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10 Things you didn't know about England's Golf Coast

1. Only three amateurs - John Ball, Harold Hilton and Bobby Jones - have ever won The Open and two of them - Ball and Hilton - were members of Hoylake. Ball, whose father owned the Royal Hotel at Hoylake, was the first to taste success, winning in 1890. Two years later, Hilton, who was born in West Kirby, Cheshire, duplicated the feat and went on to win in 1897 as well.

2. Wallasey Golf Club, situated on the tip of the Wirral Peninsula, is the home to the world-famous Stableford scoring system. The system was invented by club member Dr Frank B. Stableford, who set out to establish a method of scoring that provided a less rigorous examination than traditional medal play. The first competition utilising "the Doctor's crazy new system" was held on May 16th 1932. It proved to be an instantaneous success and was soon adopted elsewhere. Dr Stableford was made captain of Wallasey Golf Club in 1933 and became a life member in 1953. He died in April 1959.

3. Formby, a fine links 14 miles north of Liverpool and five miles south of Southport, was awarded the 1957 Amateur Championship almost by accident. That was the year petrol rationing was introduced in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, resulting in The Amateur transferring from Royal St George's to Formby and The Open moving from Muirfield to St Andrews.

4. Royal Lytham and St Annes played host to the first ever British Ladies Championship, held in 1893 and won by Lady Margaret Scott. Scott was the outstanding woman golfer of that era. She also won the title in 1894 and 1895 and then promptly retired from golf, giving up her three memberships at Cotwold Hills, Cheltenham and Westward Ho!
5. The 1976 Open at Royal Birkdale was held in the middle of a serious drought. During the Championship the fire brigade was called out on several occasions when fires broke out near some of the holes. Johnny Miller's golf was almost as hot. He shot 66 in the last round to defeat Jack Nicklaus and an unknown Seve Ballesteros by six shots.

6. Southport and Ainsdale was the first club to stage two Ryder Cups. It hosted the biennial contest for the first time in 1933, when Great Britain & Ireland emerged as winners by 6 1/2 - 5 1/2, and then again four years later when the USA won by 8-4.

7. Miss Cecil Leitch, a member at Silloth-on-Solway, won four British Ladies titles between 1914 and 1926. Cecil, whose full name was Charlotte Cecilia Pitcairn Leitch, also won two English titles and the Canadian Ladies' Open in 1921.

8. The Lytham Trophy, one of Britain's foremost amateur events, was inaugurated in 1965, when it was won by four-time Amateur champion, Michael Bonallack, Subsequently, it has been won by Clive Clark, Peter Townsend, Warren Humphreys, Roger Chapman, Paul Broadhurst, Gary Evans, Stephen Gallacher and several other golfers who have gone on to make a name for themselves on the European Tour.

9. Jim Payne, the 1991 British Youths' champion and a two-time winner on the European Tour, is now the club professional at Southport and Ainsdale.

10. The English Golf Union has its roots at Hesketh, the oldest club in Southport. Back in 1924 a former Hesketh captain suggested the body should be formed and he went on to become the Union's first President.

Ends

England's Northwest