The day finally came for us to play Royal Liverpool Golf Club (Hoylake), site of the 2023 Open Championship. You can just feel the history when you pull into the park lot and see the clubhouse.
Since we were not playing from the Championship tees, there wasn’t much special to see about the first few holes. For the Open Championship, they re-order the holes so that you tee off on beginning on 17, then play 18, and then move to the 1st hole The 16th serves as the final hole for the Open. The picture below is the second shot from the actual 1st hole but it is played as the 3rd hole for the Open.
The new par 3 17th hole – this hole is a BEAST!
Naturally, I hit my tee shot in the new cavernous bunker in front of the green. Unfortunately, getting out of it proved too challenging for me as I hit 3 shots that rolled right back in off the false front of the green.
As if the 17th wasn’t bad enough, now we have to play the 18th with Out of Bounds all the way down the right side from tee to green.
Naturally, I hit 2 OB and in frustration dropped one here. Playing into 18 with all of the Open Championship grandstands is always a special experience.
Final thoughts: In my opinion, Royal Liverpool was the least memorable course on the trip. The main appeal is the history and the fact that it was hosting The Open. Honestly, the course was pretty mundane. I would definitely say it should be included in any trip to the area, but more so for the history than the actual golf.
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