Lytham Green Drive Golf Club

THIS year’s Open will be played at Royal Lytham & St Annes – one of many stunning links tracks on England’s north west coast. But the area isn’t just blessed with links, it’s also home to some great inland layouts like Lytham Green Drive. A three-time host of Local Final Qualifying for the Open, it is a charming, well-kept course just a mile from the sea. Located 20 minutes from Blackpool, it is characterised by tree-lined fairways, make sure it’s on your hit list while you’re at the Open. The Fylde Coast isn’t renowned for its parkland courses, but after playing Lytham Green Drive you might think it should be. Laid out in 1913, this lush, easy-walking layout is known for its pristine fairways that are notoriously narrow in parts, and the dense trees that line the holes. Lytham Green Drive also boasts well-kept greens that run fast and true and are tough to hit due to their small size. At 6,305 yards off the tips – that’s with just two par 5s! – there is plenty of length to keep you on your toes.

Lytham Green Drive also boasts well-kept greens that run fast and true and are tough to hit due to their small size.

The 9th, Lancaster Corner, is a brute of a par 4 that measures comfortably over 400 yards and is, statistically, the course’s hardest hole. A right-to-left dog-leg, it requires a long drive favouring the right side of the fairway as anything too far left can leave you blocked out. Looking down the hole from the tee is quite intimidating! The 15th should be treated with respect but the truth is, at less than 150 yards, it should give lots of players a chance to make a two. The Mount, as it is called, has a narrow raised green and a collection of greenside bunkers but coming in with a short iron means you should have the control required to stop it on the dancefloor.