In our 3rd episode from our ‘Story of a Golf Club’ series we head to Royal Liverpool Golf Club (Hoylake), taking in the incredibly rich history and understanding about how the course has evolved over the years. Established in 1869, the course was founded on the same ground also used as a horse racing track, and the internal out of bounds that sits on the right side of the 1st and 16th stands as a monument to its equine ancestry, in addition to a number of other more subtle features through the club and its clubhouse. A number of things strike you when you spend time at Hoylake. Firstly, its proud history with The Open, having held 12 championships throughout its history, has invariably produced the strongest champion golfer of its generation. Past winners like Harold Hilton, Bobby Jones, Peter Thompson, Tiger Woods and Rory Mcilroy have all lifted the [...]

Episode 2 from our ‘Story of a Golf Club’ series takes us inland, to the rich sandy and acidic soil of Woking Golf club. Established in 1893 by a number of barristers from New Temple, in the centre of London, Woking was the first heathland golf club in Surrey. Years before, golf was a pastime enjoyed on the British seaside where clubs had originally formed around the South Coast (namely Royal St George’s, Rye) following the games growth in popularity in Scotland, however inland golf was something of a non-event. In London, things were even worse, where eager golfers resorted to using common land in the city, which was often akin to playing on a mud bath for at least half of the year.  Tom Dunn was credited with the initial layout, and in 1893 the club opened for play, and walking the property at Hook [...]