No 32 - Hillside

Another of Lancashire's finest, Hillside boasts a strong back nine, great winter value, and a good club atmosphere

Hillside
Jeremy Ellwood
By
published

32 Hillside

Architect: F Hawtree 2006 position: 33 Stats: 6,558 yds; par 72; SSS 72 GF: £50-£95 T: 01704 569902 W: hillside-golfclub.co.uk On a stretch of the Lancashire coast that is England’s answer to St Andrews, Hillside lies next to Royal Birkdale, but steps far enough out of its famous neighbour’s shadow to also sit comfortably inside our top 40.

Greg Norman described its back nine as the best in Britain, and it is certainly home to Hillside’s more dramatic holes, with the down-and-up par-5 17th perhaps my favourite – long yet inviting from the tee.

Unlike many links there are plenty of trees to shape and frame some holes, and the end result of these – and the more traditional-looking links holes – is an excellent overall mix. JE

+ Strong back nine; great winter value; good club atmosphere - Too many trees for real links purists; takes a few holes to get going

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Jeremy Ellwood
Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf

Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Srixon ZX, EvenFlow Riptide 6.0 S 50g shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3- to 8-iron: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Irons 9-iron and PW: Honma TWorld TW747Vx, Nippon NS Pro regular shaft

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Kramski HPP 325

Ball: Any premium ball I can find in a charity shop or similar (or out on the course!)

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