hawtree was not a bad architect, but he wasn't a great one either.
Basically, if you think Birkdale is the best course in England, you'll love Hillside. If you find it flat and unworthy of its magnificent terrain, you'll have similar thoughts about its neighbour.
Here's a couple of examples:
Fabulous topography, but the golf hole is wholly separated from it. More sensitive construction could have done something really special here.
This par five (I think it's the eleventh) is in my opinion the best hole on the course. The bunker on the left of the fairway is very well placed, but it is so pathetically small and underwhelming. Something larger and less circular would transform the hole -- it would connect the hole to the landform and it would have a vastly greater visual impact.