North West England

Royal Birkdale is a golf course which is incredibly hard not to like but at the same time it’s not an easy one to truly love.

As you would expect from a club that has seen the Claret Jug contested over its links on no less than eleven occasions Royal Lytham & St. Annes didn't disappoint.

In my eyes Silloth is a golf course that has the ability to transcend your typical ‘championship links’.

If you’ve got an itch sometimes you’ve just got to scratch it… even if it’s in a hard-to-reach place! And in my personal quest to play all the true links golf course in the British Isles that was exactly the case with Castletown.

Playing at Formby was one of my earliest links golfing experiences and I will therefore always have fond memories of what is undoubtedly a hugely memorable and top quality golf course.

It could be argued that no golf club has had a greater influence on the amateur game of golf than Royal Liverpool, the second oldest links in England behind only Royal North Devon.

Southport & Ainsdale offers everything that the other famous links courses on this fabled stretch of Lancashire coastline can… and the golfing connoisseur would perhaps argue it delivers even more than this.

Hillside is one of several first-class championship links in prime golfing territory on the West Coast of England. Located tight between Birkdale to the North and Southport & Ainsdale to the South it makes a tasty filling for what is a delicious sandwich of links golf.

They say you only get one chance to make a first impression and I was well and truly mesmerised when I first set sights on Wallasey.

The West Lancashire Golf Club was founded in 1873 and is among the ten oldest golf clubs in England.

Delamere Forest must go down as the biggest surprise of the year for me, and a very pleasant one at that.

Saint Annes Old Links sits amongst distinguished guests along England's North West coast. It holds its own.

It always puzzles me why Prestbury doesn't feature, either higher or even at all, in the numerous 'top 100' golf course rankings.

A round at Sandiway, on a glorious spring afternoon, completed my playing of all the recognised top inland golf courses in Cheshire.

Seascale is a 125-year old links oozing charm, character and class.

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I’m easily pleased. All I ask for is good turf, natural movement in the land and engaging greens. Simply give me all of those on a golf course and I’m a happy bunny.

Furness could well be deemed the forgotten links of Cumbria.

A round at Hesketh is very much a game of two halves. Well almost.

The Manchester Golf Club is routed over almost 300 acres of mostly moorland with touches of heathland and a sprinkle of park thrown in. Surrounded by scenic and far-reaching rural views it is a real delight to golf on the springy fairways of ‘Hopwood’ where shades of green meet hues of brown in an altogether attractive landscape.

Located in the very heart of the Lake District, Windermere Golf Club must be one of the most adventurous golf courses I know and I make no apology for loving bamboozling layouts like this.

Brampton is a James Braid roller-coaster of a golf course situated at Talkin Tarn just to the East of Carlisle.

Carlisle is a classy parkland course in the heart of Cumbria.

Caldy is situated at the end of the Wirral Peninsula, alongside the river Dee, and enjoys some wonderful views whilst playing the series of cliff top holes on the front nine. Looking across the estuary towards Hilbre Islands and the coast of Wales one can really appreciate the fabulous setting.

Formby Ladies is a uniquely special golf course where the 18 holes flow seamlessly over a varied landscape spawning an enjoyable and memorable experience.

Pleasington, a former Regional Open Qualifying venue, boasts a fine inland golf course - irrefutably one of the best tracks in the county away from the sea.

The golf course at Reddish Vale is one I would advise anybody to play. Not only is it one of the best value venues in the North West it is also one of the most interesting and entertaining.

At Stockport Golf Club you will find a moderately undulating mature parkland course that will ask tough questions of every part of your game.

Wilmslow is one of the many fine wooded parkland courses to be found in the tranquil Cheshire countryside. It’s also one of the oldest, the club having been founded in 1889 and relocating to its present site in 1903.

Ulverston is a lovely South Cumbrian wooded-parkland course with some sloping fairways and high quality greens.

I have made a concerted effort to play a lot of courses in Cumbria over the last couple of years but easily-accessible Penrith has always seemed to elude me.

I like nice surprises. And that's exactly what I got when I played Fleetwood Golf Club for the first time in August 2013.

The county of Lancashire is well-known for its coastal stretch of classic links golf courses. However, once you head inland it is very much more a case of quantity and not real quality.

A quick afternoon dash around Dunham Forest in mid-March, following a meeting in Manchester earlier in the day, provided a very enjoyable couple of hours.

It’s not until you are willing to venture a little bit off the beaten path that you are able to discover such golfing gems as Dunnerholme.

Grange Park is a fast running parkland course that is pleasing on the eye.

If you like golf courses with great views then you will love Saddleworth Golf Club traversing the Lancashire-Yorkshire border.

Ashton & Lea is a pleasant parkland course near Preston with two very distinct loops of nine.

With over 100 years of history Childwall Golf Club, formed in 1912, is a traditional, tree-lined parkland course that serves up a consistent test of golf over almost dead flat terrain.

Leasowe is one of three true links golf courses located on the Wirral Peninsula.

Silecroft is a springy, nine-hole clifftop links occupying a compact strip of coastal land high above the Irish Sea in the Western Lake District.

Disley is an attractive golf course set in beautiful Cheshire countryside.

When it comes to links golf Southport is arguably the United Kingdom’s number one location, almost unquestionably England’s and without doubt a real hot spot.

I concluded a six-day, 14-course trip to Ireland with a round at Warren Municipal. Why?... you might ask. And rightly so.

I stumbled across Sedbergh Golf Club on the way home from a visit to play Penrith in Cumbria.

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