Captainron
Big Hitting, South African Sweary Person
Hidden away along a tree lined driveway, pulling up to Formby Golf Club really gets the pulse racing. An impressive clubhouse with friendly staff welcome you to one of the most famous courses in the North West. Host to many Championships, most recently the 2009 Amateur Championship won by a young Matteo Mannasero. The views from the clubhouse are magnificent . You can see a lot of the holes on the Formby Ladies Links which is totally surrounded by Formby Golf Club. After an excellent club sandwich and some coffee I got stuck in.
Formby opens up with two par fours and a par five which run north along a railway line, these and the short fourth lull you into a false sense of security and are holes where a good score is possible should you avoid one of the many bunkers. The fairway bunkering on the course being both clever and penal, rarely affords you the opportunity of an heroic shot to the green. The fifth is a great little par three which plays longer as its uphill and into the prevailing wind. A gully on the right pulls any weak faded shots into it, making any par unlikely. The course then bears its teeth with the hardest holes being from six to nine. The sixth, which also plays into the prevailing wind, is a tremendous hole with a testing drive obscured by a huge dune on the left which draws your eye to three bunkers on the right. The second shot is blind to a large green without any bunkers but severe run offs which gather any mishit shots. The seventh is a gorgeous short par 4 with a split level fairway. Ideally you should try and draw the ball to the lower slope leaving a 120 yard uphill shot to a long green with some severe slopes. A par is a great score on this hole. The eighth is a brute of a par 5 back into the wind. The fairway runs out at around 270 yards and playing for position is key in order to leave yourself with any chance of making the green in two. The green slopes heavily from back to front and taking two putts from anything outside 20 feet is an achievement. The ninth again plays into the prevailing wind and anything other than a good drive leaves you too far back to reach the green. After this the course becomes much more links like. The tenth is a solid par 3 and the eleventh with its amphitheatre green is a good test of your iron play. Twelve and thirteen are fairly similar holes and are you good birdie opportunities. The fourteenth is a dog leg left where the corner can be taken on as it plays down wind but be careful as OB runs all the way down the left. The fifteenth is a tough driving hole where you need to be dead straight to thread your ball between two large dunes. The downhill second shot is obscured by another two dunes in front of the green. Sixteen is a short par three which plays all of its 120 yards as being short leaves you in one of two deep bunkers. The seventeenth is a short par five which provides the best birdie opportunity on the course. The two tiered green is this holes main defence so make sure you hit the right level. The par four finishing hole looks short from the tee but a massive green adds about 50 yards and makes club selection for your second key.
Given the recent rain Formby was extremely playable and there was no standing water anywhere on the course and the bunkers were great. The greens were furry but ran true and allowed you to commit to your putts. I can imagine that in the height of summer any iffy putters will struggle to two putt on many of these sloping greens. Formby provides hole after hole of entertainment, agony, thought and pleasure. It rightly deserves its place in the top echelons of courses in the UK. I would play there again in a heartbeat.
Formby opens up with two par fours and a par five which run north along a railway line, these and the short fourth lull you into a false sense of security and are holes where a good score is possible should you avoid one of the many bunkers. The fairway bunkering on the course being both clever and penal, rarely affords you the opportunity of an heroic shot to the green. The fifth is a great little par three which plays longer as its uphill and into the prevailing wind. A gully on the right pulls any weak faded shots into it, making any par unlikely. The course then bears its teeth with the hardest holes being from six to nine. The sixth, which also plays into the prevailing wind, is a tremendous hole with a testing drive obscured by a huge dune on the left which draws your eye to three bunkers on the right. The second shot is blind to a large green without any bunkers but severe run offs which gather any mishit shots. The seventh is a gorgeous short par 4 with a split level fairway. Ideally you should try and draw the ball to the lower slope leaving a 120 yard uphill shot to a long green with some severe slopes. A par is a great score on this hole. The eighth is a brute of a par 5 back into the wind. The fairway runs out at around 270 yards and playing for position is key in order to leave yourself with any chance of making the green in two. The green slopes heavily from back to front and taking two putts from anything outside 20 feet is an achievement. The ninth again plays into the prevailing wind and anything other than a good drive leaves you too far back to reach the green. After this the course becomes much more links like. The tenth is a solid par 3 and the eleventh with its amphitheatre green is a good test of your iron play. Twelve and thirteen are fairly similar holes and are you good birdie opportunities. The fourteenth is a dog leg left where the corner can be taken on as it plays down wind but be careful as OB runs all the way down the left. The fifteenth is a tough driving hole where you need to be dead straight to thread your ball between two large dunes. The downhill second shot is obscured by another two dunes in front of the green. Sixteen is a short par three which plays all of its 120 yards as being short leaves you in one of two deep bunkers. The seventeenth is a short par five which provides the best birdie opportunity on the course. The two tiered green is this holes main defence so make sure you hit the right level. The par four finishing hole looks short from the tee but a massive green adds about 50 yards and makes club selection for your second key.
Given the recent rain Formby was extremely playable and there was no standing water anywhere on the course and the bunkers were great. The greens were furry but ran true and allowed you to commit to your putts. I can imagine that in the height of summer any iffy putters will struggle to two putt on many of these sloping greens. Formby provides hole after hole of entertainment, agony, thought and pleasure. It rightly deserves its place in the top echelons of courses in the UK. I would play there again in a heartbeat.
