Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club

The club has played host to numerous professional and amateur events including the Ryder Cup (twice); the Dunlop Open Tournaments in the 1930s through to the1950s; used several times as the final qualifying course for the British Open Championship and also for the British Amateur and Lancashire County Championships.

The club has an international and historical reputation and is often referred to by the shortened version of its name, S & A. The course is revered amongst golfers and attracts visitors from all over the world.  In the 1990s, one of America’s top golf course designers is quoted in ‘Golf World’ as saying, ”S & A is the best designed course in the UK.”.
The course is particularly interesting in that it has retained most of the features from the original layout as designed by James Braid in terms of the natural landscape and the previous uses of the land. Before it became a golf course, the land had been predominantly sandhills with undulating areas of land in between, After the Second World War, and through to the present day, S & A have continued to host both professional and top amateur golf events on a regular basis.

Among those who played in the 1950s were Open Champions, Henry Cotton, Max Faulkner, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, plus Peter Alliss, Dai Rees and many other famous golfers.  

In the 1960s, when The Open Championship started to attract the players from the USA and other countries, S & A members were able to see the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Bob Charles and others.

In the 1970s, S & A hosted two Pro-Ams where members of S & A were teamed up with top golfers and famous ‘celebrities’ from the world of entertainment and sport, including Bing Crosby, Sean Connery, Gary Player, Tony Jacklin and Sir Matt Busby

In 1979, the British Ladies Championship, open to amateurs and professionals for the first time and sponsored by Pretty Polly, was held at S & A.

During the 1980s,1990s  through to the present day, S & A have hosted several events including final qualifying rounds for The Opens Championship held at Royal Birkdale and Royal Lytham.

Book your tee times direct with the club

http://www.sandagolfclub.co.uk