Formby Ladies is the last ladies-only membership course in the UK, though is open for all to play (Image: Getty)
Nestled among England’s famous golf coast in the north west sits Formby Ladies. With crisp turf, immaculate drainage and a memorable design to each of its 18 holes, the property is one of the rare cases of a course legitimately staking claim to the title of a Hidden Gem.
In 1896, a progressive and inventive ladies section at Formby had a bold and bright idea; it was time to create something truly unique.
Plots were hatched and blueprints hastily drawn up, before action taken to devise a deliciously intricate course within the perimeter of the already existing men’s course, woven carefully through the God-given golf land that is Formby dunes, a stones-throw away from the famous beach.
A founding membership of over 100 lady golfers got the ball metaphorically and literally rolling, and within the year a bespoke club house was formed and a committee established. Golf, as everyone then knew it, had changed.
Today, Formby Ladies is still thriving, and stands as the one remaining ladies-only club with its own course. The club is immensely proud of its status, secretary Anne Bromley tells Express Sport, but it is also very much open to all.
Green fees at Formby Ladies stand at of some of its more well known local neighbours, including Hillside, West Lancashire and Royal .
Visitors are greeted from all over the golfing world, and afforded a customary warm welcome in the snug clubhouse which has recently undertook a series of renovations to bring it in line with some of the UK’s leading establishments.
While the rainy days, dark evenings and winter chill creep in ever more steadily as we approach the year’s end, Formby Ladies has been commended for its constant playability, and readiness to host world class golf.
YouTube sensation Rick Shiels, who boasts the biggest golf subscriber channel on the internet platform, has repeatedly and found safe refuge on the club’s hallowed turf, when other courses within a wide radius were simply closed to filming.
“The reception we get every time we come back here, from Anne and her team, is outstanding,” says Sheils. “It feels like coming home, it’s a warm, fuzzy feeling.”
The 18-hole course sits alongside Formby Golf Club and remains pristine year-round (Image: Getty)
The clubhouse affords a warm welcome, a famous cake selection, and has been renovated (Image: Getty)
In 2021 the club marked and celebrated its 125th anniversary, with a series of events taking place across the property and with the closely nestled neighbours Formby Golf Club.
To this day the two clubs continue to operate in harmony, and regularly host inter-course tournaments comprising both male and female competitors, playing across a hotchpot of holes between both sets of 18; making for a truly unique experience in the modern game.
Having experienced the course and tasted both its subtleties and complexities, it quickly became clear to Express Sport what the fuss is all about regarding this 5,300 yard pictureque puzzle, which plays as a teasing par 71.
The wise amongst those who visit will do well to keep the driver safely in the bag on most holes, resisting the urge to cut daring lines through the bobbling fairways and, in doing so, avoiding the siren-song of patiently waiting heather which eagerly gobbles up golf balls.
The club has played host to prestigious events including the Rose Ladies series (Image: Getty)
The yardage may be modest but each hole requires pin-point precious and tactical management (Image: Getty)
The sheltered, intricate and testing greens leave a feeling of wanting to re-play, over and over. A handful of the par-3s could each individually proclaim to be a signature hole, which speaks volumes for the craftsmanship of this links.
As winter truly bites and many courses render their doors temporarily closed, Formby Ladies continues to stand as an oasis of year-round golf.
The doyen of golf writing, Bernard Darwin, perhaps summed Formby Ladies up best during one of his many whimsical anecdotes.
Writing in 1934, the old gentleman of golf noted: ‘My Formby golf was played on this most charming small course. Many much better golfers also played upon it in their spare time, and we one and all agreed that of its kind it was a gem of purest ray serene.
‘If I have to pick out one quality for which to praise it. I choose the way in which small and superficially unobtrusive bunkers direct and control the play. Never, I think, has Mr [Harry] Colt been more been more happily inspired in this respect. Again, the course is wonderfully pretty.’