Hesketh Golf Club

If you were to be beamed onto the dunes of Hesketh’s back nine and gazed out across the Ribble Estuary, you would find it hard to believe you are standing in the very cradle of Southport golf. While neighbours like Royal Birkdale and Royal Lytham command global attention, Hesketh predates them both. Founded in 1885, it is the oldest club in Southport; a sprawling, atmospheric layout that served as the original blueprint for championship play on this iconic stretch of coastline.

The course is a fascinating hybrid of two distinct landscapes. The opening and closing holes are framed by the elegant Victorian villas of Hesketh Park. However, as the routing turns toward the estuary, the course reveals its raw, rugged side. Bordering a nationally renowned nature reserve, these holes meander through hummocky dunes and salt marshes where the sea breeze forces a creative, low-trajectory style of play.

Originally influenced by James Ogilvy Fairlie Morris, son of Old Tom Morris, the design was later refined by the likes of James Braid and Charles Mackenzie. To preserve this heritage, the club has been working on a long-term development plan to restore its original character. Much of this work involves reclaiming the bold, expansive greens and rugged bunkering that defined the Golden Age of design, stripping away decades of overgrowth to bring back the views and strategy intended a century ago.

Sir Henry Cotton was a regular visitor and a former tournament winner here, and he famously described the 16th as the finest short hole in Lancashire. Measuring 187 yards, the green sits atop a steep-sided plateau, ringed by six predatory pot bunkers that seem to laugh in the face of par. It is a nerve-wracking test of iron play, particularly when the wind is coming off the estuary. Today, Hesketh remains a cornerstone of the English game, regularly serving as a qualifying venue for The Open and standing as a professional, idiosyncratic test that has managed to preserve its soul while the modern game grew up around it.