Birkdale Adventures

I was lucky enough to visit the Open this month - golf's most revered major championship. The Open was won this year by 23 year old Jordan Spieth who had an amazing Sunday back nine...closing with birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, par. Quite simply put - amazing!

Spending time on the links watching the worlds greatest golfers is inspiring. So much so that I also ended up playing three lovely local
courses.

Southport and Ainsdale is best known for hosting back to back Ryder Cups in the 1930s. This course was in superb condition and I was lucky enough to finish with the same ball I started with, shooting a lovely gross 14 over.

West Derby is a Liverpool gem - hidden away unexpectedly within a housing area, you could blink and miss it. However, this tight little course played pretty tough and has a cheeky little stream running through the course which is like a ball magnet...!

Hesketh is the oldest course in the area and offers a superb challenge. With two closing par fives it lets you repair a lot of damage, or so I thought. Parring the 17th I went on to play a lovely drive up the left hand side of 18, followed by a sublime 5 iron  to leave exactly 70 yards to the flag. Routine par five...on no siree. I flailed at a 58 degree wedge only to pull my shot onto deep rough. It took me a further 5 shots to eventually hole out for a grim 7...not quite how I visualised the closing hole!
Still 12 over wasn't too bad for the day.