Hillside

Hillside. Now there’s a misnomer. So it’s worth establishing one thing straight away: Hillside is a links. It’s not flat, by any means, and there are several outcrops of pine, but it is a seaside course in terms of character. In the best traditions, a railway line separates it from Southport & Ainsdale on one side. 

And on the other is the definitive proof – a mountain range of sand dunes, beyond which lies Royal Birkdale. The region of Southport is real golfing country, a cluster of fine courses unmatched anywhere else in England with the possible exception of Surrey’s heathland belt. 

 

And Hillside – the name of the village, by the way – is right in the middle of it.


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Although Hillside first opened back in 1911, it wasn’t always like this. In the mid-1960s, the club sold some of the land on which the course stood to building developers and used the money to acquire further acreage on the Birkdale side of the course.
 

It was an ideal arrangement. The new land would have been little use for housing – but it might have been made expressly for golf. From a modest neighbour to the Birkdales, Hoylakes and Lythams, it became an equal.

That was confirmed by the hosting of the Amateur Championship in 1979, when Jay Sigel defeated Scott Hoch. Maybe if the result had been different Hoch's well publicised disdain for links golf would never have arisen.

The PGA Championship followed in 1982, and is remembered best for Tony Jacklin’s last win of any note as a professional. Its most recent honour was as Tommy Fleetwood's choice to host the 2019 British Masters, an event that proved a roaring success.

 

Originally opened in 1911, the redesign was conducted by Fred Hawtree. Hillside’s history, it seems, is intertwined with its illustrious neighbour. Hawtree’s father was the architect responsible for Birkdale. 

It begins with a hole that has been described as the reverse of the infamous 1st at Prestwick. That is to say a railway line runs the length of the hole a yard or two from the fairway – but down the left, rather than the right. Fortunately, unlike its Ayrshire cousin, the other side of the fairway is not so intimidating, with modest rough rather than omnivorous gorse awaiting the overly cautious drive.

Then comes the first of a handful of holes with shades of Carnoustie about them. The 2nd is Hillside’s answer to Hogan’s Alley. The drive ideally skirts the railway line down the left, while a large bunker on the right prevents a safe route offering the possibility of reaching the green in two.
 
After a series of open holes, the short 7th comes as both a surprise and a delight. Its sunken green is shrouded by a bank and a phalanx of tall trees. Two medium-length par fours conclude the opening half and the calm before the storm.
 
The 10th is a par 3 calling for a short iron to a green set well above the tee. Then the party really begins. Not only most of Hillside but also great swathes of S&A and Birkdale can be seen from the 11th tee, in what is a view to rival the more famous one from atop Gullane Hill.
 
A par 5 lies in wait, but the fairway lies so far below the level of the tee that it’s impossible not to let rip with the driver. The hole – like many at Birkdale – runs between two lines of dunes. Accuracy as much as length is the key to making a birdie. The fairway rises just in front of a green which is backed by a wood, so any approach must be true to find it.
 
On the other side of the trees lies the 12th, a strategic two-shotter with a pronounced dogleg that provides a nice contrast with the more sparse 13th, a test of controlled strength. The next two are further substantial par 4s, one bearing right, the other left, while the final short hole is, at 222 yards, extremely difficult, particularly when the wind is up.
 
The roller-coaster 17th awaits through the dunes and then the 440-yard home hole completes the experience. It is everything the closing hole on a links should be. Another elevated tee affords a clear view of a fairway, that pivots to the right around two bunkers. A long second is more or less inevitable, and the raised green calls for a committed approach.
 
Get round in anything close to your handicap and you’ll have played very well. But, like all the best courses, there’s no shame – or disappointment – in coming an honourable second either. It’s taken a while for Hillside to gain this sort of acknowledgement, but a day out round here is guaranteed to satisfy the senses.

 

Visit Hillside's website here.
Go back to the NCG Top 100s Homepage.