Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Southport
Royal Birkdale Golf Club is one of England’s finest championship links courses and a true bucket-list venue for a UK golf holiday. Set in Southport on the North West coast, it offers everything travelling golfers want from classic links golf: firm turf, natural dunes, coastal wind, strategic bunkering and a layout that asks for thought on every shot.
Founded in 1889, Royal Birkdale has long been one of the great names in British golf. The course moved to the Birkdale Hills in the 1890s, where its natural dune corridors helped shape the links we know today. It has hosted The Open Championship more times than any course outside St Andrews since first staging the Championship in 1954, and The Open returns to Royal Birkdale in July 2026.
For golfers, the appeal is huge. Royal Birkdale is demanding but fair, with holes routed through the dunes so that accuracy, patience and clever course management matter just as much as distance. The famous art deco clubhouse adds to the sense of occasion, while visitors are treated as “Members for the Day”, with access to the club’s facilities.
As part of a North West England golf holiday, Royal Birkdale is an outstanding headline round. It pairs beautifully with nearby courses such as Hillside, Southport & Ainsdale, Formby, West Lancashire, Royal Liverpool and Royal Lytham & St Annes. Hashtag Golf Travel can help arrange the right hotels, transfers and tee times, creating a smooth UK golf break built around one of the world’s great links venues.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
40km
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England’s best golf tour operator 2026 winner
Time Zone:
GMT+0
Currency:
British Pound
Temperature:
00-00℃
Cost of a Beer:
£5.00
Cost of a 3-Course Meal:
£5.00
Hashtag Guide
About The Area
Liverpool is one of England’s best city bases for a golf break, giving golfers easy access to the famous links corridor of England’s Golf Coast while also offering proper city energy after the round. It works especially well for groups who want championship golf by day, then restaurants, bars, music, football and waterfront culture in the evening.
The headline course is Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake, one of the great names in links golf. It hosted The Open Championship in 2023 and has staged golf’s original championship 13 times, with past champions including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Bobby Jones. The course may look fairly flat at first glance, but it is a proper test of shot selection, distance control and accuracy, especially when the wind gets up.
For a wider itinerary, Liverpool is brilliantly placed. Hillside Golf Club in Southport sits among sandhills and pinewoods and is part of England’s Golf Coast, while Formby Golf Club, founded in 1884, offers a true championship links with mature dunes, undulating fairways, protected greens and Irish Sea views. England’s Golf Coast as a whole brings serious depth, with 14 notable courses and several ranked among the best in the UK and Ireland.
Golf around Liverpool is best from April to October, with late spring and early autumn giving a strong mix of playable weather, good course condition and fewer peak-season crowds.
Off the course, Liverpool is a cracking city. The waterfront and Royal Albert Dock are home to museums, galleries, shops and places to eat, while the city’s music heritage is easy to explore at The Beatles Story on the dock. For golfers seeking elite links, lively nights out and a proper city-break feel, Liverpool is one of the UK’s strongest golf destinations.
