Leasowe

It is situated between the mighty Royal Liverpool and the brilliant Wallasey. And whilst it doesn't come close to matching either of these for quality it does offer excellent value for money and a few engaging holes.

A winter green-fee at Leasowe set us back a little over ten pounds and whilst we played from (grass) winter tees all of the normal greens were in play and in reasonably good condition for the time of year. I suspect many courses not too far inland would be like mud baths following the wettest winter on record so it's credit to Leasowe for having a virtually fully open, and more than playable, golf course.

The links enjoys an interesting start with a castle wall acting as a very close backdrop to the first and fourth holes, the latter of which runs alongside the seawall. The views from the fourth and fifth tees are superb but that is the last you will see of the beach.

The fifth is a short but tricky dog-legged hole and has probably the best tee-shot on the course which requires a draw around a menacing bunker. Meanwhile, the long sixth has out of bounds tight to the left of the hole which must be hugged to give the best angle into the green.

The course peters out somewhat from here and certainly loses its links-like characteristics with a number of blander holes on albeit the less interesting and flatter terrain. The routing saves the course from becoming a little mundane on the back nine where many of the holes run in similar directions, because it doesn't feel that way thanks to the layout. And the final three holes make for a strong finish.

The 16th has a fairly open drive but the approach is the best on the course played to an exposed green that falls away on three sides. The par-five 17th has a wonderfully long and two-tiered green which also drops off towards the back and edges. The 18th is a par three and is well guarded by deep bunkers and whilst the backdrop of the clubhouse isn't pretty it's nonetheless a strong finishing hole.

During our visit a number of bunkers were currently being renovated and once these come back in to play it will improve the course greatly. Hopefully the remaining ones will be restored too.

With so many top class links courses on England's West Coast it's difficult to recommend Leasowe as a must play but if you are looking for great value, all-year round golf then you could do a lot worse.