Open Championship 2006 - Royal Liverpool:

Royal LiverpoolIn May 1869 a meeting took place in the old Royal Hotel on the edge of “the Warren”, a sandy, rabbit-infested wasteland on the shore of the Dee estuary near Liverpool. James Muir Dowie, a Scot then living in Liverpool, and his father-in-law, Robert Chambers, were the prime movers, and a month later the Liverpool Golf club was formed with Dowie as Captain. Old Tom’s brother, George Morris, laid out the first 9 hole course and his son, Jack, became the club’s first professional. Jack was to remain at Hoylake for over sixty years!

For seven years, the links were shared with the Liverpool Hunt Club, which had a racecourse on the land. Now, just two reminders of that era remain: two ornamental pineapples from the old paddock gates adorn the putting green posts, and the old saddling bell now hangs in the clubhouse and is used as a dinner gong.

Over the next few years the course was extended to 12 and then to 18 holes, and a splendid clubhouse was built. Royal patronage had been bestowed as early as 1872 by HRH the Duke of Connaught, but it was not until 1885 that Royal Liverpool hosted its first major event, the Amateur Championship.

Other club ‘firsts’ include the inaugural Home Internationals (initially between Scotland and England) in 1902, the first match between Britain and the United States (forerunner of the Walker Cup) in 1921, and the first English Close Championship in 1925. Numerous championships have been held here since, including ten Open Championships and eighteen Amateur Championships.

Three local golfers dominated amateur golf in Britain for a generation: John Ball, Harold Hilton and Jack Graham. Only nine years old when the club was formed, young John grew up with the Club. His amateur record is unparalleled: he won the Amateur Championship eight times between 1888 and 1912, his last victory at the age of fifty. He was also one of only three amateurs to win the Open Championship, the others being Harold Hilton and Bobby Jones, as well as the first – in the 1890 Open at Prestwick.

Harold Hilton was nine years younger than Ball, but his first Open victory came at Muirfield in 1892 at the age of 23. He won again, at Hoylake in 1897, and triumphed for the first time in the Amateur Championship in 1900. His swing also proved to be durable, as in 1911, at the age of 42, he won the Amateur, the US Amateur, and in the Open at Royal St George’s, missed a tie for first place by only one stroke.

Jack Graham was the only one of the trio not to win a major amateur or professional event. But twenty-five gold medals and fourteen silvers in Club competitions tell a story, which is embellished by five semi-final appearances in the Amateur Championship and a decade of international matches for Scotland during which he lost only twice. Death in action in Flanders (1915) tragically cut short a career, which was far from over.

Hoylake has always enjoyed a tradition of style and friendship. It is claimed that the presentation by Kenneth Stoker, then Captain, of his red jacket to Bobby Jones in 1929 to mark his Grand Slam, was the inspiration for the Green Jacket at Augusta. The clubhouse exudes warmth and style, without ever feeling stuffy or pretentious. Dinner in the Club Room is rather like the officers’ mess of a leading Guards’ Regiment: lofty ceilings, oak paneling, portraits of past Captains, and elegant silverware.

Outside, the course initially disappoints: the view across the first fairway looks out over a rectangular practice area, which threatens out-of-bounds for the 1st, 15th, and 16th holes. Indeed, Hoylake has more opportunities to cross those feared white posts than any other championship course in England. But, negotiate the 1st, which requires a long drive and a medium iron, and a different perspective is swiftly gained. The course is not flat, as it first appears, but full of subtle contours and undulations so that a level stance and flat lie are the exception rather than the rule.

With housing to the left on the first few holes, the course has a slightly suburban feel. That impression subsides as you approach the turn, however, as the land becomes more undulating, and impressive views of the Dee estuary and distant Welsh hills suggest a wildness far removed from the townscape left behind. Challenging short holes and classic par 4’s are the order of the day, before a suitably testing finish. Extending for championships to over 7200 yards, and with new greens at the 3rd, 17th and 18th, Hoylake will produce a deserving champion in 2006.

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