Royal North Devon Golf Club was founded in 1864, and hosts the oldest links golf course in England and Wales. It is located in the town of Westward Ho! in Torridge, Devon, England, and consequently the course is often referred to as Westward Ho!. There is a single 18 hole course.

The course has hosted The Amateur Championship on three occasions, in 1912, 1925, and 1931.

Hillside Golf Club is located near Southport, England. It lies almost side by side with the Royal Birkdale course, amid a stretch of sandhills, and the quality of the individual holes is such that golfers may find it difficult to separate the two. Typical of the links courses on the Northwest coastline, Hillside is open to the wind coming in from the Irish Sea and laid out in a truly stunning setting, the course is a true test for golfers of all handicaps.

Notable competitions
Since 1967, Hillside has hosted several prestigious championships. In the late 1970’s, the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship and The Amateur Championship were held; in the 1980’s the Sun Alliance PGA Championship and The Amateur Championship; in the 1990’s the English Open Amateur and the International European Amateur. The course is a highly regarded Qualifying venue for The Open, in fact some would say it is one of the best links courses never to have hosted The Open!

Reputation
Hillside is not short of accolades from the stars. Roger Pampling felt it was the hardest course he had ever played in the Qualifying for the 1998 Open, and Mark Calcavecchia thought the greens the best he had seen all year. The first nine holes on the 6,800 yard course were once described by Peter Alliss as ‘frightening, particularly when the wind blows from right to left’. There are plenty of testing holes to come though, set amongst the dunes and pine trees. Some are sheltered, set in natural amphitheatres, while the elevated tees produce that great golfing combination of a battle against the elements with spectacular scenery. Two holes that deserve a special mention are the eleventh and seventeenth. Both par 5s, they lead the golfer through a wonderful dune-lined valley, and are possibly the best holes of the entire round. The back nine holes were redesigned in the 1960’s and are outstanding, making the homeward journey a challenging one for golfers of all standards. It is no wonder that Hillside treasures a letter from Greg Norman, twice a winner of The Open, which describes the back nine holes as the best in Britain.

Formby Golf Club, Formby, Merseyside, England is a golf links that has hosted the Curtis Cup and The Amateur Championship. It is located next to the Freshfield railway station on the Merseyrail network, and is currently undergoing a massive expansion to add a hotel.

The club hosted The Amateur Championship in 1957, 1967, and 1984, and is scheduled to host again in 2009. The Curtis Cup was played there in 2004.

Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club is in the town of Deal in the County of Kent in Southern England. It was founded in 1892. The name derives from Deal’s membership of an ancient group of trading towns granted special privileges by the medieval English monarchs, the Cinque Ports. The club’s single eighteen hole golf course is a links which runs along the coast of Sandwich Bay.

The club hosted The Open Championship in 1909 and 1920. The next two Opens scheduled to be held there, which were in 1938 and 1948 both had to be relocated when abnormally high tides inundated the course, and consequently the club was removed from the Open Championship rota. It has continued to host various other tournaments including The Amateur Championship and since 1925, it has hosted the Public Schools Championship every year.

Karen Stupples, winner of the 2004 Weetabix Women’s British Open, is a member of Royal Cinque Ports.