Course Review - Royal Lytham & Annandale Golf Club

Royal Lytham & St Annes golf course is firmly fixed in the rotation of Open Championship venues and its name is written large in golfing history as the site where legend Bobby Jones won the first of his three Opens at Royal Lytham's inaugural hosting in 1926. Lytham has gone on to host nine more Open Championships, producing great winners such as Bobby Locke, Peter Thompson and Seve Ballesteros (twice).

Royal Lytham was founded in 1886 and the golf course built in 1897, thereafter quickly gaining a reputation as one of the best and most challenging links courses in Britain. Although relatively short at a scant 6400m and with a par of 70, the clever routing of the layout and the presence of around 200 bunkers come together to present a stern test of shot-making. Add to the mix the hoped-for Open weather and we will see a rigorous evaluation of the players' all-round abilities.

The course is far from beautiful in a traditional sense, as it is bordered by uninspiring suburban housing and flanked by a railway line, but it does have its own undeniable charm. Set quite far from the sea for a links course, the sea breezes can still cause enough drama for leading 1930's golf writer Bernard Darwin to have called Lytham "a beast of a course, but a just beast ….. which sets a golfer just about as ruthless an examination as any course of my acquaintance". Known for the difficulty of trying to scramble a good score here, Royal Lytham demands the careful thought, pinpoint accuracy and precise execution expected of the winner of the Claret Jug.

On the US PGA Tour, those who didn't qualify to play in the Open Championship can comfort themselves with a major helping of Southern Hospitality as Annandale Golf Club in Mississippi hosts the True South Classic. The club was founded in 1981 and boasts a 6600m par 72 Jack Nicklaus designed parkland layout that meanders across the rolling terrain of a former plantation. Along with Bermuda grass greens and fairways, the course features strategically placed bunkers and broad lakes throughout that demand respect, even from the longest hitters. Located in Madison - Mississippi's most affluent city - Annandale is the state's no.1 ranked golf course.

A Golf Weather
Editorial