Royal Lytham & St Annes

Lancashire

4.6

340 reviews

4.6(340 Google reviews)

About Royal Lytham & St Annes

Royal Lytham & St Annes is one of the most storied venues in championship golf, an inland links in Lancashire that has shaped the history of The Open Championship.

Founded in 1886, Lytham occupies a distinctive place in golf: it is a links course in character and challenge, yet entirely surrounded by suburban housing on the outskirts of St Annes-on-Sea. The course opens with one of the sport's great oddities, a par 3 first hole, and concludes with a finish that has broken hearts at the highest level. Its red-brick Victorian clubhouse, listed building and museum of Open history, is among the grandest in England.

Royal Lytham & St Annes

Links Gate, Lytham St Annes, Lytham Saint Annes FY8 3LQ, UK

01253 724206

royallytham.org/

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England has no shortage of Open Championship venues, but Royal Lytham & St Annes occupies a category of its own. Unlike Hoylake or Sandwich, it cannot look out to sea; the horizon is one of rooftops and railway lines. Yet it remains entirely authentic as a links examination, with firm, fast turf, relentless bunkering and a routing that exposes every weakness in a player's game. The red-brick Victorian clubhouse, packed with Open memorabilia including the scorecard from Bobby Jones's famous 1926 qualifying round, is one of the finest in the country.

The club's championship history is remarkable. Eleven Opens have been decided here, a record matched only by St Andrews among rota venues. Seve Ballesteros, Bob Charles, Peter Thomson and Tony Jacklin are among the names on the honour board, and the 1926 edition produced one of the game's defining moments when Jones, still an amateur, held off a strong field to take his first Open title. The most recent championship, in 2012, saw Ernie Els win in the fading light after a day of remarkable drama on the leaderboard.

Visitors come to Lytham not just for its history but for the quality of the examination it provides. The closing stretch, particularly from the 17th, has ended many Open campaigns and it treats club golfers with the same indifference. A round here, walking the same fairways as the game's greatest champions, is a genuinely memorable experience that few Lancashire days can rival.

Opening Hours

Monday8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Tuesday8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Wednesday8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Thursday8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Friday8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

What Golfers Say About Royal Lytham & St Annes

A selection of recent visitor reviews from Google.

atta lone
4 months ago
Amazing experience. Played a few different courses in England but this place was quality. All the staff extremely friendly and helpful. The course was in excellent condition. Tee areas were immaculate, fairways great condition even although we were playing in October and the greens were also in immaculate condition. Only found 3 bunkers out the 174 bunkers on the course but don't let that put you off playing here if you get the chance. I would love to play this course again and maybe play some of the holes differently.

Lydia Keefer
9 months ago
Anyone can go to the pro shop. Lots of Souvenirs to share with friends. Didn’t play the course. It was an unexpected stop that day. Its buildings are unique but are not as grand as it looks on pics. It’s 3 separate buildings. You have to go out to the driving range to see it entirely. Hard location to find. It is at a dead end in a neighborhood.

John McClelland
2 years ago
Absolutely amazing experience, we played Monday afternoon of Open week. The staff (Elaine in booking, Phil in the clubhouse particularly) were warm and welcoming. We actually read the information they sent ahead of time so we knew to get the full experience we couldn’t wear shorts in the clubhouse. We asked about the first tee from the tips and he walked us over there, gave a little history lesson and we played from there. I was so happy that I hit the ball the best I had in years, certainly worth a visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Open Championships has Royal Lytham & St Annes hosted?

Royal Lytham & St Annes has hosted 11 Open Championships, the most recent being in 2012 when Ernie Els claimed the Claret Jug. The club first hosted The Open in 1926, the occasion on which Bobby Jones won his first Open title. Seve Ballesteros famously won at Lytham in 1979 and 1988, with his car-park recovery in 1979 entering the folklore of the game.

Why does Royal Lytham & St Annes start with a par 3?

Lytham's opening hole is a par 3 of around 206 yards, one of the very few links courses in the world to begin in this manner. The layout evolved organically from the land available to the club, and the result is an immediate stern examination rather than the gentler warm-up holes found at most championship links. It sets the tone for a course that demands precision from the very first shot.

Is Royal Lytham & St Annes open to visitors?

Royal Lytham & St Annes accepts visiting golfers on weekdays, though advance booking is essential and tee times are in high demand particularly around the summer season. The club asks that visitors have a handicap certificate and contact the secretary's office directly. Green fees reflect the course's championship status and the experience on offer.

What makes Royal Lytham & St Annes unusual among links courses?

Unlike the great majority of traditional links, Lytham has no sea views and is surrounded on all sides by residential streets. Despite this, the turf, bunkering, and ground game play in every way like a classic links. Over 200 bunkers, many of them deep and steeply revetted, ensure that wayward hitting is punished severely. The course also features an area of scrub and rough bordering several holes that adds a further layer of difficulty.