Royal Lytham & St. annes is old historic course that has hosted multiple Open championships and Ryder Cup’s. Dating back to 1886 it is a top links destination in the UK. I played the course during a golf trip in june 2019. We booked a full day ticket to play 36 holes.
We arrived early in the morning as some of the first guest a part from the golfers that had stayed in the Dormy house next to the course.
Dormy house
A large putting green in front of Dormy house where you can stay and get some early tee times. Putting green was in amazing condition and it was time well spent practicing. The greens on the course are running fast and true.
The course
The opening hole is a par 3 and a challenging starting hole. Depending on your choice of shot, you can carry the bunkers in front and let the ball bounce up the green.
There are two par 5s in a row and the 6th has a large bunker on the left hand side which I found from the tee.
Typical links style bunker and a real penalty as you are forced to take a short club and get out in play.
Some very well placed bunkers along the fairway and a long hole.
A narrow tee shot and an elavated green. You can drive the ball long and left from the tee as there is a large waste area on the other side of the hill.
Hole 9, the best par 3
A short par 3 and according to the rating one of the easiest holes on the course. On many of the old links courses there a short but tricky par 3s and this is no different. You stand on an elavated tee box, but need to be very accurate to avoid the bunkers surronding the green. The green also has some large run off areas. Par 3 holes like this are a true testament to the fact that they do not need to long to be challenging.
Eggs benedict for lunch with a stunning view down the 18th hole
Summing it up
Royal Lytham is a great golfing experience and the course was immaculate. I will recommend playing it twice. I improved my score by 4 shots from the 1st to 2nd round. This improvement was mainly due to playing it smarter and avoiding some of the mistakes from the 1st round. The driving range and short game area is not amazing, but that is hopefully not why you choose to visit Lytham. It is all about testing your golf skills on a traditional links course that has stood the test of time and remains a great challenge.
My score
Even though I shot 81 and did not play to my handicap it was still pure enjoyment and maybe that is one of the reasons why I find the game of golf so interesting…..
