England North - Hillside - 6850 yds - Par 72

If Royal Birkdale is the finest golf links in England then Hillside must surely be number two. Why so? Well, firstly, they occupy the very same magnificent golfing country being laid out literally side by side amid a vast stretch of sandhills near Southport and, secondly, when analysing the quality of the individual golf holes people find it very difficult to separate the two courses.

The front nine at Hillside has long been highly regarded, but the newer second nine, redesigned in 1967 is really outstanding and indeed very spectacular- a bit like Ballybunion minus the Atlantic Ocean. Since 1967 Hillside has hosted a number of important championships. In the late 1970's both the British Ladies Championship and Amateur Championship were held and in 1982 came the European Tour's prestigious PGA Championship. If one had to select two holes for special mention they might be the par fives of eleven and seventeen.