wallasey - 15 POINTS
I've got a feeling that I missed out on the proper Wallasey experience. I've read some great things about it and was really looking forward to playing. The problem was, I think, that I played it at close to its worst. It was the week of the Open at nearby Royal Liverpool and the course was absolutely packed. Every tee time had a fourball on it, they were running 30 minutes behind for our mid morning tee time due to the slow play and it was a fairly blustery day.
The real problem was the way they had set up the course. They had grown the rough in and up which meant that pretty much everyone on the course spent their time looking for either their, or their partners', balls. That kind of ruined the day as we were out there for over 5 hours. It was brutal.
Now, I had expected it to be tough. Dr Frank Stableford introduced his form of scoring here in competitive play for the first time to stop people getting too disheartened by high medal scores on the cards - that gives you an idea of what to expect. The course has a mixture of holes in the dunes and then those in the middle in more open ground. There were some nice holes, yes, but I had few balls and little patience left to enjoy them to the full.
The course plays longer than it's card due to playing many second shots to raised greens and strong winds I imagine on a calm day without stupid rough it may be quite a nice course to enjoy. However, there were 12 of us playing and we all felt it was among the most penal golf course ever experienced, and to be honest not a lot of fun.
You could see that it was a great piece of land and the holes in the dunes were at times spectacular. One day I will try and get back to see what it plays like on a 'normal' day, but I can't say I'll be rushing there.
BOOKING THE COURSE
It appears that visitors are welcome in a 2 1/2 hour slot in both the morning and afternoon 6 days a week (all but Wednesday) with midweek winter rounds at £100 rising to a pricy £195 on the weekend in the summer.
Prices correct as of July 2023.
TOUR TIPS
There are some other fantastic courses in this part of the world. Liverpool isn't far at all from Wallasey and would make a good base with a great nightlife. Just make sure you book later tee off-times than normal as it's quite hard to avoid a late night in Liverpool! The Hoylake page has some more details.
The three Royals - Liverpool, Lytham and Birkdale - are all classics and maybe Wallasey would make an OK companion to them if you don't mind a bit of a drive. Mind you, I have heard Hillside is great as well and you may be better off trying to get that one in. I would also give a shout out to Caldy as well which I played the night before Wallasey. It's a far more playable course, more clifftop/parkland than links and well worth a visit.
CONTACT DETAILS
Wallasey Golf Club,
Bayswater Road,
Wallasey,
Wirral,
CH45 8LA
Telephone: 0151 691 1024
Email : office@wallaseygolfclub.com
Web : Wallaseygolfclub.com
