At lunchtime we meet up with our ambassadors and their entourage in the bar at Hillside – a course that is surrounded by S&A and Birkdale. For three days we enlarge LINKS75 to play Hillside, St Annes Old Links and Royal Lytham & St Annes. Hillside offers a British high summer’s day. Klammer, Blackpool and Members Choice warm up on the driving range while Castro lets a Cohiba slowly melt on the terrace.
The course opens along the railway with S&A a happy neighbour. Blackpool drives a massive hook over the tracks and onto the 2nd of our neighbour. The 3rd – a real pearler – has a well-hidden, miniscule burn that manages to catch our white balls.
The burn at hole no3, Hillside
The Course 2 – Blackpool 0. The 5th, a par 5 re-designed in 2002 by our own Donald Steel, gets to take a back seat when both Blackpool and Members Choice easily manoeuver their balls between the tufted sand hills that protect the green. The 7th gives us goose bumps – a par 3 with a curtain of pine trees at the back edge and small well-camouflaged bunkers to the side.
Green at no7, Hillside
Blackpool opens, Members Choice responds and Castro finishes by writing his name in the air using a pro tracer before the ball lands a comfortable birdie distance from the hole. LINKS75 jumps for joy and swims through the high grass. The 8th and 9th evaluate and reward bravery and length. Blackpool responds with an easy birdie while LINKS75, bubbling with self-confidence, gets to search in the long rough. In the kiosk behind the green Gollum is waiting with lemonade and ice cream. Greg Norman once said that the closing 9 holes at Hillside are the best in the British Isles. The 10th is a great par 3 with a rolling, cauldron-like green; a sophisticated bunker system; a curtain of pines; and elephant grass in abundance. We are inspired and achieve great things. Through the woods to the 11th – believed to be the closing stretch’s signature piece. After a roar of delight Blackpool nominated the hole as the world’s best par 5 without any opposition whatsoever. A remarkable view over the sea, an oil rig and a glimpse of Birkdale gets LINKS to gasp for breath. We take a quick break amongst the elephant grass before we defeat even this links diamond. Mr J wins 7 and 5. The labyrinth of mast-high sand dunes makes us dizzy from the 13th to the 15th. Blackpool strikes his second serves harder than Roscoe Tanner. On the 16th – a par 3 – the strength of the links is put to the test and the rough waits with open arms. Dog hangs his head and begins to pine for Guinness. On the 17th LINKS75 ends up in trouble but gets its revenge on 18 – a par 4 – where the view from the rise to the left of the tee causes links -class delight. Onward to yet another waiting balcony in the sun. Hillside always on the sunny side.
English
Svenska