A compact golfing patch with real pedigree
Blackpool doesn't have a large number of golf clubs, but what's here punches well above its weight. The town's flagship course is Blackpool North Shore Golf Club, laid out by Harry Colt in 1904 on an open site with undulating greens that reward accurate approach play. It has been an Open Championship qualifying venue in the past, and in 1963 it hosted a Duke of Edinburgh Awards international match featuring Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Peter Allis on the same afternoon — a genuinely remarkable line-up for a club course anywhere in the country.
Just along the coast, Blackpool Park Golf Club has been going since 1925 and takes a welcoming approach to competitive golf, with open events open to members and non-members alike. It also offers a flexi-play membership option and free venue hire with a meal selection thrown in, plus an annual golf pass that gives access across six courses — useful if you fancy mixing up your rounds through the season.
Modern design meets classic parkland
Herons Reach Golf Club brings a different character to the town. Designed by Peter Alliss and Clive Clark, its 18 holes include twelve with water features and greens built to USGA specification, so the putting surfaces run true and consistent even after heavy use. It's a stylistically different test to North Shore's older, more traditional layout, and having both within the same town gives Blackpool golfers a genuine choice of eras and design philosophies without travelling far.
Over in Thornton-Cleveleys, Tee Time Golf Centre offers something more informal. It's a nine-hole course opened in 2012, home to the Tee Time Masters competition contested across four major championships through the year. The club has kept developing the layout too, with a new island green added to the ninth hole in 2024 and further plans for an island green and raised tees elsewhere on the course. It's a good option for a shorter, sharper round or for newer golfers finding their feet.
What this mix means for your golf
With only four clubs across the county, Blackpool isn't a destination you'd build a golf trip entirely around, but the variety on offer is worth noting. North Shore gives you Colt's classic strategic design on an open, breezy site typical of courses shaped in the early twentieth century. Herons Reach offers a more contemporary parkland test with water in play on more than half the holes. Blackpool Park adds flexibility and a sociable competition scene, while Tee Time in Thornton-Cleveleys provides a nine-hole alternative that suits a quicker visit or a practice-focused session.
Green fees start from around £25, which keeps the golf here accessible, and the towns of Blackpool and Thornton-Cleveleys are close enough together that playing more than one course in a day, or over a short break, is entirely practical. For a county with a small club count, there's a surprising amount of history and design interest packed in — from an Open qualifying venue with a famous exhibition match in its past, to a course still adding new features as recently as last year.