Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club

Royal Lytham & St Annes sits in Lytham St Annes on the Fylde coast, a links course built inland from the shoreline yet still shaped by breezes off the Irish Sea. A railway line runs along one boundary and housing surrounds much of the layout, giving the ground a different character from the open dune links more commonly associated with the coast. The course has staged eleven Open Championships plus two Ryder Cups, and has also held the Amateur Championship, the Walker Cup, the Senior Open and the Women's Open, a record matched by few clubs anywhere. Severiano Ballesteros won the Open here twice, in 1979 and 1988, cementing the club's place in the sport's history. Golf writers of earlier generations were struck by how demanding the layout could be despite its modest length, a reputation the course still carries among those who have played it. The clubhouse holds a collection tracing this history, alongside a bar and dining room, and there is on-site accommodation at the Dormy House for visiting golfers. Winter maintenance work, including coring and over-seeding, is carried out each autumn to keep the course in condition through the following season.