A coastline built for links golf
Few stretches of England concentrate great links golf the way Sefton does. Of its 21 clubs, nine are links courses strung along the dunes between Liverpool and Southport, a corridor promoted as England's Golf Coast for good reason. The sand here is genuine, the wind is a constant factor, and several of the courses have shaped the game's history rather than simply hosted it.
Royal Birkdale sits at the centre of it all, on the coast at Southport, founded in 1873 and host to The Open Championship ten times, with the 154th edition due in 2026. Close by, Hillside Golf Club has its own serious pedigree: originally laid out by Fred Hawtree with a 1960s overhaul and reviewed again by Martin Ebert in 2018, it hosted the 2023 Amateur Championship, the 2022 Cazoo Classic on the DP World Tour and the 2019 British Masters. Between them, Southport's stretch of coastline has staged more elite golf than most entire regions manage.
Formby, West Lancashire and the wider links
Just down the coast in Liverpool, Formby Golf Club dates to 1884 and carries a Willie Park Jr. design through sand dunes and pines with views out to the Irish Sea; the Amateur Championship, PGA Seniors Championship and international fixtures have all been played here, and the clubhouse has been ranked among the most iconic in the world. Nearby, Formby Ladies Golf Club, founded in 1896, remains the only ladies-only golf club in England, sits on a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and was ranked 80th in Golf World's Top 100 Courses in 2023.
West Lancashire Golf Club, in Blundellsands, is one of the ten oldest clubs in England, founded in 1873 with a C K Cotton design and views over the Mersey; it will serve as a Final Qualifying venue for The Open Championship in 2026. Southport Ladies Golf Club adds another layer of interest: laid out by Harry Shapland Colt on reclaimed land bordering the Irish Sea, it opened as a nine-hole course in 1912 before being extended to eighteen in the 1930s.
Heathland, history and the odd variation
Sefton's golf isn't purely links. Southport & Ainsdale, founded in 1906 to a James Braid design, runs through coastal dunes and heathland and has hosted the Ryder Cup twice, in 1933 and 1937, alongside the Amateur Championship in 2023 and repeated Open Championship Final Qualifying. Hesketh Golf Club, Southport's oldest, was designed by George Lowe and James Braid and sits among the Victorian villas of Churchtown, bordering a nature reserve; half its holes weave through dunes, the rest run beside the Ribble Estuary, and it's where the English Golf Union was founded. Southport Old Links, a nine-hole course offering eighteen different tees, is building towards its centenary in 2026.
For golfers wanting variety without leaving the area, Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa offers two courses on one site, positioned within easy reach of Royal Birkdale and Hillside and recognised as a PGA Academy venue. Smaller and artisan clubs, such as those attached to Formby, Hesketh, Southport & Ainsdale and West Lancashire, give local players an accessible route into some of these same links landscapes, while towns like Bootle add a few quieter options beyond the well-known coastal names. Green fees in the county start from around £185, reflecting the calibre of what's on offer rather than a bargain end of the market — this is a place to play for the golf itself.