Hillside is within what is easily the best stretch of links golf in England. With 3 Open courses and another six Top 100 links courses within 30 mins drive - this is truly an amazing stretch of links golf. Due to the proximity to the three Open venues, the other courses can be somewhat overshadowed and in the case of Hillside you are bordering Royal Birkdale, but this is not a course which should hide in its more illustrious neighbour's shadow.

Many who have reviewed Hillside rightly praise the back 9 as outstanding but feel the front 9 is slightly a letdown, merely ok or in some instances is not very good. But like a great movie or play the start should tease before getting into the main story before finishing with a bang and this is the case at Hillside.

The first 6 holes are an excellent introduction yes, they are flatter and do not perhaps have the excitement of the back 9 but I would say with OOB in play at one and two and the burn on three your round could be over before you reach the fourth tee. My favourite in this section was the par 5 second which is reachable in two but has OOB left and in play for the entire length of the hole has a stream and bunkering to challenge the tee shot and layup and a truly magnificent green complex, a hole worthy of respect

The next three are solid holes and at this point if you knew nothing of Hillside you would likely be very happy with your choice. The second six holes are probably you best scoring chances with two par 4’s of approx. 400 yards a reachable par 5 and two short par 3’s where good shots will be rewarded but trouble awaits the poor shot. In this section holes 12 is the weakest but the others have built excitement for the finale.

The last six holes at Hillside are as good as any flowing through the massive dunes with a premium on hitting the fairways from the tees and a final three holes are wonderful. The 16^th a par 3 that showcases how a hole with no bunker can be interesting challenging and fun due to the contours, roll offs and rough covered dunes. The 17^th a stunning par 5 through the valley with your tee shot hit downhill with bunkers to test the tee shot before the uphill approach where anything short will fall back towards you. The 18^th is a wonderful par 4 436 yards from the medal tees but can be stretch to 480 yards for elite events. A sweeping left to right dog leg with the green protected by two bunkers and with the clubhouse behind a fitting end to a fabulous course.