Hillside Golf Club Course Review - Most obviously a links course with fairways lined by rough-covered dunes, mature pines alongside many holes at Hillside add great definition and character
Hillside Golf Club Course Review
Green Fee Range: £65-£130
Medal Tee: Par 72 – 6,849 Yards
Visitor Times: Monday, Thursday & Friday – 9:04-12:00 & from 14:00, Tuesday from 14:00, Saturday from 15:30, Sunday – 12:00-14:00, All subject to availability and restrictions
Website: www.hillside-golfclub.co.uk
Significant Changes
9th green has been relayed after improvements to the sub base – extensive scrub management to re-naturalize areas of rough lands and develop flora and fauna with the introduction of marram grass and other native grasses – mowing regimes changed to enhance the links and create firmer, faster and tighter playing surfaces
The Clubhouse is in the process of a £1m + redevelopment that includes new gents shower and bathroom facilities, a new kitchen, extended dining room and superb balcony overlooking the 18th green
Hillside Golf Club Course Review
Founded in 1911, Hillside Golf Club shared its centenary with Golf Monthly three years ago. In that season, the Southport club hosted the Amateur Championship, won by Bryden Macpherson.
The current layout of the course at Hillside is more recent than 1911, though. Fred Hawtree completed an extensive redesign in the 1960s.
Hillside is an unusual links in that many of the holes are framed by mature pine trees. The towering dunes that line the fairways, particularly on the back nine, are long established and the thick rough that covers them is brutal in places.
The course begins gently, with a short par 4 then a reachable par 5. The test mounts from the 3rd – a challenging par 4 with water short and right of the green.
It’s on the back nine though that Hillside really shines. In fact, in a letter to the club, Greg Norman has described the holes on the run for home as, “the best in Britain”.
The short par-3 10th takes you up and into the dunes, before the excellent par-5 11th sweeps to the left between the dunes then rises slightly to a sloping green backed by pine trees.
Elevated tees on the run in provide wonderful views to the Lake District in the north and Snowdonia in the south, but these shouldn’t distract from the sheer quality of the holes. The superb uphill 13th and par-5 17th are particular highlights.
Hillside Golf Club Course Review – Golf Monthly Verdict
The back nine at Hillside delivers one of the finest stretches of holes that England has to offer. The views from high point on the back nine of the Lakes and Snowdonia are spectacular
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