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Golf Courses In England

When you are planning your European golf vacations, take a moment to think about playing golf at some world renowned golf courses in England. As Scotland is the home of golf, and me being Scottish, I would advocate that you try the famous and historic courses in Scotland first. Because of the world wide coverage of The Open, the Championship golf courses in England are becoming almost as famous as the like of St. Andrews. Below is a resume of the Championship courses that hold or have held the event.

I am not sure why, but The Open golf championship is held in golf courses in England that are sited in two distinct regions of the country. There are three in the south east corner of England in the county of Kent, to the south of London. Then there are another three that are located on the north west coast, between Liverpool and Blackpool.

Golf Courses In England - The North West

The north west coastline of England runs from Scotland in the north to Wales in the south. This is were three of the Championship golf courses in England are to be found. You will have no problem reaching this area as it is served by flights into both Manchester and Liverpool airports. As a base for playing these three courses you can't go wrong with the home of the Beatles - Liverpool.

Royal Liverpool, or Hoylake, is the second oldest links course in England and the first in the north-west to hold The Open and has held 11 in total. Starting from 1897, the event has been held here regularly every decade up to 1967, but wasn't held again until 2006 when Tiger Woods won the event. Bobby Jones won here in 1930 on his way to winning the unmatched Grand Slam of golf.

Royal Lytham & St. Annes held its first Open in 1926 even though it was founded in 1897. It is considered to be one of the best and most taxing links courses in Great Britain with over 200 bunkers to avoid. Many legends of golf have enjoyed success here including Bobby Jones in 1926, Tony Jacklin in 1969, Gary Player in 1974, and Seve Ballesteros in 1979 and 1988.

Royal Birkdale is the newest English course to host The Open; starting in 1954 it has held the event almost twice a decade since with 2008 being the latest. The course features towering sand dunes and has been a popular venue and a lucky course for American golfers. Apart from Australian golfers, Peter Thompson who won here in 1954 and 1965, and Ian Baker-Finch in 1991, Americans have dominated here with 5 wins out of 8.

Golf Courses In England - The SE

The southeast of the country is home to three Championship courses all located on the south coast of Kent, just to the south of London. This close proximity to London makes the area easy to reach for the visitor. To enjoy playing the three courses here, you would do well to stay in one of the charming villages and make the beautiful countryside of Kent as your base.

Royal St. Georges is probably the best known of the English courses as it was the first to host the event in 1894 and it has hosted it 13 times in total. If you are on your European golf vacation, make this course one of your priorities. The golfing legends of yesteryear, Harry Vardon and Walter Hagan, both won here twice each. In recent times Royal St. Georges has witnessed many great events including the 1993 Open when Greg Norman fought off Bernhard Langer and Nick Faldo with a near perfect 64 on the final day.

Royal Cinque Ports or Deal is less well known as it as only held The Open twice, in 1909 and 1920. Other events were planned, but due to bad luck, the events were canceled in 1915 due to the War and in 1938 and 1949 due to storms and high tides. As it is a very challenging golf course it is still worth playing though.

Prince's is an other unknown Championship course as it only held the event once in 1932. The winner was Gene Sarazen who played flawless golf and scored a total of 283, a Championship record which he kept for 18 years. Unbelievably, Prince's golf course was utilized by the RAF for bombing practice during World War II. In the 1950's, restoration work was carried out which made different fairways but incorporated 17 of the original greens which had somehow escaped damage.

These are the 6 Championship golf courses that have held The Open in England and that you can play. You maybe should consider playing three in either the northwest or in the southeast as they are quite far apart. Keep in mind that you will have to book your tee times in advance and then check the websites of each club to check on their dress code.

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Mick Euan Tait is a golf writer, golf fan, and a golfer. Go to his site for more details about Golf In England and Golf In Scotland.