Discover the Top 6 Golf Courses in England

When you are planning your European golf vacations, take a moment to think about playing golf at some world renowned golf courses in England. As Scotland is the home of golf, and me being Scottish, I would advocate that you try the famous and historic courses in Scotland first. Because of the world wide coverage of The Open, the Championship golf courses in England are becoming almost as famous as the like of St. Andrews. Below is a resume of the Championship courses that hold or have held the event.

For some reason, the golf courses in England that have held The Open golf tournament are situated in only two locations of England. First, is the area in the north-west of the country between Liverpool and Blackpool. Second, is the south eastern county of Kent situated below London.

Golf Courses In England - The NW

The north-west coast of England is bordered by Wales to the south and Scotland to the north. Here you will find three of the top golf courses in England. The area is easily reached by plane as it is close to both Liverpool and Manchester airports. Liverpool would make a great base for playing all three of the areas Championship courses.

Royal Liverpool, or Hoylake, has the honor of being the first in the northwest to host The Open and is also the second oldest of the links golf courses in England. It has now held the event 11 times, starting from 1897 and has regularly held the event every decade until 1967. It was not held again until 2006, the year that Tiger Woods won. In 1930, Bobby Jones won here on his historic way to winning the grand slam of golf.

Royal Lytham & St. Annes was founded in 1897 but didn't hold its first Open until 1926. It is one of the finest and most challenging links courses in Britain with over 200 bunkers to negotiate. It has seen its share of legendary golfers winning the Championship; Bobby Jones in 1926, Englishman Tony Jacklin in 1969, South African Gary Player in 1974, Spaniard Seve Ballesteros in 1979 and 1988, amongst others.

Royal Birkdale was the last golf course in England to become an Open venue; from its first event in 1954 it has been privileged to host The Open almost twice each decade with the latest in 2008. It has become a very popular course and also a very lucky course for US golf pros. Americans have won The Open here five times out of eight; the other three being won by Australians Peter Thompson in 1954 and 1965, and Ian Baker-Finch in 1991.

Golf Courses In England - The SE

On the south coast of the county of Kent, just south of London, you will find the other three Championship courses. When visiting the area you will have easy access as it is close to London. If you are staying to play the three courses here, you will be better of finding a picturesque village to stay at surrounded by the beautiful scenery of Kent.

Royal St. Georges has held The Open a total of thirteen times and was the first course in England to host the event back in 1894. I would make this course a priority when enjoying your European golf vacations. In the early days, this course witnessed two wins each by legendary golfers Harry Vardon and Walter Hagan. There have been many closely fought Opens here, including the 1993 event which saw Greg Norman shooting a brilliant 64 to beat Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer.

Royal Cinque Ports or Deal as it is sometimes known has only held The Open twice - 1909 and 1920. Through misfortune it hasn't held further events due to the war in 1915 and high tides in 1938 and 1949 which made the course unplayable. It is worth playing though, as it is a very challenging course that requires very straight shots to stay out of trouble.

Prince's is an other unknown Championship course as it only held the event once in 1932. The winner was Gene Sarazen who played flawless golf and scored a total of 283, a Championship record which he kept for 18 years. Unbelievably, Prince's golf course was utilized by the RAF for bombing practice during World War II. In the 1950's, restoration work was carried out which made different fairways but incorporated 17 of the original greens which had somehow escaped damage.

There you have the only six Championship courses in England that you should consider playing - the only difficulty might be playing all six as the north west is quite far from the south east. You will need to book your tee times in advance and you should check each of their websites for information on dress code for the golf courses and the clubhouses.

Mick Euan Tait is a golf writer, golf fan, and a golfer. Go to his site for more details about Golf in England and Golf in Scotland.