North West England – Best in County Rankings 2023
This is the second of our seven regional updates for counties in England. Last time we reported on five counties in the East Midlands area and in this revision we report on Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire in the North West of the country, with an additional twelve courses added across these three listings.
There are no big positional swings to get excited about in any of the tables so most of the attention is focused on the addition of courses that haven’t been profiled before. The data produced through expanding our county panels has brought to our attention a few layouts that may have been overlooked before so we’re happy to now include these in our new line-ups.
Cheshire
The course at Royal Liverpool Club on The Wirral (pictured above) remains our #1 layout in Cheshire. Of course, it’s also something of a national golfing treasure, ranked #15 in England and #42 in Britain & Ireland. Hoylake was the venue for the 151st edition of The Open last month and the course’s new par three 17th ("Little Eye") attracted a fair amount of controversy – in the end, however, it was only the 8th most difficult hole when all the scores were analysed.
Vale Royal Abbey
The highest climber in our Cheshire chart is the course at Vale Royal Abbey near Whitegate which rises two places to number 13. Laid out by Simon Gidman in the late 1990s, this pretty parkland track lies in gently rolling countryside, characterised by large USGA-specification greens. The layout extends to almost 6,500 yards from the back tees, with par set at 72.
Warrington
The first of five new entries arrives at #17 and it’s the course at Warrington Golf Club, which began life as a 9-hole track in 1903. Alister MacKenzie made changes a decade later, Ted Ray made further improvements in the 1920s then James Braid remodelled the layout in the early 1930s. Today, it measures 6,240 yards from the back markers, playing to a par of 71.
The four other new entries for Cheshire are Astbury (#19), Bromborough (#22), Eaton (#12) and Bramhall (#25).
Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Cheshire.
Cumbria
The links layout at Silloth on Solway (pictured above) was the inaugural number 1 in Cumbria when we launched our English county rankings fifteen years ago and it’s still #1 in this county. Silloth’s also ranked #18 in England and #46 in Britain & Ireland so it was no surprise to read a recent post from a reviewer who classified it as being “in the ‘must play’ group of UK links.”
Furness
One of two new entries in the listings at #11, the course at Furness Golf Club belongs to one of the oldest golf clubs in England, dating back to 1872. Located on the west coast of Walney Island, which is accessed from Barrow-in-Furness by the Jubilee Bridge, this links course started out as a 6-hole layout which was expanded to nine holes before eventually becoming the 18-hole layout that’s in play today.
Cockermouth
The other new Cumbrian entry at #12 is the 18-hole moorland layout at Cockermouth Golf Club. The club was founded in 1896, moving to its current location eight years later. Silloth professional Thomas Renouf laid out the original 9-hole course then James Braid advised on course improvements in September 1924, charging the club a fee of twelve guineas and £3-13-0 expenses.
Other courses in the county – like Dunnerholme, Grange Fell and Grange-over-Sands – are now on our radar and maybe one or more of these unsung tracks will feature when we next update our English counties.
Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Cumbria.
Lancashire
An Open venue on ten occasions since 1954, the course at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport (pictured above) retains its number 1 status in Lancashire. Not only that, Birkdale’s ranked #3 in England, #13 in Britain & Ireland and #40 in our World Top 100 chart.
Only last month it was announced that it will stage the 154th edition of The Open in 2026, which further cements its tournament hosting credentials, having staged sixteen of the major Championships that we feature elsewhere on this website.
The two courses making the biggest upward moves in the new Lancashire chart are both from Bolton.
Bolton Old Links
The first of these climbers is the course at Bolton Old Links Golf Club (up two to #15) which was designed by Alister MacKenzie in the early 1920s. Laid out in two returning 9-hole circuits, with the inward half routed around holes 1 to 9, the course follows the contours of an undulating landscape to great effect, with the par four 12th (“Kicking Donkey”) set more than 800 feet above sea level at the highest point on the layout.
Bolton
The second 2-position jump is made by the course at Bolton Golf Club (now at #17) which was laid out at Lockstock Park by local architect Richard Herman Crook, aided by the greenkeeper, G.E. Vickers, in 1911. Today, the course measures almost 6,200 yards from the back tees, playing to a par of 70, with only one par five on the card at the 481-yard 15th hole.
Childwall
Childwall Golf Club near Belle Vale is the first of five new entries for Lancashire at number 19. The club can trace its origins back to 1912 (with the formation of Woolton Hall Hydro Golf Club) but it relocated to what was then Holt Hall Farm at Gateacre in the mid-1930s, engaging James Braid to design an 18-hole course on a large 203-acre property. Today, the layout measures 6,568 yards from the tips, playing to a par of 72.
The four other new entries for Lancashire are Grange Park (#22), Bury (#23), North Manchester (#24) and Chorley (#25).
Click the following link to see the newly updated county rankings for Lancashire.
Jim McCann
Editor
Top 100 Golf Courses