North Shore Hotel & Golf Club

FIVE-TIME Open champion James Braid laid out the course here in 1910 and it is still going strong today. The hotel sits in an unrivalled position, being the closest to the sea in Skegness and offering some marvellous views across The Wash to the Norfolk coastline. The course is a fascinating mix of parkland and linksland. Often when this is the case you might enjoy nine holes of one before a change of flavour but here it constantly moves from one to the other. Some of the holes benefit from the best of both styles due to a band running through the middle of the course. There are only two par 5s, the first being the opening hole, so better players will be looking to take advantage straightaway. [gallery ids="eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbmNnLWxpdmUtYXNzZXRzLmFtczMuY2RuLmRpZ2l0YWxvY2VhbnNwYWNlcy5jb21cL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMTFcLzEwXC9Ob3J0aC1TaG9yZS1hYm92ZS1uaWNlLmpwZyIsInRpdGxlIjoiTm9ydGggU2hvcmUgYWJvdmUgbmljZSIsImNhcHRpb24iOiIiLCJhbHQiOiIiLCJkZXNjcmlwdGlvbiI6IiJ9,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbmNnLWxpdmUtYXNzZXRzLmFtczMuY2RuLmRpZ2l0YWxvY2VhbnNwYWNlcy5jb21cL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMTFcLzEwXC9Ob3J0aC1TaG9yZS1jbHViaG91c2UtaG90ZWwuanBnIiwidGl0bGUiOiJOb3J0aCBTaG9yZSBjbHViaG91c2UgaG90ZWwiLCJjYXB0aW9uIjoiIiwiYWx0IjoiIiwiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiIifQ==,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbmNnLWxpdmUtYXNzZXRzLmFtczMuY2RuLmRpZ2l0YWxvY2VhbnNwYWNlcy5jb21cL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMTFcLzEwXC9Ob3J0aC1TaG9yZS1pbmxhbmQuanBnIiwidGl0bGUiOiJOb3J0aCBTaG9yZSBpbmxhbmQiLCJjYXB0aW9uIjoiIiwiYWx0IjoiIiwiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiIifQ==,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbmNnLWxpdmUtYXNzZXRzLmFtczMuY2RuLmRpZ2l0YWxvY2VhbnNwYWNlcy5jb21cL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMTFcLzEwXC9Ob3J0aC1TaG9yZS1zZWEuanBnIiwidGl0bGUiOiJOb3J0aCBTaG9yZSBzZWEiLCJjYXB0aW9uIjoiIiwiYWx0IjoiIiwiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiIifQ==,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbmNnLWxpdmUtYXNzZXRzLmFtczMuY2RuLmRpZ2l0YWxvY2VhbnNwYWNlcy5jb21cL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMTFcLzEwXC9Ob3J0aC1TaG9yZS12ZXJ5LWFib3ZlLmpwZyIsInRpdGxlIjoiTm9ydGggU2hvcmUgdmVyeSBhYm92ZSIsImNhcHRpb24iOiIiLCJhbHQiOiIiLCJkZXNjcmlwdGlvbiI6IiJ9"] The first links hole comes at the 4th where the contours of the ground take over to provide a long par four judged as the most difficult hole on the course. There is a large hump in the middle of the fairway which you can either try and take on or play short of to leave a very long approach into the green.

North Shores is an ideal stop in the winter, and with the 1st and 10th tees sitting outside the hotel it sets up very well for 27 holes of high quality and enjoyable golf.

The remaining links holes follow at 5, 10, 11, 14 15, 17 and 18, and otherwise there is a roving parkland feel to the course. However, being so close to the sea, the wind plays a real part throughout a round and must be factored into course management. A good example of this is at the 14th, a really tricky par 3 which can play any club in the bag depending on where the wind is. At 141 yards the hole may appear relatively simple, but a par is always a good score. North Shores is an ideal stop in the winter, and with the 1st and 10th tees sitting outside the hotel it sets up very well for 27 holes of high quality and enjoyable golf. The three-star hotel has 34 rooms and there are plenty of appealing packages to take advantage of in the coming months.