Hillside Golf Club
Hillside is the tasty meat in the sandwich between Royal Birkdale and Southport & Ainsdale on a superb stretch of coastal sand dunes. These three courses sit side by side, divided only by the electric railway that links Southport with the City of Liverpool. The railway line is uppermost in the mind of a golfer standing on the first tee at Hillside where a hooked shot is not the recommended route.
The absence of club records prior to 1923 hinders the research into the early history which is believed to have started with a meeting at the Portland Hotel in the summer of 1911. Those present decided to make use of the 9 holes that had been laid out by the Blundell Golf Club which had moved to Ainsdale that year and which disbanded in the 1930s. The course was on land leased from Hillside Farm and situated to the East of the railway but by 1922 more space was required to accommodate the increasing membership. New housing development in that area meant that a move to the other side of the railway was a preferred option and discussions were opened with the Weld Blundell Estate to lease a stretch of land suitable for an 18 hole course. A 21 year lease was agreed and the new course was opened to play on 4 August 1923. The first Captain was R Mook in 1919 and he held office again in 1922.
On 28 February 1923 a Limited Liability Company was formed with a share capital of £3,000 and each founder member was issued with a share certificate and a commemorative mug. The early meetings were not without discord as some members objected to the move and to the proposed construction of an “expensive” clubhouse which was specially designed to allow it to be sold as a house if the club should be forced out of business. The clubhouse was opened on 19 December 1924 and the structure still forms the nucleus of the present building. Finances were stretched but under the Chairmanship of Louis Rowlandson with Hugh Davies as Honorary Secretary the Board was able to provide the financial stability to steer the club through a di fficult period of transition.
In October 1957 the respected golf course architect, Fred Hawtree, produced his plans which were to take Hillside into the top flight of courses throughout the world. It involved the release to Southport Corporation of 4 holes at the far end of the course in exchange for unused land between the Hillside and Birkdale courses. A unique feature of the exchange was that the construction of the new holes would be financed by the sale of 200,000 tons of sand taken from the new area. Hawtree subsequently reconstructed the front 9 holes and the new Championship course was opened in June 1967. Only 4 of the holes now bear any close resemblance to the holes of the original course.
Hillside has hosted the Amateur, English Amateur, European Amateur and Boys Amateur Championships as well as the Ladies British Open and a host of professional events. It is regularly used as a qualifying course when the Open Championship is played next door at Royal Birkdale. The Club joined the Society in 1934 and has produced two Captains, Bert Collinge (1959/60) and Bryan Greenwood (2000/01).
The absence of club records prior to 1923 hinders the research into the early history which is believed to have started with a meeting at the Portland Hotel in the summer of 1911. Those present decided to make use of the 9 holes that had been laid out by the Blundell Golf Club which had moved to Ainsdale that year and which disbanded in the 1930s. The course was on land leased from Hillside Farm and situated to the East of the railway but by 1922 more space was required to accommodate the increasing membership. New housing development in that area meant that a move to the other side of the railway was a preferred option and discussions were opened with the Weld Blundell Estate to lease a stretch of land suitable for an 18 hole course. A 21 year lease was agreed and the new course was opened to play on 4 August 1923. The first Captain was R Mook in 1919 and he held office again in 1922.
On 28 February 1923 a Limited Liability Company was formed with a share capital of £3,000 and each founder member was issued with a share certificate and a commemorative mug. The early meetings were not without discord as some members objected to the move and to the proposed construction of an “expensive” clubhouse which was specially designed to allow it to be sold as a house if the club should be forced out of business. The clubhouse was opened on 19 December 1924 and the structure still forms the nucleus of the present building. Finances were stretched but under the Chairmanship of Louis Rowlandson with Hugh Davies as Honorary Secretary the Board was able to provide the financial stability to steer the club through a di fficult period of transition.
In October 1957 the respected golf course architect, Fred Hawtree, produced his plans which were to take Hillside into the top flight of courses throughout the world. It involved the release to Southport Corporation of 4 holes at the far end of the course in exchange for unused land between the Hillside and Birkdale courses. A unique feature of the exchange was that the construction of the new holes would be financed by the sale of 200,000 tons of sand taken from the new area. Hawtree subsequently reconstructed the front 9 holes and the new Championship course was opened in June 1967. Only 4 of the holes now bear any close resemblance to the holes of the original course.
Hillside has hosted the Amateur, English Amateur, European Amateur and Boys Amateur Championships as well as the Ladies British Open and a host of professional events. It is regularly used as a qualifying course when the Open Championship is played next door at Royal Birkdale. The Club joined the Society in 1934 and has produced two Captains, Bert Collinge (1959/60) and Bryan Greenwood (2000/01).