59 (World) Royal Lytham & St. Anne's Golf Club

July 21, 2014

The previous two days before playing Royal Lytham & St. Annes, I had the pleasure of attending the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. On Sunday of the event, I had a seat in the open grandstands at 18 so was able to see every group finish their tournament and watch McIlroy win. I also got to sit and chat with four older gentlemen (even though they gave me sideways looks when I called them that) who were in the row behind me and were from McIlroy's hometown of Holywood. We had almost four hours before the first group arrived at 18 so they discussed the differences that are found between courses in Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, and Wales.  It was a fascinating conversation and I learned a good bit about golf that I didn't know.

The morning after the open, I made my way to Royal Lytham & St. Annes. It was a pleasant drive to Lancashire and I took note of several pubs along the way so I could plan out my stop for an early dinner as my tee time was scheduled for 11 am.  Upon arrival, the first thing that stood out was the green trim on the white buildings. When I sent a photo to my wife via text, our seven year old daughter asked did Snow White live there. It does have a very unique feel to the course that adds to the mystique of getting to experience one of these older courses. I had been anticipating my round here with much excitement since it has hosted 11 Open Championships.

The clubhouse of Royal Lythan & St. Annes.

I arrived a bit early to have lunch in the clubhouse. I met a retired U.S. Navy couple from Charleston, S.C., and we had a nice conversation over lunch, discussing our various experiences of golf in the U.K.  After lunch, I wandered through the clubhouse taking in the golf history that was on display in abundance. There were golf clubs, scorecards, and photos more than a century old on display. Seeing Harry Vardon in photos on the very same course I was about to play sent good shivers down my back. My excitement continued to grow as I made my way to the locker room.

Various clubs, bags and artifacts on display from different time periods of the club's history.

A score card from a tournament hosted at RL&SA in 1886.

The billiards room at RL&SA.

The Club Room at RL&SA .

A list of various club captains and champions at at RL&SA. 

A photo of each of the winners of the 11 Open Championships hosted at at RL&SA.

A photo of Harry Vardon and his crew at RL&SA.

The gentlemen's locker room at at RL&SA.

The layout of Royal Lytham & St Annes has remained faithful to the original created by the club's first professional, George Lowe, over a century ago. The only significant changes were made in 1919 when the club asked Harry Colt, the pre-eminent Course Designer of the time, to make recommendations for improvement. Over the next four years he repositioned some of the Greens and Tees added numerous bunkers and lengthened the course.

Royal Lyhtam & St. Anne's appears numerous times throughout The World's 500 Greatest Golf Holes and receives quite a few accolades. Among them are:

• Hole 17 is listed as one of the top 100 holes in the world.
• Hole 1 is listed as one of the top 20 par 3s in all of the United Kingdom.
• Holes 17 and 18 are listed as two of the top 20 par 4s in all of the United Kingdom.
• Hole 17 is listed as one of the 18 most difficult holes in the world.
• Hole 17 is listed as one of the 18 most penal holes in the world.
• Hole 17 is listed as one of the 18 best links holes in the world.
• Hole 17 is listed as one of the 18 holes in the world that has produced one of the greatest moments in golf history (Bobby Jones shot in the 1926 Open Championship).

It was almost a picture perfect day with very few clouds and a temperature that was perfect for playing golf. Unfortunately, a fairly sizable group of Japanese tourist arrived to play just before me so it was a very slow round that took almost five and a half hours to play. I dislike slow play immensely as it is like teeing off on number one 18 times. Luckily, I met Mike and his wife, a married couple from Indiana, who had played the previous week at several courses in Ireland. If you have to suffer through a long, slow round, at least it is easily combated with good company.

There are four sets of tee boxes at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. They are (from back to front) Blue, Red, Green and Orange. I opted to play from the blue tees that play to 7,113 yards, a fairly long course for a par 70.

A look down the fairway from the 1st tee box.

Hole one is a 206 yard par 3. The trees to the right of the tee protect from the prevailing wind making club selection difficult to a green protected by severe bunkers.

A look onto the 1st green from 60 yards out.

A look back towards the clubhouse and proshop from behind the 1st green.

Hole two is a 481 yard par 4. The out-of-bounds railway line flanks the right-hand side. The ideal tee shot should favor that side to open up the green that sits at an angle and slopes from left to right.

A look down the fairway from the 2nd tee box.

The cautious tee shot can easily be snared by bunkers and mounding on the left side, leaving a semi blind shot. A play to the center of the green is likely the best bet on this hole.

A look into the 2nd green from 100 yards out.

A look down the fairway from the 3rd tee box.

Hole three is a 477 yard par 4. With mounding and thick rough down the left and the railway down the right, this hole demands two long and straightshots. The ideal tee shot will leave you short of the left hand bunkers. Be careful to avoid the deep bunker back left of the green with the approach shot. It is hard to see from the fairway and could land you in all sorts of trouble if you hit the approach too far.

A look into the 3rd green from 120 yards out.

A look down the fairway from the 4th tee box.

Hole four is a 391 yard par 3 that plays back towards the clubhouse. It also turns back in to the prevailing wind and is a left-hand dogleg that favors a tee shot placed down the right half of the fairway wide enough to see the green that is heavily bunkered. If the ball is positioned too far left, there is virtually no sight of the target for the approach.

A look towards the 4th green from the turn in the dogleg.

A look into the 4th green from 75 yards out.

A closer look at the deep green-side bunkers at #4.

Hole five is a 218 yard par 3. The longest of the par-3s, it demands a straight tee shot to avoid the bunkers that cluster around the green. Moreover, there is a stretch of "dead ground" in front of the green that is deceptive and makes the hole play longer than it appears.

A look into the green from the 5th tee box.

A look down the fairway from the 6th tee box.

Hole six is a par 5 that plays to 494 yards. There is a decent chance to make birdie here, but only if the tee shot finds an good lie on the undulating fairway to provide a clear route over the cross bunkers short of the green. The slightly crowned green is well guarded by treacherous bunkers on either side.

A look into the 6th green from 100 yards out.

A look onto the 6th green from the hill just behind it.

A look down the fairway from the 7th tee box.

Hole seven is a par 5 playing from 589 yards at the blue tee box.  This straight away par 5 is flanked on either side by bunkers, mounds and thick rough. Strategic bunkering short of the slightly raised long thin green that slopes away from you makes judging the hole location difficult.

A look into the 7th green from 150 yards out.

A look down the fairway from the 8th tee box.

Hole eight is a par 4 that plays to 417 yards. The railway comes back into play again to the right of the hole and presents a real threat to any shot that drifts away from the elevated and exposed tee. The second shot is difficult to judge due to the dead ground between the cross bunkers and the front of the green. A note of caution - the bunker to the left of the green is the deepest on the course.

A look into the 8th green from 120 yards out.

A look into the green from the 9th tee box.

Hole nine is a 164 yard par 3 that was my favorite hole on the course. Even though this is the shortest hole on the course, the demand for precision is vital because of the nine bunkers that protect the green on all sides and add to the pressures of finding the right area from which to make a reasonable birdie attempt.

A look onto the 9th green from the top of the hill to the left side.

A look down the fairway from the 10th tee box.

Hole 10 is a short par 4 that plays to 385 yards.  The tee shot needs to be accurate to get through the narrow gap between the mounds. If this is accomplished your left with a medium length shot to a green which is tilted sharply towards the fairway.

A look into the 10th green from 150 yards out.

A look down the fairway from the 11th tee box.

Hole 11 is a monster par 5 playing to 601 yards.  Thanks to the prevailing wind this par 5 is a true 3 shotter however. The ideal tee shot will favor the left side and leave you short of the two bunkers. The second shot needs to be accurate as the rough is ruinous and the intended landing area fairly  narrow. An undulating slightly raised green will make it tough to record a par.

A look into the 11th green from 150 yards out.

 A look onto the 11th green, guarded by deep bunkers, from just behind it.

Hole 12 is a 196 yard par 3. The green is angled from the tee and it is raised making it difficult to hold with the trajectory of the shot required.

A look into the green from the 12th tee box.

A look down the fairway from the 13th tee box.

Hole 13 is a 357 yard par 4. The challenge from the tee is to find the left half of the fairway, leaving a second shot straight up the length of the long green. The subtle undulations need careful reading if three putts are to be avoided.

A look onto the 13th green from just off the right side.

A look down the fairway from the 14th tee box.

Hole 14 is a 443 yard par 4. The tee shot has to avoid the bunkers and sand hills on the right, and the thick rough covered mounds on the left, if it is to provide a reasonable approach to the green. The margin for error is minimal, particularly with rough and out-of-bounds so close to the right side of the putting surface.

A look down the fairway from 250 yards out.

A look into the 14th green from 60 yards out.

A closer look at one of the green-side bunkers at 14.

A closer look at one of the green-side bunkers at 14.

A closer look at one of the green-side bunkers at 14.

A look down the fairway from the 15th tee box.

Hole 15 is a 464 yard par 4. Bunkers threaten drives cutting the comer of the fairway. The semi-blind approach has to find its way between dunes and cross bunkers with rough to the left and sand traps to the right.

A look into the 15th green from 120 yards out.

A look down the fairway from the 16th tee box.

Hole 16 is a 358 yard par 4. The tee shot is blind, but needs to be well placed to provide a trouble-free route to the green, unlike the effort of Seve Ballesteros, who played his approach from an overflow car park on the right after an errant drive (he still emerged with a birdie on his way to winning  the Open Championship in 1979).

As you can see, from the photo below, the bunkers are fairly deep. My playing partner, Mike, was probably just over six feet tall and had his work cut out for him.

A look onto the 16th green from 40 yards off of it.

A look down the fairway from the 17th tee box.

Hole 17 is a par 4 that plays to 467 yards. It was also my most anticipated hole of the course due to its history. It has a plaque by the third drive bunker to the left of the fairway that commemorates the famous second shot of Bobby Jones in the final round of the 1926 Open.

The landing area from the tee is intimidatingly small on this well bunkered fairway. The hole turns left towards an open green protected by bunkers on either side.

A look towards the 17th green from the turn in the dogleg.

The Bobby Jones plaque.

A look into the 17th green from 100 yards out.

A look onto the 17th green from 40 yards out.

A look onto the 17th green from just off the right side.

A look down the fairway from the 18th tee box.

Hole 18 is a par 4 that plays to 410 yards.  It is the classic finishing hole - two lines of bunkers cross the fairway at an angle from the tee. The green is the longest on the course making correct club selection crucial for the approach shot.

A look into the 18th green from 150 yards out.

Me standing at the cross bunkers with the iconic club house in the background.

Royal Lytham and St. Anne's was a fun course to play. I have heard some people call it boring because of the lack of elevation changes on most parts of the course and the lack of any water hazards. However, the 206 bunkers are enough to keep any round challenging. I had a great time and look forward to my next visit. It is the #59 ranked course in the world and is probably exactly where it should be on the list. If you find yourself in the area with an extra day, I highly recommend making a day of it. My only regret was not staying for dinner so I could take in even more of the history at the course.