"There will always be a special place in my heart for Formby Golf Club.  It's links are a tremendous test of golf and the reception I received from the club and its members during the week of the 2009 British Amateur Championship was very touching.

 

Formby has so many exceptional holes but my most memorable is the par 3 16th.  At 139 yards it's short, however, the small raised green is guarded by three deep bunkers and depending upon the wind you can be hitting wedge or four iron.  Par is definitely a good score here."

As I was brought up on heather, pine, gorse and silver birch those are at the forefront of my mind. There are quite a few of them dotted around the British Isles but they are not in huge numbers. A couple here, a small nest of courses there, all of which are a delight to me. Why? Because if the sun shines on a winter’s day with a blue sky, looking out from the clubhouse, the view is pretty well always the same and you can always find your ball on the course during the winter months as it is not hidden under millions of leaves!

 

I have visited Formby Golf Club on a few occasions and they have always been most enjoyable because of the terrain and some very handsome, tall pine trees which give it great character, and the addition of Formby Ladies Golf Club just alongside – what a bonus. Two for the price of one.